Students’ Union satisfied as early Hub plans revealed
Early plans for the Student Hub project, hoped to be a “magnet for students,” have revealed that the building will cater for five zones, broadly related to areas of the student experience.The building, which will involve a refurbishment and extension of the Windle Building, is due to begin construction in May 2016, leading to a grand opening in October 2017.Previous branding as “an administrative centre” appears to be in the distant past, with Head of the Student Experience Dr. Ian Pickup insisting that any administration will deal with frontline student services, adding that, “The last thing we want to create is an administrative office block.” The building will also be non-commercial, as opposed to the current Student Centre.The first zone intended to greet students is the ‘Welcome Zone’, where students will be able to ask a question about anything, receiving an answer on the spot or being directed towards the right source.Other zones will include learning and teaching spaces, which will be IT rich and digital focused, a ‘Success Centre’ for access services and student supports, an ‘Employability Zone’ for Careers Services and Work Placement Offices, with more employer interaction. Finally a ‘Student Life Zone’ will provide offices for the Students’ Union, Societies’ Guild and Clubs’ Executive, with a workshop space with 40 or 50 workstations planned.
“The last thing we want to create is an administrative office block.”
How the zones will interact is still in discussion, though teaching rooms by day will become wet rooms or rehearsal spaces for student activities by night.A feasibility study is currently ongoing, although Pickup, who called for students to offer their views to him, hopes it can be “more than a building.”“Underpinning the building is a principle of flexibility, of sharing, of new synergies and it’s not just recreating what happens in 22 different locations on campus now in a central space. The priority is very much on things being student serving, directly.”The plan is for a 3,500 square-metre space, to be funded by a budget of €13 million. €3 million is accrued already and the remainder will come from a bank loan. Servicing that loan will be done through university sources, with a portion of exam repeat fees dedicated to the project.“We’ve been pushing for student-owned space, which is lacking on campus,” said Students' Union President Mark Stanton. “It’s pretty much only student-facing staff that will be going in there, with absolutely no back-office staff.”