Carol Southall, Course Director, Staffordshire Business SChool

STudent Life and Learning in Lockdown: achieving Resilience (STeLLL:aR)

Staffordshire Business School students are not alone in their sense of isolation as they work remotely on modules and projects as part of their undergraduate, postgraduate or research degrees. What makes them STeLLL:aR is their efforts to work with the tools and technology they have access to and really engage with industry, as well as with other Schools and students across the University.

So far this academic year we have seen numerous examples of this resilience and engagement with learning through projects such as the Social Isolation Project – Digital Pub in the Cloud https://www.staffsunion.com/ents/event/16189/, a joint collaboration between Arts and Events students to address the issue of social isolation through the medium of art and well-publicised events to showcase and disseminate the messages that #ArtsMeanBusiness and #AMEtoConnect are key to better communications about this issue in these challenging times.

The Connected Café, designed and managed by Staffordshire Business School students, including our Department Representatives, will enable students to meet virtually, engage in fun activities and get to know their peers across different courses.

For Level 5 Event Management students, working with Appetite to establish the need for greater engagement with the arts and cultural sector across the City of Stoke on Trent, has offered a real insight into the importance of the arts and culture in our daily lives, especially as we recognise now more than ever, the human need for social interaction. The questionnaire, designed by the students, in partnership with Appetite, aims to establish awareness of Appetite and give a chance for respondents to suggest what arts and cultural entertainment they would be likely to engage in, were it possible to do so.

The Trentham Gardens volunteer programme, set up by staff from Staffordshire Business School and the Events Team at Trentham, aims to offer events volunteer opportunities to all SBS students. Event Management students have already been involved in volunteering for the December Fairy Lights event and have clocked up an impressive number of (socially-distanced) hours between them in the lead-up to Christmas. The package of training, travel expenses and opportunities to enhance employability skills has really enhanced student learning, and offered some respite from the challenge of lockdown. Events students have also been able to work remotely with the team at Trentham Gardens, to carry out a survey to establish awareness of the Gardens and Retail Village amongst specific target markets. Students presented their survey results and gave suggestions of how to attract their identified target market, as well as suggesting some events more likely to attract the target market in question. The students will also form a focus group for the Trentham team when their new event ideas are explored further.

Recognising the challenges faced by people in lockdown, Level 6 Event Management students have organised a challenge event #TogetherAtHome, for their final year project, the aim of which is to bring people together throughout lockdown, by encouraging them to share original, unique and creative photos/videos to generate positivity. Their Facebook page is www.facebook.com/TogetherAtHomeChallengeStaffsUni2021 and any donations received through this project, will go towards Stoke-on-Trent Foodbank, to help individuals in need during COVID-19.

The Celebrating Student Success Awards were held at the end of January 2021, to showcase student achievements throughout the course of lockdowns 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0. The Awards event was planned and hosted by students for students, highlighting the resilience and successes of students, as well as their ability to mentor their peers. With categories ranging from Staffs Superhero, through to Funniest Teams Moment (and there were many) and Helping Hand Award, nominees were recognised for their contribution to their own success and that of others.

Throughout lockdown, Deon Wong (FdA Visitor Attraction and Resort Management) has strived to use his free time effectively, whether that be developing new key skills or taking advantage of learning opportunities. To maintain his level of creativity and imagination, he took the time to produce a unique online competitive gameshow, allowing a diverse range of people, to compete against each other in a variety of social, physical and strategic challenges. As Deon says:

“The project allowed me to challenge myself through innovative designing, planning and executing a live-event. Hosting involves a depth of planning, time management, problem-solving and technical skills. The skills accumulated, have been evident in my academic work, where I have demonstrated a range of skills. I’ve also been a contestant myself, developing my strategic-thinking, communication and observational skills, when evaluating my opponent’s social behaviour. The knowledge gained can be applied to future opportunities, for instance, marketing as it involves analysing customers behaviours.”

For Tom Murray (FdA Visitor Attraction and Resort Management), lockdown has been anything but a hindrance. Despite multiple lockdowns and cancellation to events his endeavour to remain a lifelong learner has continued to flourish. In the first lockdown, he was able to completely redesign his website from a mobile friendly site to a fully-fledged mobile web app. Not only did he learn the necessary skills to design, develop and test his site, but also the business skills to set targets and reasonable goals and measure achievement…Throughout summer he continued his employment at Alton Towers Resort with the Rides department and continued to grow existing and new skills (like shouting with masks and visors on!) which enabled him to hit the ground running with the start of his first year studying Visitor Attractions and Resort Management.

Tom says “Like the rest of us, I’ve also had to get to grips with Teams meetings, interviews, lectures and everything in-between but it’ll certainly be a valuable skill in the future!” 

For Business Management students, studying ‘Managing Across Cultures’ could potentially be a challenge in the current situation, where access to, and immersion in, national cultures is restricted. Not so for the current Level 5 cohort undertaking this module. They will be heading off, virtually of course, to KAMK University of Applied Sciences in Finland for 2 days in March, to explore how organisations are ‘Going Global’. In addition, the same students will also be heading to Stuttgart in Germany, again in March, to attend an international business simulation, organized by DHBW (Duale Hochschule Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart – Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University, Stuttgart). Those virtual passport stamps just keep on coming!

Studying Visitor Attraction and Resort Management is about so much more than rollercoasters, as evidenced by our students’ engagement in the recent Institute of Hospitality and Manchester Hoteliers Association virtual student forum – Passion 4 Hospitality. The 90-minute webinar discussed and reviewed the merits and rewards of the global hospitality industry, with a high-profile panel discussing career opportunities available this year. The keynote speaker was Matt Townley FIH, GM of the Dakota Hotel Manchester, with his focus on “The road to being a GM in your 30’s”. The panel comprised Adrian Ellis FIH, GM The Lowry Hotel, Manchester and Chair of the Manchester Hospitality Association; Steven Hesketh, CEO at Savvy Hotel Group and Vice Chair of Liverpool Hospitality Association, Chair of Chester Hospitality Association, Board Member of the Liverpool Enterprise Partnership Employment & Skills Board; Sue Davison, Head of Apprenticeship, Sodexo; and Q&A moderated by Peter Ducker, Chief Executive FIH. Also in attendance, and discussing student opportunities in the north of England was Garry Fortune, Melia Hotels Regional General Manager.

Their enthusiasm and passion for the industry really shone through, and in Dylan’s words, [it was]

“Fantastic to have an insight on the challenges and methods to achieve well in the hospitality industry”.

Tom also commented,

“One of the main things I took away from the webinar was the amount of opportunities the Hospitality sector can provide. Learning about Matt Townley’s journey to becoming manager of the Dakota Hotel was really inspiring”.

This was supported by a passionate statement from Chloe who said

“One thing I learned from this webinar that really resonated with me, was when Matt Townley touched on striving to find your specialism and niche within the hospitality industry, which can be done by having a well-planned strategy and having that passion to achieve your goals”.

Tom and Steven also commented on the forum, noting the importance of mentoring, the idea that attitude, passion and desire to learn is vitally important to success in industry and that “complacency has negative impacts and should be avoided to ensure you are always on top of your game or proactive to resolve issues”.

An often-underestimated attribute, the importance of emotional intelligence was acknowledged by industry leaders. As Jade says, “It’s an underestimated skill which is critical in leadership roles and, recognising this will improve employability in the industry in ways that I can’t wait to witness”.

Both Lucy and Ella noted the importance of identifying a route through to your dream job:

Lucy –  “it was really good to listen to the fact that they’re pointing out how if you want to work for a brand, anyway you can you should get involved, and it may not be in the role you want but you can climb up and get there with time and hard work”.

Ella – “learning more about the hospitality industry has gave me an insight on what career paths I can take down that route, what I can do to be successful whether it is in my job role or applying to future jobs within the industry and it was lovely to see another person’s point of view of how they gained success through the hospitality industry. I can use this information on future assessments or in general to help me become successful in the career I would like”.

What’s more, look at how useful and versatile our Staffordshire Business School hoodies are – especially at protecting against the elements!

For Heather Wingfield (FdA Visitor Attraction and Resort Management) lockdown has simply been an opportunity to enhance knowledge and skills and gain those micro-credentials that are so important for employability enhancement. As Heather herself states:

“The pandemic has presented me with the opportunity to spend lots of time investing in myself. I have been keeping busy by carrying out extra learning, which has provided brilliant insights into the Visitor Attraction Industry. The cancellation of in person events has allowed students to access a range of industry events and webinars from home, at no or little cost, for the first time. For example, the IAAPA and Blooloop Virtual Expos. These events have proven to be invaluable and have allowed me to build my network with students and professionals from around the world, even in a time when we can’t travel. Another great way to network during these difficult times is to join an industry association, for example IAAPA (The International Association for Amusement Parks and Attractions). I have found they also have a wide range of resources which have enabled me to improve my commercial awareness.

I have also been able to build my knowledge by completing a Certificate in Post Crisis Hospitality Management for free due to the pandemic, this would usually cost $250. As well as improving my knowledge, I have developed skills such as time management and organisational skills. These opportunities have helped me realise the importance of being a lifelong learner, one of the Staffordshire Graduate Competencies in the University’s new Employability Framework. I anticipate that these opportunities to invest in myself will improve my employability and enable me to become a global citizen.”

That beautiful lady you see in the picture there is me. I like to toot my own horn, because if I don’t know how to show myself love, no one will know to follow suite haha.. I digress..

My name is Tanaka Adeyemo and I am the founder of Rudorwaishe Ltd which is named after my beautiful little girl (also in the picture). We provide tools to help families of the African diaspora teach the languages of their heritage to the younger generation. We currently have flashcards available in six African languages which you can check out on our site here, and I am working on adding more languages this year.

The business has a charitable side to it and donates 10% to a charity I will be involved in. My hope is that this will increase to 50% over time as we grow. The Charity I am currently working on building with two other women will focus on supporting orphaned and/or abandoned children in Zimbabwe particularly because of the AIDS pandemic. We have acquired 20 acres of land and we are gearing up to launch a massive fundraising campaign to build a large-scale orphanage on that land. It’s massive, it’s scary as anything but it’s all very important work.

My time at university seems to have gone by in the blink of an eye. There are a few seeds that were planted while I was there that I now spend a lot of time nurturing and building into the work I do, and I wanted to share those with you all. There are 5 super useful things I learnt in university that I now make use in my day to day when it comes to my business and life in general. Of course, this is not everything I learnt but it’s what sticks out for me and I’m just going to run through them in no particular order…

1.Planning

As you can imagine this one is pretty important. I am a mother now so planning is something I do in my sleep but when it comes to business there needs to be a deeper level of planning that happens even prior to initiation. A business plan (although not always necessary) is something that I found can be useful in planning your business. I’m going to keep it real with you, I didn’t put a business plan together when it came to my business (and I still haven’t) but I planned ahead as much as I possibly could. I completed the research I needed in order to know whether or not my business was even viable. I then went ahead and looked at all aspects of my business in as much detail as I could at the time and put pen to paper, wrote down as much as I could about the marketing strategy, pricing model, start-up costs, design work etc – you get the drift. There will always be a lot you learn from just doing but planning is key to having a successful start to any business. You cannot jump in blind and expect to make a million pounds in your first year. Similarly, with the charity a lot of planning has been going on even prior to us setting up officially and has been so key in understanding exactly what we are about to dive into. It’s the reason I can say it’s a massive and also extremely scary project we are taking on!

2. Networking

Ever heard that saying “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” or even “your network is your net worth”? Yeah! That all starts in university (or way before for some people). There are so many people that I met in my time at university that I now work with, am close friends with and one that is Godfather to my daughter. Learning to network is so key and using university as your learning ground is something I would highly recommend. Build that networking muscle from early and regularly work on it because that will serve you so well when you leave university. I always saw myself as someone who was shy when I was at university. Talking to people wasn’t always something I found easy (still don’t), but I did and do push myself. Honestly speaking, if I were to redo my time in university this is definitely something I would do more of, so I 1000% encourage you to get out there (virtually for most at the moment of course) and get to ‘met’ a whole lot of different people however that may be.

3. Authenticity

There is no one that will ever be better at being you than you are! It is so important to remember to be yourself and do what feels right to you even in business. I have really learnt the importance of this during the time I have been running Rudorwaishe. People will do things differently and may seem to be more successful than you, but you have to ‘stay in your lane’ and remember what makes you, you. That will shine through in your business and in life. You will thrive a lot more because things will come naturally. Of course you can gain inspiration from a variety of sources but that does not mean you should copy and paste.

I always describe myself as someone who is HOT… Honest, Open, Transparent… and I constantly try to remind myself of this in all that I do. University can be very confusing and can be a place where you are still trying to find your feet and so it’s difficult to always be open and transparent (or at least I found it was). All I would say is, as long as you are being honest with yourself and those around you then that’s a good start. My advice? Learn about yourself and all the amazing (and not so amazing) things that make up who you are. This will serve you well in life after university, whether you decide to start your own business or not.

4. A Growth Mindset

A growth mindset, simply put, is the belief that you can develop and improve your basic abilities through hard work, discipline, and dedication. Without it you do not put in the work you need to in order to progress and you remain stuck. Having a growth mindset means you are more likely to take risks and you welcome challenges as they are an opportunity to learn and develop. As a result, you are always trying new things, building new skills and experiencing a lot more due to not having that ‘fear of making mistakes’ that occurs when you have a fixed mindset.

I have not always had a growth mindset although it always ‘called out to me’ so to speak. Getting to where I am today in relation to my mindset has required (and still does require) me putting in a lot of work to change my thinking and be more ‘can do’ rather than ‘it’s not possible’. I used to be the one who would find every excuse not to do something all because of fear and it stopped me from going for the things I wanted. I decided to spend time developing myself because I wanted more. This all started for me in university when I met some amazing people who really showed me what a growth mindset was – without knowing they were doing so may I add – and how it can be a great benefit.

Your mindset is the difference between success and failure in anything. If you want to do better, then you must be better, and it all starts with your mind. Be Positive.

5. Mental Health Awareness

This is something that not a lot of people know about, but when I was in university I really struggled with my mental health. A lot of past trauma came back up while I was in university and I went through some really difficult moments for one reason or another. I went through so many emotions and drank a little bit too much (here’s me being honest, maybe a little too much) and so I turned to the services that Uni offered and saw a counsellor. I will tell you now, that was the most painful and annoying first experience of therapy but, it was there that I realised I suffered from depression and anxiety and there was a lot of mental health work I needed to do to get myself better.

Now being of African heritage, talking about mental health is not something that is common and used to be something of a taboo subject (still is in some communities), so there was a lot of learning I had to do around mental health.

I started my business during a pandemic, my husband was shot four months after I officially launched in a freak incident (he’s doing okay now thankfully), I had a mental breakdown, got myself back together and somehow still managed to keep the business going. Those seeds that were planted during my time at university with that counsellor, the relationships I cultivated through networking, the planning ahead that I did for my business which I learnt about in university, the mindset I have been working on since university, all of it served me so well in one of my most challenging moments in life and in business to date.

There is a lot that goes into starting up and running your own business. There is the theory that you get taught in your course which is what helps you get started and there is also the lived experience you get from your time at university that helps strengthen who you are as a person. All of it is part of your success story. So I guess what I am trying to say in a long winded way is, make the absolute most of your university experience however it may look at this moment and take every opportunity given to you! Utilise the university resources (heck, max them out if you have to) and get to know the people that can help you be great.

Putting that work in while you are at university will only serve you well in the future and it may not even be in the ways that you think.

One last thing from me.. I know the business name can be a bit of a tongue twister but it’s important to me that people learn it, it is my daughter’s Zimbabwean name after all. So check out the image and let that R in the middle just rrrroll off your tongue ?!

Want to connect with me? Click any of the links below and say hey!

Instagram, Website, LinkedIn

Professor Vish Maheshwari, Associate Dean, Staffordshire Business School

Having a helping hand available as a friend, a peer or a fellow student who could provide guidance and advice or even act as a sounding board is critically important part of a student journey. This peer member may be a fellow student from within one’s own course or an interdisciplinary programme but perhaps studying at different level, mostly a year or two above. Although, operating within a formal mentoring scheme, such peers act in a very informal and casual manner and could be the first point of contact for students, outside of formal classroom and academic support, as they are able to share their own lived experiences. They are able to guide fellow peers on ‘what had worked and not for them’ in a practical manner that can be very helpful. It is credibly established logic where lived experiences are found to be most effective positive guide than some of the conceptual or prescribed advice.

Peer mentoring is not new but is still a novel approach in an education setting and has become an increasingly used practice amongst university students across many higher education institutions. The practice has led to some very positive impact on student experience generally, and more specifically in providing ‘scaffolding’ approach for many students in building their confidence, communication skills and becoming resilient. Peer mentoring also helps with students gaining self-belief and motivation to continue with studies and thrive as one progresses successfully through different stages of a university course.

Staffordshire Business School students are currently involved in a peer mentoring scheme, with student mentors trained and supported by academics, university’s guidance and careers teams. The peer mentoring is aimed at engaging students at all levels, helping with building self-confidence, communication and social skills, networks and more importantly meeting new people by making most of their university time. There is also an added benefit of exploring potential academic and career development opportunities a result. Positive impact of peers is noticeable, especially given the unprecedented circumstances and challenges, within higher education, due to the pandemic. The student engagement with host of activities, in addition to the academic sessions, has been remarkable.

For example, during Staffordshire Business School’s recently organised Creativity and Innovation week, involvement and participation from our students across all courses was remarkable. Alongside academics, peer mentors and student representatives played an important role in encouraging students across the school to participate with various activities planned during this week. As a result, throughout the week, students engaged actively with variety of skills development workshops, Microsoft, Google and LinkedIn learning led digital insights seminars and business engagement sessions. It was a pleasure to note that the lead taken by peers has rubbed off on positively amongst diverse fellow student groups. Additionally, a group of our final year students recently organised and successfully hosted a mid-year virtual ‘Celebrating Success Awards’ ceremony, in order to celebrate success where it has been most deserved amongst students. The awards were voted for and by students, with nominations put forward by fellow students and judged by Department/School student representatives, it was a very successful event that had excellent student body participation throughout.

Overall, peer mentors and mentees have demonstrated a real desire to step up and build a thriving community of students that is confident, resilient with a strong determination to become successful graduates.

By Jon Fairburn

It’s really great to see a developer with a good reputation working for the first time in the city. Let’s hope this also encourages more developers to look at other sites in the city.

The plans will see the redevelopment of the Swift House site, which is owned by the council, transformed into The Goods Yard, with

• 180 new homes,
• a 150 bed hotel,
• 25,000 sq ft of workspaces
• 10,000 sq ft of retail and leisure space

Personally, I’m very happy that we will have have quality accommodation right next to the University for all the visitors, students and guests that work with us. People will be able to walk straight out of the train station drop their bags at the hotel and then join us on campus. This ties in well with a new project by Paul Barratt and Prof Ruth Swetnam on the 15 minute campus to encourage less carbon intensive travel.

The addition of new workspaces hopefully targeting start-ups, creatives and digital businesses may also be one way to help keep graduates in the area and ties in well with the development of the Enterprise Zone on College Road.

Capital & Centric, who featured heavily in the BBC Two series Manctopia, are one of the UK’s most creative and active developers. They have worked on several award-winning projects in the North West, particularly Manchester and Liverpool, but this is the first time they have come down as far ‘south’ as Stoke-on-Trent, so it’s a real coup for the city.

The plan will see the present building demolished but its secret vaulted basement, which historically served as a goods yard and interchange between the railway and the canal, will be reimagined and opened up to the public as a workspace and leisure venue – possibly a waterside restaurant/bar.

There will be a new outdoor public space that links The Goods Yard to the train station, canal and wider area, and there’s even an ambition to create a water-taxi to Stoke City’s bet365 Stadium just one mile away. Located next to Stoke-on-Trent train station, and on the doorstep of Staffordshire University, the Trent and Mersey Canal and the A500, the site is in an ideal location for commuters, students, visitors and businesses.

The current ugly exterior will not be missed

So a promising start to 2021 and I can’t wait to see the project develop.

UPDATE – A 1 hour presentation by Abi Brown and the developer is here

Jon Fairburn, Professor of Sustainable Development

You can follow me here on twitter @ProfJonFairburn

On 28^th January, myself (Ben Cooke), Lia Bover Armstrong and Cerys Chilton hosted the Celebrating Student Success awards for the Staffordshire University Business School. The event was a fun-packed, exciting evening which praised students for their outstanding efforts over the last year. The three of us thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to host the event and have decided to compile a short Q&A in order to offer “a glimpse behind the curtain”.

How did you work together as a team?

CC: This was our first time working together as a team and I felt we worked well. It was an amazing opportunity to develop skills and knowledge, by working with people I don’t normally work with. It also benefitted me learning where I fit in with different types of people’s work styles. In the beginning we managed to delegate roles amongst ourselves to help plan the event. Considering the short period of time to conduct the event, we successfully used each other’s previous experiences in the event industry to decide roles in planning the event. Working with people you don’t necessarily know is going to be a part of any industry, in particular events, being thrown into a challenging task has built my confidence in communication. Throughout the planning of the event, the role of Team Leader transferred to different individuals throughout the stages of the event, depending on factors that we had to consider and manage. For example, Ben managed a lot of the technological side of the event and Lia managed the communications via email. This opportunity gave us a real-life experience of the industry we all hope to go into, and I feel our joint appreciation for this motivated us all to succeed in the project.

What challenges did you face during the planning process?

LBA: Thankfully, there weren’t many challenges we had to face, but I think Ben and Cerys can agree with me that having to meet virtually and having a short amount of time to plan everything was a bit stressful, as getting information across is slower that if you were meeting face to face. However, it was a good way to learn how to work in a team with people you don’t usually work with; to see what it would be like to work in the events industry during these current times where you must work from home even if you are part of a team; and that there is always a solution for everything, even if that means getting out of your comfort zone.

What challenges did you face throughout the event and how did you deal with them?

BC: Being on the technical role, using a new software was challenging. It took a bit of playing around to get used to it, but with a bit of practice it became easy. I would say the challenge using StreamYard throughout the event would be changing from screen to screen to share content for the viewers. This task takes a lot of patience as the software might play up at certain times due to the pace you are trying to change the visuals at. In order for the viewer not to realise the delay, we used the private chat not visible to the attendees in order to inform Lia and Cerys that there was a technical issue and to keep the content rolling in order to fill any gaps. This was a useful tool as it appeared to the viewer as a seamless transition.

What went well?

CC: As previously mentioned, we worked well as team and we delegated roles efficiently according to our skills. On the night we worked well as a team, as well through the private chat box to ensure that everyone was okay. Where needed gaps were filled and any crisis were quickly solved, for example if there was a delay, me and Lia as hosts would continue to chat and talk to prevent awkward silences. The creative ideas we came up with for the awards ceremony such as the use of Mentimeter and a short acoustic performance from Mick Williams were a success, engaging with the audience. The use of StreamYard was also successful as we could see the engagement of the stream as we were hosting and could refer to the comments throughout the live stream.

How would you improve and what have you learnt from this?  

BC: If we were to host a similar event again, I would use a computer with two screens to change visuals over at a quicker pace. Due to being under lockdown restrictions, I only had the one screen available which caused a slight delay in proceedings to get the content on the stream. Despite this point I would possibly look down other routes of streaming software. StreamYard can be slightly limited in the content you can share on the screen, so further research into similar software would be a great idea.

What advice would you give to people hosting an online event?

LBA: Make the most of it and make sure you give yourselves enough time to plan it all. Enjoy every second of the whole process and just be positive and optimistic about it all. Get yourself out of your comfort zone, even if it feels scary at first, and don’t let it get to you if something doesn’t work straight away because it’s normal and even the biggest events out there have technical issues and learn from those experiences.