Tag: university

How a nostalgic return to Paris made my summer special

It looks like an innocuous apartment building.

It is in many ways but, to me, that faded-green front door represents far more.

Welcome to 60 Rue Letellier [pictured above], located near Place Cambronne in Paris.

This was my home from September 1992 for one year as part of my study-abroad placement via Leeds University.

It was a year in which I really learnt to speak French, discovered the joie-de-vivre of Les Inrockuptibles and embarked upon a lifelong quest for the perfect Couscous Royale.

And no 60 was the epicentre of all the madness — a tiny, second-floor apartment just a few minutes from the green Metro line to Montparnasse.

Prodigal return

I stood outside that green front door again this summer.

It was 25 years since my last visit and I was back in Paris on a Monet assignment for France magazine. I’d stopped off for a nostalgia trip en route from seeing the Water Lilies at L’Orangerie.

There were so many memories forged in that flat, accompanied by a soundtrack of Screamadelica and a diet of Pelforth Brune.

But one of the most memorable was the bar opposite, where Salar and Messaoud ran a ramshackle café-bar on an Algerian motif.

It was the place to start every big night out and to put the world to rights with a mix of English-abroad innocence and undergraduate change-the-world confidence befitting our formative ages.

It was as much of my Paris experience as the Eiffel Tower and Musée Rodin.

The bar had long since gone, of course but, I stop there, a waiter in the now pizza restaurant told me he still remembered Messaoud.

“It didn’t end well,” he frowned. “People say he ended up living in the Metro.”

Moving on

A lot has changed in those 25 intervening years. But standing back on Rue Letelier brought me a sense of peace.

Afterwards I headed to Place Cambronne and had lunch at a pavement cafe, sitting alone with a plat du jour and a glass of rosé in the sunshine. The square was as lively as ever.

It was the defining moment of my summer.

Older but maybe also wiser. I may not the same person who lived in that little apartment. But I’m not that different either.

I’ve still got that Screamadelica CD and still love a good Couscous Royale.

And, by going back, I’m all the more ready to move forward.

A travel-writing masterclass at HiOA university, Oslo

To Oslo then — thanks to an Erasmus exchange with a British university.

After a week in the Norwegian capital, I learnt that photojournalism is alive and well in Scandinavia, you can buy a pint for less than £10 and knitting is actively encouraged in the front row of Nordic lecture theatres.

But, most of all, I spent a couple of days teaching features classes and running a travel-writing with some very smart Norwegian students.

They rose to the challenge to write travel features in English and came up with some great story hooks.

My time at Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences (HiOA) was a chance to reflect on my own teaching and see how lecturers do it in other countries.

The students [pictured above] seemed to enjoy it, too, and I had some good feedback about engaging learners through my communication.

I’m hoping to make the exchange between the UK and Norway into a regular event. Watch this space.

Going it alone: Why university lecturers go freelance

IMG_0701

* An edited version of this story is due to appear on the Guardian Higher Education Network.

The students are back on campus this week. But, instead of uploading schemes of work and heading to class, I’ll be clearing my desk.

I’m leaving a contracted role as a university lecturer to go it alone, offering my services as a freelance tutor [pictured above], setting up my own day courses and developing e-learning projects.

It feels scary. On a practical level I’ll miss the resources of having a university behind me while, emotionally, the isolation of working without a community of trusted colleagues to share the day-to-day travails feels pretty daunting.

But I feel increasingly frustrated by the lethargy of the university environment, the gear-grinding bureaucracy of decision-making and the nit-picking interference of senior management.

Shared concerns

According to Jon Richards, trade union UNISON’s National Secretary Education and Children’s Services, I’m not the only one.

“The increased pressures at work, the tendency for some HE institutions to ape poor business management practices and an environment of falling pay, conditions and pensions. Faced with these, the idea of working alone under your own steam must seem attractive,” he says. He adds:

“There are risks, notably the change from a steady paycheck to uncertain and non-guaranteed income.”

Strategic choice

Dr. Neil Thompson left a job as Professor of Applied Social Studies at Staffordshire University in 1997 to go freelance. He set up his own business, offering training, consultancy and expert witness services.

“I walked away from university employment but carried on doing academic things, such as working as an external examiner and being part of an editorial board for an academic journal,” he explains.

He offers three pieces of advice for lecturers looking to make the leap: establish a market for your services, act as a professional and build a freelance career around a diverse portfolio of work.

“I still remember the pressure I felt when I first went freelance to do a good job. After all, somebody is paying you,” he adds. “And remember, working independently means you are effectively a small business so start to think more commercially.”

“Business is not a dirty word.”

Online learning

For Roger McDonald, an independent curator and lecturer based in Japan, the evolution of technology has enabled him to carve a new niche. Roger, who did a PhD in art history at the University of Kent, Canterbury, moved to Japan in 2000 as a founding member of the not-for-profit Arts Initiative Tokyo (AIT), which runs an independent art school in Tokyo. He combines this with casual work as art lecturer at Tokyo Zokei University.

He teaches contemporary and modern art history in Japanese with sessions available to watch free online via YouTube. “It took time getting used to recording myself but now there is a substantial archive available online,” he says.

“For me, I enjoy thinking up a curriculum outside the remit of ordinary institutional teaching, such as like a course on hallucinogenic drugs and modern artists. The downside is less peer group discussions than in an institutional setting,” he adds.

Mentally prepared

From my own point of view, I’ve tried to prepare myself for change by putting the word out through my professional network, contacting a broad range of organisations from schools to higher education via corporate clients to offer my subject expertise, and updating my website and social media channels to reflect my plans.

I also signed up to a local co-working group, taking a hot desk in a communal space with a seminar room, where I intend to run my own masterclass sessions. I hope this will provide me with a new support network, albeit one with a broader community of micro-businesses from IT to publishing.

To be honest, the diary still has lots of blank pages and the creeping sense of unease still gives me some sleepless nights.

I know it will take time to build up my business and I’m in this for the long haul.

I’ll admit to a twinge of sadness as pack my things this week, take a deep breath and step into the unknown. But whatever happens, I’ll be the master of my own destiny.

And that feels good.

Gazetteer

Neil Thompson

AIT Tokyo

UNISON

Freshers: How to make the most of student life

SANYO DIGITAL CAMERA

Have you signed up for my new monthly newsletter? Subscribe at the home page.

Matthew Draycott is not planning to mince his words.

When the new undergraduates arrive for an induction-week pep talk on making the most of their time at university this September, the Enterprise Associate at the Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning plans to give them both barrels.

“If you spend your time in the pub for three years, then it doesn’t matter if you get a 2:1,” he says, sipping coffee in the university coffee bar.”

“Your degree is no longer the only thing you need to leave university with. You need a set of practical experiences that will give you a competitive edge.”

The department where Draycott works aims to teach students about enterprise, making them more employable and inspiring many to start their own business. “The trend is for students to come to us earlier,” he adds.

“We have seen a big increase in numbers of first years, especially from IT courses, in recent years.”

Extra-curricular activities

Of course, developing interests outside of your course is nothing new.

From playing for a university sports team to chairing the debating society, one of the best aspects of undergraduate life has always been the chance for students to broaden their horizons.

But with graduate unemployment currently at its highest level in over a decade, savvy students are increasingly realising that getting a job is not just about good grades, it’s about making the most of those extra-curricular activities.

“Students now view the university experience as something that leads to work.”

Ed Marsh, National Union of Students (NUS) Vice President for Union Development, adds: “While students are often under increasing time pressure, many having to work part time to fund their studies, extra-curricular activities are now a big part of their thought process.”

So you want to get involved. But what are the best options for you?

Marsh says that, while traditional sports, politics and societies remain popular, he sees more students doing more community outreach work, especially at inner-city universities with more diverse students populations.

During his own undergraduate days at the University of Hull, he volunteered with local schools and nursing homes for the elderly.

Practical skills

Another growth area is student enterprise with students looking to use new skills from their course before they actually graduate.

For the aspiring Sir Alan Sugars and Richard Bransons, it’s a natural progression towards social enterprise. Hushpreet Dhaliwal, Chief Executive, National Consortium of University Entrepreneurs (NACUE) says:

“We can’t be a complacent generation. It’s about being the cause, not the effect.”

“Many students arrive at university not knowing what they want to do in life. You have to expose yourself to all aspects of university life, create your own personal value and build networks from the start,” she adds.

Student-led NACUE works over 70 university enterprise societies across the UK and supports over 85 universities to stimulate student businesses. They recently advised on an Apprentice-style competition, led by students from King’s College London Business Club working with eOffice.

Dhaliwal advocates the smart of use of websites such as Twitter and LinkedIn.

“Social networking helps to build awareness amongst the wider student enterprise community. It offers a fast and efficient means for students expose themselves to new opportunities in career development,” she says.

Global view

But perhaps the smartest students of all are the ones seeing the global picture. University courses in modern languages traditionally include a year of study or work experience overseas as a mandatory third year off campus.

But recent research by the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) estimates some 22,000 UK students are currently studying in other countries.

Maastricht University in the Netherlands is fast becoming a hotspot for school leavers turning their backs on the British university system for its winning combination of lower course fees and grants available from the Dutch government if undergraduates work 32 hours a week while they study.

Maastricht University has been sending representatives to a sixth-form careers days over the past year and is installing a fast-track admissions scheme for prospective UK students this summer.

Ed Mash of the NUS says: “We’re competing in a global market and the costs of courses at British universities are now higher than ever. There’s real value,” he adds, “to the individual of having an international perspective.”

Back at the coffee bar, Matthew Draycott is finishing his latte and checking his Twitter account, his favourite way these days of engaging with students and communicating to them the latest news from the student entrepreneurship sector.

“University offers you a privileged three years of flexible identity, so why not do something to put yourself in a position of authority? If you can’t play rugby, be the rugby club treasurer. If you can’t play lead guitar, start managing students bands,” he says.

“Employers are not looking for standard CVs.“

He adds: “They want candidates to reference the opportunities they have grasped and created at university.”

“In short: do it while you can and make sure you have a broad experience.”

This story was first published by the Daily Telegraph in 2011 under the headline, University life: how to make the most of extra-curricular opportunities.