Roger Stevens lecture theatre refurb

Designed to inspire: new teaching spaces open

Last updated on 25 October 2023

An innovative new lecture theatre designed to inspire and encourage collaborative learning has opened for teaching.

Digital technology

The exciting new space, one of three now open at the iconic Roger Stevens Building, is equipped to make best practice use of digital technology – enriching the learning environment and enabling group activities and hybrid learning.

This is a key factor in both the University’s determination to build a fairer future for all  and to redefine the curriculum.

Roger Stevens refurb desks

Student feedback

We listened to feedback from students about recently updated teaching spaces elsewhere in Roger Stevens and in Mechanical Engineering.

Steve Gilley, Director of Estate & Facilities, University of Leeds said:

“We listened to feedback from students about recently updated teaching spaces elsewhere in Roger Stevens and in Mechanical Engineering.

“The new lecture theatres reflect what they have told us they need, from simple additions like coat hooks and more space for bags to the exciting technology that encourages collaborative learning.

“We look forward to hearing what academic colleagues and students think of these new areas.”

Roger Stevens refurb

A closer connection to nature

Like other spaces around the University, a green wall has been incorporated as a key part of the interior.

Research has found that biophillic design – the practice of creating a closer connection to nature through the ways building and landscapes are created and built – has a positive effect on wellbeing.

Flexible seating encourages collaboration between students with ‘review space’ so that teaching staff can move around easily, and each student desk has its own lighting, USB port, and laptop available.

Find out more about the University’s determination to build a fairer future for all. 

Camera filming grounds team at Sports Park Westwood

Grounds Week 2022

Last updated on 25 October 2023

As Grounds Week 2022 kicks off, research by the the Grounds Management Association (GMA) shows that 77% of outdoor workers feel rewarded and a strong sense of achievement, compared to 47% of people working behind a desk.

Work-life balance

Katie Stott is an Apprentice Sports Turf Operative, at Sports Park Weetwood, part of the University of Leeds. She finds that her role has improved her work-life balance.

“I’ve always loved gardening and being outdoors. After my degree in Events Management at Leeds Met I wasn’t sure which path to take, but after volunteering as a gardener in Churwell, I realised that grounds and garden work was really rewarding.

“I find it great for my wellbeing too. When I get home at the end of the working day, I’m ready for my evening rather than feeling tired from being indoors at a desk all day.”

Katie is studying for a Level 2 in Sports Turf Operative alongside her work to help build her career.

Katie Stott

University Grounds and Gardens team

The University has an extensive and highly skilled Grounds and Gardens team who are responsible for the management and maintenance of the green estate.

This includes sports ground maintenance, managing the tree stock, maintaining campus landscaping, and much more.

Technology

Dave Thackray is a Groundsman in the team. He has seen many changes in the way that grounds are maintained.

“The job is very varied, and like many other professions, technology has made a huge difference.

“We now use a robot for line marking the pitches, for example. It can be programmed for whatever size and configuration you need, and left to do its job. We can then get on with other tasks.”

Grounds Week 2022

Grounds Week shines a light on the work of those in the profession who work with skill and dedication to produce quality surfaces for sports and recreational spaces all year round.

Sometimes labelled the ‘hidden profession’, the GMA is helping young people and those outside of the sector to understand what the involves, and how to get into the sector.

The GMA’s polling of 352 people who work indoors and 100 people who work outdoors, was carried out between January 2022 and February 2022, in partnership with Censuswide. The research seeks to understand how fulfilled people feel in their current career/role, and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on this.

A separate survey was carried out by the Grounds Management Association, between January 2022 and February 2022. During this period, 318 grounds staff and volunteers were polled.

Find out more about Grounds Week 2022.

Photo of electric refuse collection vehicle and the waste management team of six people pictured outside the Ziff Buildong at University of Leeds

New electric vehicle for waste collection

Last updated on 4 February 2022

One of the first electric refuse collection vehicles to be used in Yorkshire has started work on the University of Leeds’ campus.

The University’s Waste and Environment team led by Courtney McAuley (pictured third from right above) started using the vehicle this year, working with supplier Associated Waste Management (AWM.)

AWM’s vehicle enables zero carbon emission waste collections and is charged using a renewable energy source.

Steve Gilley, Director of Estates & Facilities, University of Leeds said:

“Moving towards Net Zero carbon emissions is central to the University of Leeds’ recently-published Climate Plan, and we are making very significant investments to realise this by 2030.

“Among many different commitments, the Facilities team has invested in electric vehicles to replace other forms of transport in use around the campus for essential maintenance, and we are very pleased that AWM are making similar adjustments.”

Around half of the vehicles in use by teams at the University including including Security and Grounds and Gardens have recently been upgraded: last summer five diesel vehicles were replaced with three zero emission electric vehicles.

This change will deliver a significant reduction in fleet emissions and the aim is to remove more diesel vehicles from the fleet over the next 12 months.

Read the University of Leeds Climate Plan.

 

Working in library

Lost property goes digital

Last updated on 25 January 2022

The Security team at the University has introduced a new online system to help reunite campus users with their lost possessions.

Using hubs around the campus, the system logs found items and stores them locally. It searches for property and keeps users notified of progress by email.

Replacing a system that was based solely in the Security team’s office, hubs are being introduced around the campus, and are currently in use at the Print Copy Bureau at the Roger Stevens Building, Laidlaw Library, Brotherton Library, and Edward Boyle Library.

Steve Sloan, Change Manager for Campus Support Services at the University of Leeds said:

“We all know how inconvenient and even upsetting it can be to lose property. We hope that the new system – supplied by Notlost.com – will speed up the process and provide reassurance to those who use our campus.”

The more hubs for lost property there are around the University, the more effective the system, and Security are recruiting new locations for hubs. Support is provided by the Security team.

Log an item of lost property and find out more information.

For enquiries about the new system, please contact security@leeds.ac.uk.

Brotherton library corridor

Build complete for new Special Collections Research Centre

Last updated on 24 January 2022

The building of innovative new study areas to complement the Special Collections Research Centre in the Brotherton Library has completed.

The new Brotherton Research Centre and John Bedford Room will now be furnished and ready to use in late February, with state-of-the art audio-visual equipment being added by June.

The Centre has been designed as a comfortable space to take a break from intensive study and enjoy displays of highlights from the collections. It will be a hub for collaborative work, with interactive group space designed for users to congregate and discuss collection items.

Silent study space is still available, and will be soundproofed for the first time.

The John Bedford Room will be used for teaching and research, equipped with high tech visualisers that enable those in the room and online to examine documents with a curator at the same time.

Researchers can book appointments to view documents virtually rather than on site – especially useful for international researchers. The room holds up to 40 people and has a moveable partition.

There are small private meeting spaces for curatorial staff to meet and undertake ‘virtual’ consultations.

Steve Gilley, Director of Estates and Facilities, University of Leeds said:

“Working with the Libraries team and our contractors we consulted with academic colleagues about what they needed from this space. They told us that there is a new focus on collaborative research, both in person and online.

“As a result there is now more space for group and individual work, with a mezzanine floor added, as well as better lighting and comfort, and the ergonomics of the space which came up in our consultation as an issue have been improved.”

Joanne Fitton, Associate Director, Special Collections and Galleries, University of Leeds said:

“We hope that these new spaces will inspire people at any stage of their research journey, giving them access to the amazing objects in our collections and to get involved in the creation of new knowledge.

“The new audio-visual equipment will allow us to share the treasures in the collections through public lectures, webinars and events, building on the success of our Galleries’ online programme during lockdown. Lecturers who teach with the collections will also be able to reach larger or geographically-dispersed groups.”

John Bedford

John Bedford was an antique dealer and collector who amassed a significant modern book collection on the history of furniture design over a period of 40 years. The John Evan Bedford Library of Furniture History has been donated to Special Collections for teaching and research.

His generous bequest is supporting the extension and refurbishment of the Special Collections Research Centre.

Further information about the Brotherton Library refurbishment.