Our students

Time and again, students tell us that coming to Plymouth is about the courses they want, in a location that is hugely desirable. And, as you’ll see, we have been working to enhance those two aspects even further.

In moving towards an internationally recognised semester model, we have enriched our teaching and learning with extra-curricular opportunities that focus on key aspects such as employability, personal development and retention. We’ve invested in our campus, providing new facilities – both real and virtual – and have taken steps to ensure that our forums reverberate with the student voice.

Our partnership with the Students’ Union is central to so much of what we’ve done this year, and we have supported and enabled its members to make important changes and undertake key pieces of work. Taken together, this represents a genuine commitment to empower our students, as partners and as co-creators of the Plymouth experience.

Sarah Bowman, University of Plymouth Students’ Union (UPSU) President from 2014 to 2015, outlines some of the year’s many successes.

Throughout the summer of 2014 we underwent an impressive renovation of the commercial areas within the Students’ Union, which completely transformed what was originally a dark, underground space into a bright and lively venue. We were able to achieve this with the incredible support and investment from Plymouth University. Since the refurbishment we have seen a huge increase in daytime usage, as well as a more diverse variety of events.

UPSU was also recognised as a successful organisation this year, as we achieved NUS Best Bar None Gold, Plymouth Best Bar None – Best Student Venue and NUS Green Impact Gold, and moved into the top 20 students’ unions in the country in the National Student Survey.

We are incredibly proud of everything our students and staff have accomplished over the past year.