(upbeat music)
- Hello, and welcome to Derby Presents Open Day Live.
And just look at this gorgeous studio that we have,
coming to you live, as the title would suggest,
from the University of Derby.
Well today, we've got an access all areas pass. Follow me.
(upbeat music)
Now, though, to make sure that you get the most
out of your time at university,
look no further than to your Union of Students.
So we're gonna try and head over, live,
to Sile, who's at the heart of Derby's Union of Students
to find out more. (upbeat music)
- Thank you, Radzi.
I am here at Blends, the Union of Student's coffee shop.
So I'm joined by the Union of Student officers,
Corey, who is a Union president,
and George who is a Vice President of Activities.
So we're gonna start with Corey first.
So Corey, what is the Union of Students
and why do universities have one?
- Thank you, Sile.
So, as you can see there,
we're involved in a lot of different things
across the university.
But I suppose our main role
is to be an independent charitable organization.
We received an unprovoked inner-voice
across every level of the institution.
And that's to just say that students can really
be co-creators in our educational journey.
And I suppose, as a union, we really pride ourselves
in being part of that journey.
So students can make their experience,
particularly at Derby, what they, what they want it to be.
- And here's a video of a little taster
of what the Union of Students is all about.
(upbeat music)
(students cheering)
(upbeat music)
(students cheering)
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- I think it's say to say that when it comes
to Derby, it is a place for everyone.
Now, the fact that you're here watching this probably means
that you're thinking about taking that big
and exciting step to move away from home.
And if so, the University of Derby's
awards-winning accommodation is the place for you.
There is a wide range of choice
in the form of accommodation in Derby,
so whatever you're looking for,
you can sure to find something that suits you.
(upbeat music)
- Ah yes, the university halls of residence kitchen,
the hub as we basically used to call it.
It's where you start the day,
it's where you finish after a night out.
But for me, what made it so special was the fact
that my flatmates, they weren't on my course,
they didn't play for my sports teams,
and that's why they became friends for life,
because we shared an experience
that I will never forget right here.
But there's another room as important,
and it is indeed the bedrooms.
Let's take a look.
(upbeat music)
(door knocking)
Come on in to my place.
Now, all halls of residence rooms are simple.
But you know what? They're your space.
And that's exactly what I think you should do,
make them your own space.
So I even had photos of my family.
I had posters of my heroes,
but ultimately this thing here,
this got a lot of sleep.
And this thing here, this is where
an awful lot of work happened.
But, when you're not in your room
and you're not in the kitchen,
there's another place you might have as well.
(upbeat music) (balls hitting)
The common room, they all have their own quirks
and every one is slightly different.
This one not only has a pool table,
but it also has a DVD player, consoles,
a TV screen, books for you to read.
But actually, my favorite thing is that throughout the year,
they have an extensive events program for you
to get involved with as well.
So no matter what you like doing,
there's always something for you.
(upbeat music)
Ah, yeah. I always forgot the laundry.
I didn't always send my washing home to my mom to do,
I occasionally did it myself,
especially when my stuff really needed it.
And this really needs it.
(upbeat music)
(washing machine beeping)
I still don't know how it works.
(upbeat music)
When choosing your university,
a big thing to consider is its location.
And the great thing about Derby is that it's
in the heart of England, as a few people have mentioned.
It has convenient transport links.
The Peak District is just on the doorsteps.
But there's also a whole lot more.
(keyboard typing) (birds chirping)
(upbeat music)
(crowd cheering)
(high energy music)
- Hi, and welcome back to Blends with me, Sile.
And so now we're going to be talking about living in Derby.
So when I was a student here,
in all my three years, I did live in Derby.
And my favorite thing to do was
to walk around the city center
because everything was close to me.
I could go for a coffee, and then go do some shopping,
food shopping, clothes shopping.
And I loved the little museums, and the little pockets,
and, as Radzi said, the Peak District is right
on our doorstep.
And we have markets and park just a walk
from the main campus.
So Derby, it was a great place for me to live in.
And of course the nightlife here is really good.
And we're going to talk more about that
with my guests, Ioana and Marge.
And I want to know about what they love
about living in Derby?
So Marge, we're going to talk to you first.
What are your favorite things to do here in Derby?
- So there were quite a lot of things to do.
So if I wanted to socialize, we had like bowling alleys,
we had cinemas, and just all kinds of things.
If I want to be a little bit more sporty,
we has that sports centers,
also got like climbing facility as well,
so I could go bouldering if I wanted to.
So like there's all sorts of, for what I'm, like,
feeling, really.
- I like that.
Ioana, what about you? What do you like to do around here?
- I think I like the fact that I just,
I can find what kind of place I want
in regardless of my feelings.
So I, if I want to go for like a coffee, coffee shop,
I can just go for it cause we have lots of those.
- We do.
- And it's just a great thing.
I feel like Derby is kind of a mixture of everything.
So you have lots of options to go for
when it comes to food, when it comes to drinks,
when it comes to just people and culture,
you have everything you want.
And I think what I've loved the most, though,
is just the nature because we're surrounded by nature.
Obviously we have the Markeaton Park.
It's a great place to hang out with friends
and just go for reading a book.
It's just one of my favorite places in Derby.
(upbeat music)
- Your next step will be
the all-important university application.
And that can be daunting for some students,
so here's Gurjit,
who hits up the university's admissions team
to give you some insider advice.
- My name's Gurjit Nijjar.
I'm the Assistant Registrar at the University of Derby.
I'm responsible for the admission service at the university.
You can apply through UCAS for undergraduate courses,
which is a national service.
Go to UCAS.com and you will be able
to find the steps that you need to go through
to apply online.
And you have a deadline of 15th of January.
The system is open now for applications.
A personal statement is what it says on your tin,
It's an opportunity for you to tell us about yourself
above and beyond your qualifications.
So statements made about you,
and you're expressing yourself in the application
on the bits that we won't necessarily get
from simply your qualifications on your school transcript.
So it is a very important component of the application
where you are able to sort of tell us more about you
and why you're choosing, choosing that course
or the university, and, and the line of subject
that you want to go into.
We look for lots of things.
You're looking for a good writing skill, as well,
as much as the content of the personal statement.
So we want to understand why you want to do the course,
what is it that interests you about it,
your own experiences and skills.
You need to get yourself across and what's inspired you
to do the course right now.
But it's always about writing skill, like I said,
so structure, grammar, spelling, punctuation,
all those components are part of the written part
of the statement.
- Some fab advice, but there's also lots of support
on the University of Derby's web pages, bye the way,
even a personal statement builder.
(upbeat music)
It's safe to say there is a wealth of support available
at the University for you,
even before you actually start your studies,
as well as during your time at Derby.
And that's because the University wants you
to be successful, but as importantly for you
to enjoy your time whilst you're here.
(upbeat music)
- Hi, welcome to the University of Derby.
So coming to uni is a very big step.
But here at Derby, you're definitely not alone.
You will make friends really quickly
And there are also lots of student support services on hand
to help you with any issues that you may have.
So come with me and I'll introduce you.
(soft music)
This is our Student Wellbeing Center.
Everyone here at Derby wants you to be successful
and have a great time.
So that's why, if there's anything that may impact
on your wellbeing, your experience,
or your academic performance, this team is here to help.
Let's go and meet them.
- We know that to succeed at university,
it's not just reliant on academic ability,
but also on your wellbeing.
So when you're studying here,
if you're facing any personal issues
or you want to speak to someone about support,
come and see us here and can arrange an appointment
for you to speak to someone.
(soft music)
- We can help with a whole range of support
from budgeting, to anxiety management,
managing your health, and generally juggling life.
So please, when you need to, come and see us.
- Here we are at our next stop, the Multi-Faith Centre.
Let's go and take a look inside.
(soft music)
- As chaplains, we are here to provide you,
first of all, emotional support
or to help and support you if you want to explore faith
and religion, if you have interest,
but simply chat with you, anything you want,
or to put you in touch with other supports lines
within the university.
(soft music)
- We also have an Equality, Diversity, Inclusion,
and Wellbeing Team.
- It's really important that you feel like you belong.
And so our equality and diversity team make sure that
regardless of what background you come from,
that you are absolutely represented right across
the university.
While our personal academic tutors,
of which you'll have one,
will make sure that you've got somebody to talk to
about your progress and that you can also talk to
about how things are going and,
and what things you're excited about for the future.
(upbeat music)
- This is Miranda, and she's going to be telling us
about the Center for Student Life.
- At the Center for Student Life,
you can access loads of support.
At the career hub, you can get career ready,
take advantage of our fab libraries,
and learn how to access journals and loads more.
Your student and graduate experience team put
on loads of offers for you to get involved in.
We have the international travel awards,
where you can get the chance to travel abroad,
develop new skills, and make new friends.
Use the center to seize every opportunity
that comes your way.
- Great. Well, thanks for that, Miranda.
(upbeat music)
- Well, that's everyone.
You've now met all the different support service teams
that are here to make your uni experience
the absolute best that it can be.
I hope to see you around again soon.
(upbeat music)
- Who would fit into one of the camps
who may require your support.
What advice would you give to a student
who is applying to the University of Derby at this point?
- What's really key is, on your UCAS form,
to engage with that and declare a disability.
For professional courses, all that happens is that you go
through AcuHealth, like you would if you're applying
for a job for nursing or something.
Cause sometimes people worry about,
about declaring it on application.
And we can assure them, they don't need to worry about that.
All that means from our perspective is that we'll get
in touch with you and plans of you starting,
do lots of work with you, if that's what you want,
to make sure that your support is all set up
for university.
- I work in the Student Advice and Guidance Team
and we advise, we provide information,
advice, and guidance to students
about all elements of, of finance and student funding
whilst they're here and pre-entry as well,
so with events such as the Open Day today.
- Lovely, okay.
Obviously finance is a massive consideration
when you move into a university.
It's one, it's one of the big ones.
It's one that we hear about a lot in the news.
What funding is available to students
and how do they apply for that funding?
- Okay, your main package of student funding
is your your tuition figure loan
and your maintenance loans.
So tuition fee loan is the loan
that pays your tuition fee.
That's the loan for 9,250 pounds, non-means tested,
and that's paid direct to the university by,
by the student loans company.
So that's one of the elements that students
never physically get to get, get to, to see,
or, or spend.
The maintenance loan is the living costs loan,
so that's the loan that these pay to students
to pay for accommodation, food, clothes, anything,
all the way to you know, books, pens, and papers.
So everything else comes under the,
under the banner of the maintenance loan.
There's other support available,
so grants for dependents.
So if students have, you know, children or adults
who are financially dependent on them,
they will also be assessed for, for grants for dependents.
The, the application process is a single application
through Student Finance.
So they assess you for all elements of your student funding.
So you don't have to look for, for the funding
and where to apply.
It's a single application, single point of occupation
and everything that you're eligible for is assessed
at that, at that one point.
- Excellent. That's, that's fabulous.
So what, what bursaries are available
and how do you find out if you're eligible for them?
- Yeah, bursaries, most universities have bursaries.
They'll have some, some, you know, form of financial support
that they will offer to their students to help them
whilst they're at university.
Derby has got three bursaries available.
We have a university bursary,
which is based purely on household income.
And we have an academic achievement scholarship.
And we have a, a Buxton and Leek College bursary,
which is a local bursary for, for students coming to us
from, from the local college.
All of our bursaries are assessed automatically,
there's no application process.
We assess them based on information that we get
either from student finance about household income,
or from the admissions team about the, the,
the academic grades of the student when they arrive.
And so they're all automatic.
You've got to bear in mind, if you're looking at,
you know, throughout the sector, bursaries are different.
They all target different areas
and they have different eligibility criteria.
Sometimes you have to apply for a bursary,
sometimes they're automatic.
But certainly here at Derby,
they are all automatically assessed.
- That is fabulous news.
Right, scenario for you.
So I'm thinking of going to the University of Derby.
I've seen this, I've gone, yes, I've fall in love
with the place.
I've seen supportive staff.
I've seen the awesome facilities.
Can I afford it?
- Okay, the thing, the thing to, to remember
and the important thing is that to, to go to university,
you don't necessarily have to have, you know, the funds
or, you know, the money upfront.
Tuition fees are always a, a you know,
something that people really, really think about
because 9,250 pounds per year,
but you can take out the tuition fee loan.
So your fees are paid upfront at the point of,
at the point of enrollment.
Again, the maintenance loan, although it is assessed based
on your household income, it is assessed to try
and make sure that you get the appropriate level of support
that you need, you know, to, to live on.
So you should, you know, you should get the,
the appropriate funds to be able to pay
for your accommodation, you know,
and all of your other general living costs.
So you don't necessarily have to have the funds up front
to come to university, so not having the money shouldn't
be a barrier to, you know, to higher education.
- Sure.
- What a place. What a city. What a university.
I hope you've had a fantastic day.
I personally have learned a colossal amount
meeting all the staff, the students,
and finding out about the myriad of courses,
options, facilities, and ultimately opportunities
that this incredible university has to offer.
So in the meantime, stay safe, stay healthy.
And thank you very much for watching.
(upbeat music)