Edinburgh Napier University: ENroute Yearbook 2016 Edition | Page 8

ENroute Yearbook 2015-16 Making a Successful Start at Edinburgh Napier Stephanie Glube, Student & Academic Services, Fellow The practice of providing every undergraduate student with an identical experience as they commence their studies at Edinburgh Napier started in 2007 and continues to inspire students to make a successful start in their studies. Workshop content is reviewed each year in line with student feedback, and considers any emerging digital technologies relevant to improving impact. Since successful peer support is a recognised route into increased academic success, working together with the new peer group is a core concept behind the design. In September 2015, these workshops were designated ‘non-compulsory’; however, all schools across the university continued to request them, resulting again in 60 workshops being delivered with c.2000 undergraduate students attending, designed and facilitated by the Employability & Opportunities Team. Some of the activities included were: Goals, Barriers and Services: This is a mapping exercise that takes individual goals and perceived barriers and pairs them with opportunities and services provided by Edinburgh Napier. Part of Something Bigger: Participants choose a word that best describes their intent for their university experience and post their word via TextWall. The words are then displayed across all three campuses during the first few weeks of term. The students are asked to work in small groups to create an article of clothing from newspapers to display their words to the larger group. Example of particpant-chosen words for display across the university LinkedIn Challenge: Students are encouraged to broaden their network by participating with the LinkedIn Challenge. They are encouraged to gather experiences and skills in one place and build on this over the next four years. The Big Read: In 2016, an introduction to the Big Read with the The Humans by Matt Haig will be integrated into the workshop. 7