It’s that time of year again…Christmas! Everyone’s Christmas plans and ideal Christmas celebrations look different every year but I’m sure this year they will look different again. However you are spending your Christmas this year, at home with family or friends, with Christmas dinner or a takeaway, in your Christmas pjs or dressed up like you’re going “out out”, we wanted to pass on our Christmas wishes.
Going home for Christmas during these uncertain times can be a daunting experience. There may be worries about seeing family members you haven’t seen in a long time, the effects that Covid-19 may have on usual Christmas traditions, or the risk of spreading the virus to family members and loved ones. This blog outlines some tips and tricks for dealing with these worries and how to make the most of going home for the Christmas period.
Make sure you organise travel as soon as possible. Christmas is a busy period for everyone, so if you must travel on public transport, try and choose a day and time in which these won’t be as cramped. Avoiding rush hours and weekends may be the best way forward!
Try to social distance as much as possible on the run up to leaving. This is mainly to minimise the chances of spreading the virus and keeping you and your loved ones safe! And if possible, take a Covid test a few days before just so you can be sure it is safe to travel.
Do as much Christmas shopping online as you can. Again, this ties in with tips 1 and 2. Shops will be extremely busy at this time of year, making it difficult to maintain social distancing too. This makes Christmas shopping stressful even when we’re not in a pandemic. Online shops usually have more choice too, whilst also potentially supporting some smaller businesses who may be in need of the custom at these uncertain times. If you can get these delivered to the place where you will be spending the Christmas period, this can also save having bags of things to take on public transport with you! #LifeHacks.
Make sure your university accommodation is ready for when you return so you don’t have to worry about coming back to it! As much as everyone hates cleaning, coming home to a tidy and clean house will make those post-Christmas blues that little bit easier. Even if it seems sad, put the decorations away and clean up all the glitter and fake snow so it doesn’t need to be done in January when you get home.
Get as much work as possible done before you leave. This will make relaxing and spending time wit family a lot more enjoyable. You will have chance to chill out and watch some Christmas films with loved ones without stressing about that assignment that is due the first week back at uni. Take some time to yourself and do things that you enjoy! Have a well-deserved break.
Finally, don’t forget to have fun! 2020 has been a strange year for all, so try to enjoy Christmas as much as you possibly can. Tweak traditions so they are still possible instead of writing them off completely, make new traditions for future years, and make some good memories for the end of 2020.
Here at the Career Studio, we would like to wish all our students the happiest of holidays and best wishes for the new year! We can’t wait to see you all in 2021.
To speak to one of our Career Coaches get in touch:
Facebook: Staffordshire University Career & Personal Development
LinkedIn: @CareersAtStaffs
Career Chat: https://www.staffs.ac.uk/students/careers/careers-studio/chat-to-our-careers-coaches
A Day In The Life Of A SAMPID Placement Student
By Amber,
Written by The SAMPID Team
SAMPID (Staffordshire Advanced Manufacturing, Prototyping and Innovation Demonstrator) is a new project to the University that supports businesses from Staffordshire. You could be involved with helping local companies on a paid placement based in the Mellor Building to develop a new product, service or process. You could take part in this project using brand-new cutting-edge manufacturing equipment and have the opportunity develop your skills, whilst continuing your training and increasing your employability.
The SAMPID team have written a description of what a day in the life of a student undertaking a SAMPID placement may look like:
8am and my alarm goes off. My first lecture isn’t until this afternoon, but I’m going to spend some time this morning working on my SAMPID job placement. I work 15 hours a week in my role as a Prototyping and Innovation Consultant, and it’s great because I can choose the hours I work to suit me. It’s based at the University too in the Mellor building, which is so handy for me because it means there’s no travel time between work and lectures, and also no commute in the morning as I live on campus! Maybe I can get away with one more snooze…
9am and I’ve made the short walk from my accommodation to the Mellor Building. I’ve booked some time to work with the University’s new robotic arms, which are so cool! My favourite is the collaborative robot, or cobot, as it has the capability to mimic exactly what I’m doing with my own arm. The company I’m working for on the placement are looking for help with stress-testing their prototypes, so the robots are perfect for this. I’ll be here all morning and then think I might pop to Squeeze Box for some lunch before my lecture.
3pm and my lecture has just finished. Since starting my SAMPID placement I’ve been feeling a lot more confident on my course, as one of my lecturers is also the academic assigned to support me and the company. It’s great getting that extra one on one time with them, and I’ve also been able to relate the things I’ve learnt on my placement back to my course – for me I find that stuff sinks in so much better when I can see how it is actually applied in the real world! My lecturers are really pleased with how my work is coming along and my personal tutor’s asked if I’ve ever considered going on to do a PhD after I finish my Master’s course. I hadn’t until recently as I didn’t know if I’d be good enough, but lately I’ve started to think that maybe it is something I could do!
Some days I’ll head back home after lectures and do a bit more work in my room but today I think I’ll go and type up my SAMPID update report in the Library to send off to the company, as I also need to pick up a book for my course and do some printing too. It’s so convenient being able to get everything done in one go!
I don’t want my 12-week placement to end as I’ve built up a really good relationship with the company I’ve been working with and they say that they’ve been really impressed with me. They’ve also told me to keep in touch as there may be job opportunities with them in the future that they’d consider me for, which would be great.
An email pops up while I’m at the Library from Unitemps, and I notice that there are now two other SAMPID placements being advertised which are due to start soon. I’ve had such a good experience with this one that I think I’m going to apply for another – fingers crossed I’ll be able to make a start on one of the new projects just as my current one is wrapping up!
5pm and I’m just finishing off at the Library as I’m meeting some friends for a drink soon. A couple of them can’t come because they work in bars and restaurants and will just be starting their shifts which is a shame, I’m glad that’s not me! They’re all dead jealous that I’m earning £9.34 an hour too, as most of them get way less than that – guess the first round had better be on me!
Going home for Christmas during these uncertain times can be a daunting experience. There may be worries about seeing family members you haven’t seen in a long time, the effects that Covid-19 may have on usual Christmas traditions, or the risk of spreading the virus to family members and loved ones. This blog outlines some tips and tricks for dealing with these worries and how to make the most of going home for the Christmas period.
SAMPID (Staffordshire Advanced Manufacturing, Prototyping and Innovation Demonstrator) is a new project to the University that supports businesses from Staffordshire. You could be involved with helping local companies on a paid placement based in the Mellor Building to develop a new product, service or process. You could take part in this project using brand-new cutting-edge manufacturing equipment and have the opportunity develop your skills, whilst continuing your training and increasing your employability.