External Relations staff blog

This blog has been provided by Anna Ford, Media Relations Manager

It’s not often, as a media relations manager, that you have to have a retinal eye scan as part of your job. But when I went to CERN to see what Sussex physicists do there, it was an essential pre-condition of being able to go underground to see the experiments.

My press office and PR work has taken me to some pretty interesting places in the past: No. 10 Downing Street, Wormwood Scrubs (as a visitor, honest!), the press gallery at the Old Bailey… but nothing has ever been as downright cool as going 100m underground, hard hat at-the-ready, to see the Large Hadron Collider. 

When a collision occurs it creates temperatures hotter than the sun. 

It’s a 27km ring running underground beneath Geneva through which beams of protons are sped and deliberately collided. The beams move at almost the speed of light. It is simultaneously the coldest and hottest place in the universe: a bath of helium gas keeps the innermost tube at -273 Celsius which ensures the proton beams stay in line. And then when a collision occurs it creates temperatures hotter than the sun. 

Our physicists – along with those from 37 other countries and 173 other institutions – analyse the data resulting from these collisions in the ATLAS experiment. They’re looking for ‘new science’ which might include a brand new particle or even proof that Dark Matter exists. It’s thanks to this data analysis that the Higgs Boson particle was detected in 2012 by a collaboration of physicists from Sussex and elsewhere. 

Opportunity of a lifetime

I was invited to CERN as the media relations manager for the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, along with 15 press officers from the other UK universities working with CERN.   Among our group were press officers from Oxford, University College London, Imperial College, Swansea, Glasgow and others. Frankly, we all agreed we had pretty much the best media relations jobs going.

We were incredibly lucky to not only be allowed into the tunnel containing the Large Hadron Collider itself, but also to visit experiments including ATLAS and ProtoDUNE (both Sussex collaborations).  Accessing the experiments was an experience in itself, however. At various points we entered through cage-like security pods; had more retina scans; and were instructed to discard all food and drink because of a radiation risk. Only then could we descend 100m down a lift shaft to the experiments.  It’s understandable that security is so high, of course.  The experiments use chemicals and many also emit radiation. Every member of staff carries a dosimeter which records the level of radiation to which they’re exposed. 

Representing Sussex

Aside from the incredibly cool science, one of the real joys of the visit for me was to meet with Sussex experts Professor Iacopo Vivarelli and Dr Nicola Abraham.

Iacopo has been working on the ATLAS experiment since 2005. He told me how exciting it was when the Higgs Boson was discovered. Two rival experiments (ATLAS and CMS) had simultaneously made the same discovery but hadn’t been allowed to tell each other. Both teams had discreetly tipped off the bosses at CERN.  They were all invited to a meeting and when each team saw the other arriving, they understood immediately that they must both have discovered the Higgs Boson. Having two separate experiments – using different methods – making the same discovery provided CERN with the certainty it needed to formally announce the news. 

Iacopo told me that the CERN campus was abuzz with excitement during that period. But the work on Higgs is not over: these days the physicists are still combing data to learn more about its properties, such as its charge, mass and rate of decay. 

Nicola completed her PhD with Sussex at CERN and has stayed on after as a post doctorate student. She told me how amazing it has been to work within a team trying to solve some of the greatest problems of the universe. Her next move is to take the data analysis skills she’s learned at CERN and apply them to the problem of climate change.   She will shortly be joining an oceanography project in Germany where she will analyse and predict the impact of rising temperatures on sea levels.  

I’m not sure there can be a greater testament to the value of Sussex’s work at CERN than this: the skills Nicola has acquired will now go towards tackling the grandest challenge of our time – our looming climate crisis. 

“Do you want to play backgammon at lunch?”

Yes, it’s a question we’ve all faced at some point in our lives.

When former digital analyst Gavin Rix asked our department two years ago, we said yes.

My only memory of the game was it sitting on a shelf in my grandparents’ living room. I assumed that, like most games, it was a long, boring affair you played to avoid dwelling on life.

From our first game in Dick’s Bar at the Amex, we were hooked.

There’s a reason it’s one of the oldest board games in the world, dating back about 5,000 years.

Played between two people, the aim is to move your counters in opposite directions around a board by rolling a dice. The first person to clear all their counters off the end of the board wins.

If you have four minutes to spare, this video explains it.

Very soon, we set up a backgammon league. Concurrently, we also set up the Ultimate Backgammon Championship – a belt you can challenge for if you’re high up the league. It’s a bit like the football league and the FA Cup; you could win the FA Cup but then perform terribly in the league. Except it’s also like boxing, because a league performer could challenge you for the belt at any time. Then you have to defend the belt, with all your cussing and guile.

Here’s Ed Jenkins after winning the belt from me. I can’t remember if he deserved to win but he probably didn’t.

Tournament time

Now, due to demand, we are opening out the backgammon tournament to the wider External Relations division. Time will tell if this was a good idea.

Email me (a.imms@sussex.ac.uk) if you are interested and we will aim to get a tournament going in early December and conclude it before Christmas.

The winner can keep the belt on their desk – but they’re obliged to enter the next tournament. You can’t just sit on it for months, Amie.

Spectators are welcome. If interest is what we think it will be, the Amex can hold up to 30,000 people…

What makes us happy?

The route to one person’s happiness could be entirely different from the next’s, but as the great Aristotle said more than 2,000 years ago:

“Happiness depends on ourselves”.

Of course, there are factors out of control that affect our happiness but we are to take a proactive approach towards our own happiness.

On the whole happier people focus on what they have got rather than what they haven’t.

So, a reminder of what we have here at Sussex:

• A leafy campus bordering the South Downs with views out to sea
• A focus on bright young minds, pioneering research and how we contribute and engage with communities on a local, national and international level.
• Colleagues with a diverse range of backgrounds.
• A set of values which are being incorporated into everything we do.
• Gym facilities and sports fields at subsidised rates within minutes of our desks
• A Meeting House – a purpose-built designed for mediation and reflection
• A division which values happiness and is encouraging us to take advantage of what we are lucky enough to have here at Sussex.

And if that’s not enough, here’s a little video reminder!

If you’ve worked here a while you may take some of this for granted but as a relative newbie to Sussex, I’m really happy to have swapped a long and unpredictable commute to London for campus life far closer to home.

I’ve joined the gym, I’ve already met some lovely people and on the way to meetings I pass wildflowers and the odd squirrel.

The Harnessing Happiness campaign being championed by External Relations is based on the NHS’s ‘five steps to mental wellbeing’ but it has taken feedback from colleagues about how they’d like it tailored to life on campus.

A reminder of what’s on offer:

Boundary Walk: An opportunity to see the campus from different perspectives as well as views of sea and across the South Downs. The walk takes you through woods and behind the East Slope development. It’s a chance to see some of the interesting work going on at the university. The walks can be themed; wildlife; mindfulness; or just a chance to socialise with colleagues. 
If you’re interested in organising a monthly walk let us know and say what theme you’d like to focus on.

Running club: A weekly club for people wanting to take advantage of running around our beautiful campus. No expertise necessary, running is for all abilities: those wanting to take up running; get back into it; or to maintain their fitness levels.  
Do you want to help bring together other running enthusiasts or fancy taking part in a lunchtime or after-work run?

How-to lunches: Do you have a skill that you want to share? Do you want to take up a new hobby? Maybe you are interested in arts and crafts and want to pick up tips from others on how to develop your interest. 
Let us know your particular skill or hobby you’d like to discuss and develop with others.
Choir: A weekly chance to exercise those vocal chords. Singing is known to release endorphins, the feel-good brain chemical and great for the soul.
Get in touch if you’d like to help form a choir and allow others to sing and feel uplifted and happy.

Backgammon league:  Backgammon is one of the oldest board games and The Digital team already have a thriving league so maybe you’d like to have a throw of the dice?
If you want to bring this opportunity to more people in our division and/or join a league we’d love to hear from you. 
Film Club: A monthly get together for those of you who love to discuss the latest releases – as well as those hidden gems on Netflix.  A monthly film recommendation can be shared amongst the group and then hotly debated over tea and cake.  
Who’s up for helping to organise and attend?

Meeting House: A chance to take some time away from your desk and reflect in the beautiful Meeting House. It’s a great asset to have on campus. 
You can visit the website for times and availability.
Mindfulness Group: Have you got tips on how to practise mindfulness? Mindfulness is an awareness of ourselves and the world around us and can be beneficial for mental well-being. It could be a book you’ve read, music you’ve listened to, an app you’ve used or a meditation technique that has helped you. 
Get in touch if you’re interested in being part of a Slack or Microsoft Teams group where you can share this information.

Giving back: There are plenty of ways to give something back. This helps your wellbeing and also encourages you to build new networks. This might be a local community initiative you’re passionate, a cause close to your heart or taking up the opportunity to help at University events like the Brighton Marathon 2020. 
Why not share your ideas on the ER Blog or contact Ben Loxton in DARO about how you can get involved with the marathon.
 
Hopefully one of the above suggestions appeals to you. The NHS recommend if you try them out, you may feel happier, more positive and able to get the most from life.

Think about what makes you happy and find time at some point during the day to spend on it. Take a proactive approach towards your own happiness and get involved. 

Email me at c.littlejones@sussex.ac.uk and we can start to turn a plan into action :-).

Marketing Officer Amy has been working as a member of the social media rota since its inception. Here, she shares some of her highlights, lessons learned and nine ways social media skills could benefit your work.

One of my favourite ever posts on LinkedIn was an old photo, found in the Sussex scrapbook on Flickr, of a room that I could not identify. Instead of not posting it because I couldn’t credit where it was taken, I asked our active alumni audience to locate it, and a long and friendly debate ensued. What’s great about LinkedIn is that the content that is suitable for our extremely engaged alumni audiences is often really relevant for our other audiences on all the other channels too.

However, since Facebook changed its algorithm and other social channels such as Instagram have more success with content sharing, it’s become more challenging to break the ‘100 likes’ mark on our Sussex page (West Pier at sunset images excepted). So I was surprised to have success with what I thought was an everyday post with a fairly average photo of the Lanes explaining how the Sussex dialect word for a lane is a ‘twitten’. Sometimes it’s just the simple, taken-for-granted ideas that resonate with our audiences.

Finally, a recent project I’ve enjoyed is incorporating more of my role in Marketing with social. We had a variety of issue-led videos that related to three of our SPRU courses, such as this one for Energy Policy. I created a list of social accounts to ‘seed out’ to – effectively just asking them to share/retweet – who might find our content useful and engaging. It was a great way to mirror the targeting of a paid campaign using organic and relevant accounts, who shared our content to their followers who were within our target audience. I was really pleased with the outcome of the campaign, as some hugely influential accounts to shared our content – resulting in high reach and engagement – and an increase in applications positively correlated to the activity. 

If you think you could contribute to our social channels with interesting or funny posts (puns always welcome!) then come and jump on the rota! Here’s 9 reasons why incorporating social media duties into your role could benefit you:

• make the content you create in your role reach more audiences and achieve results
• release our research and news stories in to the ‘wild’ to ensure it has impact
• drive traffic to your webpage and get a buzz from engagement figures going up and up
• spread your knowledge of what’s happening on campus or in our wider community with our followers
• contribute to the identity building of our university and implement your ideas on building our brand
• engage with our communities, from those on our doorstep to all over the world
• get to know and learn from other colleagues outside your team
• gain valuable digital skills to add to your repertoire which are continually in demand in every sector
• harness your personal knowledge of using your own social media to tell stories and share content, and help to innovate our social
• share what speaks to your personality and passions on influential social media accounts, which ultimately enhances the diversity of content we share.

We’re on the hunt for some more volunteers for our social media rota – an essential part of how we tell great stories about Sussex. We’ll be arranging more training sessions for new staff soon, around the end of October/start of November. 

You’ll get to see the epic Social Media 101 presentation, where we’ll fill you in on our platform strategies and some background on why and how the University uses social media. We hold meetings to check in and feed back every other month, and you’ll also:

• receive training and support to understand different social media platforms and their conventions
• learn how to write and edit copy for different audiences
• get to grips with the basic functionality of how to post on social media. 

There’s also scope to learn more about graphic design, branding, customer service, video editing and filming, and opportunities to contribute to creative workshops to come up with new ways to reach and engage our followers.

Below, some of our regular rota staff have shared their experiences of working on social media:

“I’ve learnt a lot from being on the social media rota, particularly about platforms I had little to no experience with before. Working out what content to put out is a fun challenge – it could be anything from a limerick about seagulls, a research story about the nature of consciousness, or planning, filming and editing a video championing the importance of International Mother Language Day. It’s a great way to find out what’s going on in and around the Sussex community, and work out the best ways of communicating with our audience.”

Dan, Marketing Officer

“Aside from being able to showcase my dad jokes and puns, being on the social rota has taught me so much in my first three months in External Relations. I get to learn something new every day, as the content we promote is so varied – one moment I can be writing about a fun event on campus, and the next I am delving into research pieces about quantum physics and whether or not dinosaurs had bedbugs!

It’s a great feeling when our audience engage with our posts and start a dialogue. In particular, the #ThrowbackThursday and #FlashbackFriday pictures are well received by our alumni, and it’s lovely to hear the unique memories and stories they have of their time at Sussex. Monitoring feeds and responding to comments has also been a solid foundation to understanding community management. I’ve really enjoyed this aspect of the role and it’s also­ been good in terms of my personal development.

For anyone thinking of joining the rota, I’d say: go for it! It hones your written communication skills and it’s so varied – from filming or networking to using new tech, there is real scope to expand your skillset and try different things outside of your usual role.”

Jo, Social Media Officer

“Being on the Social Media Rota is a fantastic opportunity to do something a bit different from your usual day-to-day role. It’s a great chance to be creative, learn to use new tools (such as Photoshop and Canva), use analytics, and understand the type of things current and prospective students want to know. Your time on the rota can encompass everything and anything to: trying to edit copy to fit into a small number of characters (the struggle is real), photographing bunnies on campus (must share the important stuff with the world), creating content linked to what’s trending online, and responding to some very odd queries. It’s also a good way to keep on top of what’s going on at the University in terms of news, events and media reporting when seeking out content to publish.”

Sarah, CRM Officer

“Working as part of the Social Media team is great fun. The team are really supportive and you get a lot of freedom to be creative and develop content for our social channels. From sourcing amazing images and taking videos on campus, to covering key events like Clearing and Graduation, it’s a really varied role that helps to develop a range of skills. It’s also vital in raising awareness of Sussex, conveying our personality and sharing our achievements. You get a real sense of achievement in seeing the reaction to your posts and it’s great to see how our social media and Sussex resonates with our audiences.”

Anne, Marketing Officer

Social rota staff work in one-week long shifts, either mornings or afternoons. We’re also able to be flexible – you can often swap shifts with other staff if you’ve hit a busy period in your usual job. If you’re interested in learning some new skills and being part of a friendly, fun team of staff, email E.Proctor@sussex.ac.uk

1. Help make the dream work

Clearing is a key recruitment time, so you get to feel part of something important and where you know that every minute of your day – and every drop of sweat from your brow – is going into a big, collective and measureable endeavour. (Oh, and you’re also helping lots of new students take the first steps on their Sussex journey – now, what could be more satisfying than that?)

2. Get competitive

It isn’t really a race to be the one to hold your ‘OFFER’ card up first, or the most number of times, but some folk just can’t help themselves, especially those on the early shift. (We’re definitely not talking about Jakki Hall here. No, definitely not.)

3. Make new friends

Anyone who’s anyone works on Clearing, so this is your opportunity to spread your social wings far and wide and enjoy the real benefits of ‘single team working’. And who knows? Today’s call centre neighbour could be tomorrow’s bosom buddy.

4. Enjoy the craic

Yes, Clearing is a Very Serious Business…but working on it is also a lot of fun with a real (occasionally manic) buzz in the air and lots of time to have a laugh during your well-earned breaks. Plus there’s the edge-of-your-seat excitement of seeing the scores coming in as the offers go out – think Eurovision, without the voting blocs.

5. Meet your audience

If you’re not in a student-facing job, this is a rare opportunity to have a Real conversation with a Real student in Real time. Now that’s Real-ly worth getting up early for.

6. Get well fed

They say an army marches on its stomach and this is also very true of the Clearing Crew as you’ll get breakfast, lunch & snacks provided. Expect to get a bacon bap (or tasty alternative) shoved into your hand as you arrive for the morning shift, plus free access to the tuck shop/tea break/rest room throughout the day, where you can keep your caffeine levels topped up to dangerous heights and eat twice your body weight in all manner of crunchy, sweet or sticky things.

7. Bask in the warm glow

There’s nothing nicer than knowing you’ve made a real difference to someone’s day, and maybe the rest of their life – especially when they woke up anxious and thought everything was going wrong. Having a calm chat with someone who hasn’t made their grades will help them feel better. Making them an offer will make you both feel great!

8. Know you’re not flying solo

When you first arrive in the call centre, get well acquainted with your HELP card. This is like a laminated Aladdin’s lamp – wave it three times in the air and someone who knows what they’re doing will appear by your side as if by magic.

9. Listen to Maja

There’s nothing better than a heartfelt personal recommendation, so we’ll end with Maja Prausnitz Hendrickson (Donor Relations and Scholarships Coordinator) talking about her experience of working the phones:

“I was absolutely terrified last year but after the first ten minutes, I really loved it… and realised that all my fears (mostly that I was utterly unqualified and would undoubtedly make a mess of it and ruin countless lives) were baseless and unnecessary. It was surprisingly easy and fun – exhausting and fraught, but exhilarating too! With one family in particular, I was able to go the extra mile and make a profound and important impact on both the student in question (who was quite lost in the face of impending family tragedy) and therefore the family too, at a really tough time, which was an amazing feeling that lingers to this day. It’s not often that one can drive home from a long, hard day and know that you’ve made a real, tangible and positive difference to someone’s life, a life that might have been quite different if that one call had been picked up by someone else. In the end, that’s what answering the phones at clearing is all about – every single person you talk to feels like this is the most important call they’ve ever made, and being able to talk them through the process (whether they’re admitted or not) with dignity, respect and real caring can make all the difference to them. That alone made clearing a rare treat for me and I’ll be really sad to miss out this year…”

Fancy getting a slice of the Clearing action for yourself? Let your line manager or section head know asap!

One of the lovely things about working in events is that you get to visit some wonderful places and meet a variety of interesting people. Last Thursday, after over a year of planning and having our dates bumped twice, we finally got to deliver a much-anticipated stewardship event at the House of Lords.

All of our invitees had philanthropically supported Sussex in the past so to express our thanks we invited them to an exclusive reception and behind the scenes tour at the House of Lords. Experiential events are very much in demand these days, with events professionals around the world constantly striving to find experiences and venues for their guests that they wouldn’t normally have access to.

We put a cap on attendance at 150 to ensure that DARO staff would have an opportunity to speak to all of those attending, and were thrilled that the event sold out quickly. It is perhaps unsurprising, given the exclusivity of the event, that on the night almost everybody who had booked a place turned up.

For those readers that might not be aware, there’s airport-style security at the House of Lords, and combined with a rainy day, anti-Brexit protesters outside, and a team of security staff that had clearly had enough by 6pm, it took some time to get all of our guests into the venue. But once inside, any delay was forgotten. The grandeur of the room, the breathtaking views of the Thames, the London Eye and other landmarks, combined with the delicious canapés served by incredibly professional staff all wooed our esteemed guests, and in no time at all the atmosphere was buzzing.

We were thrilled that people had made the effort to come from as far afield as the US, Canada, Germany and Greece, and our Development and Alumni Relations colleagues did a marvellous job stewarding them all.

Guest speakers included our own VC, as well as two incredible Sussex students; Eman Elharmee, a Master’s student in receipt of the Cate Haste Scholarship and Rebecca Atkinson, a PhD scholar, both of whom are supported very generously by individual donors.

Following the drinks reception, our guests were divided into small groups to embark on a tour of the Houses of Lords and Commons.

Cameras weren’t allowed on the tours, sadly, so there are no images to share. As a substitute, here are 10 facts about the Houses of Parliament that we learnt on the night:

1. There are 100 staircases, more than 1,000 rooms and three miles of passages.
2. There are 650 MPs elected to the House of Commons – 502 of them are men and 148 are women.
3. Despite there being 650 MPs, the chamber has only 427 seats, if it gets busy you may have to stand or sit on someone’s lap! MPs can use prayer cards to reserve seats in the chamber. These prayer cards are dated and must be obtained personally by the Member who wishes to use them from an on duty attendant before the House meets.
4. While the House of Commons has a defined 650-seat membership, the number of members in the House of Lords is not fixed. Currently there are around 782 peers (members) of which 207 are women. Most hereditary peers – people who inherited their title – were removed from the House of Lords in 1999 but there are still around 90 hereditary peers making up the membership.
5. Clapping is frowned upon in the House of Commons and doesn’t really happen. The last big around of applause was for Sir Robert Rogers when he retired as the clerk of the House of Commons. Before that Tony Blair received a round of applause as he stood down from Prime Minister and left the Chamber for the final time.
6. When a new law or a bill is proposed, it is tied up in green ribbon and then sent by hand through the central lobby down the corridor from the House of Commons to the House of Lords.
7. In the central lobby the windows have large metal grilles on them. These were originally from the Ladies’ Gallery in the House of Commons, put there so that MPs were not distracted by the sight of their female counterparts as they worked. In 1908, two suffragettes chained themselves to one of the grilles in protest and after much campaigning the grilles was removed from the gallery. They were placed in the central lobby in 1917.
8. The members lobby houses four bronze statues of David Lloyd George, Winston Churchill, Clement Attlee and Margaret Thatcher. Maggie, standing opposite from Churchill had received a small bunch of flowers on her statue on the day of our visit, clearly from a secret admirer! The feet of Winston Churchill and David Lloyd George, which flank the Commons doors, have been eroded by generations of MPs rubbing them for luck.
9. The Houses of Parliament have their own post office, gym and pub as well as gift shop.
10. And finally, it’s illegal to die inside the Palace of Westminster!

If you know of any extra special or quirky venues in London or Sussex that you’d recommend for future events, or if you have any personal connections that may be able to help us deliver ‘money can’t buy’ experiences, please do get in touch. We are always open to new ideas.
You can reach the Events Team at mailto:Events@sussex.ac.uk.

For years, ‘millennials’ has been used as a vague shorthand for young people and, by extension, students. It’s become such a familiar term that most people – the media being a prime culprit – have largely missed the fact that the oldest millennials are pushing 40 (sob).

But the vast majority of the students on our campus are part of Generation Z. How much do we really know about them?

Obviously, most of us will know individual members of this generation – but what do we know about the collective whole?

I went along to WonkHE’s The Secret Life of Students event to find out. This is what I now know.

Who are they?

Generation Z includes everyone born between 1995 and 2010 – that’s as young as nine and as old as 24.

Those in the know call them Little Zs (born 2003-2010) and Big Zs (born 1995-2002).

It will take until 2032 for most of them to graduate, so they are going to be a big part of campus life for a while yet.

On technology

They have never lived in a world without the internet (no wi-fi jokes please).

Nearly half of their spare time is spent online. Two-thirds report multi-tasking across multiple devices. 38 per cent of UK 15 year olds use the internet more than six hours a day. This the most in the OECD. 17 per cent of this time is on gaming, a massive growth compared to millennials.

88 per cent have access to a computer; 78 per cent have a smartphone (this figure is higher if you discount those not yet old enough for a phone). By 2020, there will be 35.6 million tablet users among Gen Z.

They watch two hours of ‘traditional’ scheduled TV a week but 70 per cent watch more than three hours of mobile video.

They are the largest wearers of wearable tech.

They dislike email and speaking on the phone.

There is no evidence that their attention span is shorter.

Excessive technology use is making them less satisfied with life than previous generations.

On money

Because of financial crises and budget cuts, they are more financially conservative than previous generations.

Unlike millennials, they do not feel resentful of previous generations for their financial outlook.

They have grown up with the gig economy and see their ideas, not their labour, as currency.

On society and politics

Because of the immediate nature of news and social media, they feel more exposed to disaster, tragedy and threats to personal safety than previous generations.

They are having more conversations about identity and they care about equity and equality. 77 per cent support same-sex marriage, 80 per cent support trans rights, 90 per cent view men and women as equal. The vast majority (89 per cent) believe gay people should be able to live together, up from 40 per cent in 1975.

They will follow people, organisations and brands who advocate for something they believe in. They want something to light their hearts on fire.

Volunteering and social action is up among this generation.

They are more ethical in their purchasing behaviour.

58 per cent believe that making a contribution to society is important, but they don’t always know how they can get involved.

They are more likely than millennials to protest.

They are voting in higher numbers than previous generations were at the same age.

They are less likely to stick with one political party, looking at policies instead.

On people and relationships

They are massively influenced by people they trust. 69 per cent say their parents are their top role model. 89 per cent report their parents impacting their values. They are also swayed by friends and peers (78 per cent) and teachers (70 per cent).

They are much less influenced by celebrities than people think, with celebs and politicians ranking lower even than fictional characters in the trust stakes.

They highly value face-to-face contact and communication. This doesn’t have to be in person; video works almost as well. But they do want to see faces.

Over 70 per cent choose similar characteristics to describe themselves: loyal, responsible, open-minded, determined and compassionate.

They are motivated by relationships, passions and achievements.

They are a very ‘we-centric’ generation. Three-quarters of their biggest concerns are beyond themselves, ie those affecting everyone or others.

They trust ‘real’ people more than authority figures, looking at reviews and forums before making decisions.

On health

They are more mild than wild. They are less sexually active, smoke less marijuana and are much less likely to be a criminal – the number of detained young people is down a massive 48 per cent across Europe. Just 36 per cent of 13-15 year olds have tried alcohol, down from 76 per cent of millennials.

Paradoxically, they are much less aware of the risks of all of these things.

94% believe physical and mental health is important to happiness.

But they score less well for wellbeing than previous generations, with only 31 per cent reporting good emotional wellbeing.

The biggest things weighing on their hearts are: financial security and money, employment and the cost of higher education, inclusion and equality issues, the environment and personal safety.

On university (of those who have been)

Well, only 10 per cent of students say their experience of university matches their expectations. Two-thirds thought they would have more contact hours, while less than half realised rent would be their biggest cost.

A third had formed opinions about universities before sixth form.

77 per cent said that reviews had influenced where they decided to go to university.

They only pick up the prospectus for their parents. BUT a quarter said their parents were the biggest influence over their choice of university.

Their biggest fears about university are ‘stepping up’ from school and worries about workload.

They want more help transitioning to university life. They see themselves as independent but not adults.

They want a realistic, ‘warts and all’ view of university before they come.

They like hands-on learning and prefer to watch a video of the lecture/lesson beforehand and then spend lesson time engaged in experiential learning.

They value most what they can see in front of them, eg teaching and facilities. They care less about their lives after graduation, eg careers.

Their main gripes at university are around course content, the quality of contact with teachers and not knowing where their fees go.

Wi-fi, transport and environmental concerns are also of real importance. There is clearly real value in getting the basics right.

But, according to an analysis of 20,000 forums and six million tweets, the absolute number one thing that universities can do to improve satisfaction? Give students free hot water in cafes. Apparently, they really resent having to pay for this if they’ve brought their own mug. (I’m already calling it the Students’ Thirst strategy.)

Next gen

Ok so all up to speed with Gen Z? Great – get ready for Generation α [Alpha]. Basically, anybody born since 2010. Or, as one commenter put it, “You know: toddlers, babies, the unborn.”

In 2028, they will be old enough to go to university. Expect the follow up to this blog post in nine years’ time.

What do snowflakes, The Fat Gay Vegan and kindness all have in common? All of them have featured in The Exchange, our new initiative to create spaces for people to talk about issues they care about.

Our first event for The Exchange took place back in November with a panel discussion entitled ‘Generation snowflake: Fact or Fiction?’ The term ‘generation snowflake’ has been used in the media to describe younger people who are perceived as being more sensitive and easily offended. Were young people really as easily offended as some people were saying or was it all much ado about nothing?

To help us promote the event, we worked with one of our Digital Media Gurus to produce content that was particularly aimed at our students. Izzy wrote a fantastic blog explaining to them what ‘generation snowflake’ meant and why they should come along to The Exchange. Izzy also filmed interviews with students, and the final video was so good we decided to show it at the start of the discussion.

The event, which took place in Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts, was a great first outing for The Exchange and whilst it wasn’t without its challenges – including two panel members dropping out at the last minute(!) – we learned a lot about how we could develop the project. We were also pleased to see that our efforts to promote the event to students had paid off and that students were keen to attend events like The Exchange.

Our next event for The Exchange took place in February. Soon after the ‘generation snowflake’ discussion, we met with a group of students and settled on the title ‘Can Veganism Save the Planet?’ What we didn’t expect back in December was just how prominent vegan lifestyles would become. As we began to promote the February event, veganism seemed to be everywhere and every day there was some new guidance on what we should be eating.

We were able to secure a fantastic panel thanks to the efforts of Tom Walters, Mary Connolly and Steph Allen. Dr Melissa Lazenby, a doctor of climate science at Sussex, chaired the discussion which covered topics including food production and diet, as well as asking whether concerns about climate change should limit an individual’s freedom of choice. The event opened with another great video produced by our Digital Media Gurus Izzy and Mariana.

The six panellists – including the awesomely named Fat Gay Vegan (aka Sean O’Callaghan) – had much to say on the different topics and you can watch the full discussion on Facebook. I’ll leave you to decide if you think veganism can save our planet or not.

As well as being a sold out event, over three quarters of the audience at ‘Can Veganism Save the Planet?’ were students and that’s something I’m particularly proud of. We want students to be part of The Exchange, whether that’s through commenting on social media, having student panel members or asking the Digital Media Gurus to create engaging content around each event. To see so many students in the audience and actively taking part in the discussion made all the hard work to organise and promote the event worth it.

I feel like we’ve managed to achieve a lot with The Exchange. Not only have we put on two events at ACCA, the Events team have also started to host satellite events at Small Batch Coffee on Western Road, Brighton – the first of these was in November and featured Jo Cutler talking about her research into kindness. If you haven’t been to a Small Batch event yet, you can book your ticket to the next one on Wednesday 20 March at 7pm. It’s great to see The Exchange working just as well in the beautiful surroundings of ACCA’s auditorium as it does in the more intimate setting of a coffee shop.

For me, The Exchange has been a great example of External Relations pulling together to work on a project. From the media relations team bringing in journalists to cover the events and helping to secure panel members, to our alumni relations team putting us in touch with great alumni speakers, lots of people from the division have had a part to play in the success of The Exchange.

Thank you to everyone who’s helped to get The Exchange off to a great start – I can’t wait to see how The Exchange develops in the future.