Distinctive Strathclyde
Supporting mental health & wellbeing through early intervention
As a socially progressive institution fully committed to tackling inequalities, we pride ourselves in the provision of an outstanding student experience for students from a diverse range of backgrounds, including those who are neurodiverse or have mental health issues. Students who are neurodiverse or have mental health issues are more at risk of drop-out than their peers. Our Early Intervention team helps to ensure that the right support is targeted early to support these students.
The Disability & Wellbeing Service operates an Early Intervention team within the University’s counselling provision. The purpose of this team is to connect with students at the earliest point possible, in order that we can offer support to them in their time of need. This approach of meeting students early through the Early Intervention team ensures that support can be prioritised for those at greatest risk.
The Early Intervention Counsellors meet with students within 24 hours of the student referring to the service. Following a risk assessment, they will then refer the student on to the most appropriate support.
The Early Intervention Team also provide emergency slots which assess students who are at greatest risk of self-harm and offer intervention to those students. The Team have been instrumental in developing a Student at Risk Standard Operating Procedure and this includes onwards referral to appropriate NHS services.
Student-led approaches to digital innovation
We recognise that our students have a clearer understanding of their day-to-day information needs than anyone, so we have consciously put students at the centre of an iterative approach to developing our award-winning student app (StrathApp). Our development model utilises student placements to enable direct collaboration and co-creation with our student users. This approach is innovative and inspiring for staff and students alike, ensuring delivery of a service that is genuinely ‘For Students, By Students’.
In our accredited course module in Business Analysis, students use the current version of the App as a basis for group work, assignments, and final year MSc projects. We also provide students with mentoring and MSc project support, giving valuable real-life experience and insights to the students while enabling our staff to learn from fresh perspectives. This team also works with Management Science apprentices from the Strathclyde Business School, providing short 3–4-week accredited student placements each year. Management Science students have helped shape the team’s approach to student surveys, data analytics and data gathering. The information gathered from each student cohort is fed into the next App development cycle.
Each year, students on placements carry out further research, produce prototypes and test their useability with fellow students. These further refine the development of the next iteration of the App, and provide the students with real-world experience that enhances their CVs. The students on placements also lead Fresher’s week engagements, agile planning groups and student feedback sessions, with the team effectively performing ‘user acceptance’ testing with over a thousand students each year at Fresher’s Fayre. In 2023/24, the Project also funded a graduate placement to co-ordinate student involvement, social media, digital communication and new feature development.
By involving students at all stages of the project we have developed an exemplar product, which is used by over 21,000 unique users per academic session. This is the result of the iterative and continuing development of the StrathApp in line with the needs of our students. With over 83,000 downloads since the release of V3.0 in August 2019, StrathApp had over 38,000 unique users worldwide in 2022/23 and more than 3 million sessions.
Our students gain real world experience of app development, enhancing their understanding of working in a production environment and adding to their CVs, and our customers – the wider student body – receive a product that is built around their needs and preferences.
Strathclyde Inspire
Strathclyde Inspire supports and encourages entrepreneurship in all its forms. Whether it’s students, alumni or staff that want to explore their entrepreneurial potential, have an idea for a business, or are considering commercialising their research, Strathclyde Inspire supports them at every stage of the journey.
We do this through a structured programme of funding, individual support, events and training, drawing upon our alumni, partners and stakeholders, and building networks of support.
Our distinctiveness is delivered by tapping into the skills and expertise of our Inspire Supporters community to benefit our staff, students and alumni. We focus on key business areas to provide the skills and tools needed to put our Inspire entrepreneurs in the best position to launch a successful, scalable business.
Our highly experienced supporters share their time, expertise, knowledge, and contacts across many areas, understanding that Strathclyde Inspire will positively impact the development and growth of SMEs across Scotland and help promote entrepreneurship across the University for both staff and students. They provide thought leadership, deliver workshops and events, speak at lectures, and contribute expertise on panels. They also act as mentors, non-executive directors or commercial champions, and often provide philanthropic support.
We have been investing in our early-stage growth companies since 2012 and our two investment funds help our entrepreneurs bridge the early-stage funding gap. The support we provide to our companies is making a tangible difference to the growth potential of our companies. In 2023 alone, our university start-ups, spinouts and scale-ups have raised over £100m in investment for growth.
Learning & Teaching Building
The Learning and Teaching Building continues to bring together facilities in the heart of the campus to deliver flexible learning and teaching spaces, and co-locate the University’s student support services and those of Strath Union. This co-location enhances both organisations’ complementary support provision.
The building itself is innovative in both its design and its construction, winning the ‘Innovation in Delivering a Sustainable Learning Space’ category at the Learning Places Scotland 2022 Awards.
Through this collaborative work with Strath Union we have augmented use of the building to create identity and belonging amongst our students. This is demonstrated in the introduction of a front-line student helpdesk and triaging team in a prime site in the hub of student activity. The building also enables our partnership model with the student community for the embedding of employability across the learner journey; with our Careers Service and Strath Union working to support and promote student-led activities focused on careers and employability. Strath Union has set up the Job Shop to support students seeking work. Ambassadors for the University’s Careers Service also offer guidance on volunteering and recruitment agencies, alongside drop in and online appointments to signpost students to University services.
We also incorporated a new Doctoral School space in the building and this is available to all Strathclyde PGRs and any staff or students who are looking for space to host PGR-focused events and activities.
The building is operating successfully for our students and staff, delivering group working and social spaces, and delivering its objective to be a hub for the Strathclyde Community. We will continue our collaborative approach and explore how students can shape how the building is used and works for them.