Winners – Unsung Heroes

Academic Support Team

This award is an opportunity to shine a light on a person or team whose contribution is invaluable but perhaps goes unnoticed. It honours their dedication to providing help and support to colleagues and working diligently ‘behind the scenes’

The work of the Academic Services Team ensures that exams run smoothly, and students receive the right awards! They co-ordinate a huge amount of information back and forth between academic schools, colleagues and alumni – their ‘customer base’ numbers in excess of 400,000 people! The technical challenges just keep getting more complicated, and the team are frequently called on to provide support at a moment’s notice.

The team were an early – and successful – adopter of hybrid working practices to combine remote and on-campus support throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, and had to deal with an unexpected flood in the Student Services Centre at the same time! Throughout all this, the team has always maintained its focus on the best possible student experience; embodying the core aim of our directorate

Jill Antonie and Dylan Blazeby-Couzens replied on behalf of the team:

How do you feel about winning a DOCA?

We were honoured to win a DOCA and receive a special commendation in the Unsung Hero category, it really means a lot to us. We want to say a massive thank you to Rita Feeley for nominating us.

What did you enjoy about the ceremony?

We didn’t really have any expectations on the day, it was just great seeing colleagues on-campus again. We kept our minds open about the nomination – and we were not disappointed!

What is enjoyable or meaningful for you about being part of the Directorate for the Student Experience?

Being able to participate in University-wide events, at the same time as offering important support to students from start to end of their studies and providing services to our alumni.