As we leave 2024 behind and embrace the new year, why not have a look at all the positive things that have happened in the last year? With everyone sharing their 2024 recap, we put our very own list together to reflect on our top moments.
So here are 14 highlights from the last year, in no particular order!
1. A National Award for RGU:Union
After highlighting all the new events and activities organised by our Student Union in our 2023 roundup, the team scored a national award this year for their efforts supporting students with the cost-of-living crisis!
Back in September, RGU:Union won the Star Award at the Alliance Awards 2024, which recognises the team or individual who have motivated others with their ability to stay upbeat, even through the toughest of times.
Some of the initiatives they were praised for included the Breakfast Club, Supper Club, and Emergency Food Parcels. The Supper Club in particular showcased how the Union promoted wellbeing on campus by not only providing a free warm meal, but by encouraging cultural appreciation through diverse menus, and by growing students’ sense of community with the addition of music, dances, and quizzes to engage student in fun activities.
Well done to the team once again! Visit the Union’s website for more information on their initiatives.
2. Smashing stereotypes in support of British Science Week
To celebrate British Science Week this year, we decided to challenge long-standing stereotypes by shining a spotlight on our community of diverse individuals leading the way in STEM at RGU, including:
- Professor James Njuguna, talking about his experience as a black man in Engineering, and how he works to get more women in STEM in his role as Associate Dean.
- Dr Whitney Bevan, sharing the struggles the construction industry faces to attract more women and how she is helping to make things progress.
- Jackie Velcheva, discussing her journey getting to work in the male-dominated field of computing and how she seeks to inspire young girls to follow the same path.
- Professor Linda Lawton, writing about her passion for science and how she thinks the field has evolved in the last 30 years for women.
- Judith Abolle-Okoyeagu, sharing her commitment and efforts to make things change as a female engineering lecturer.
3. A university-wide mental health campaign
We know that while university can be a fun time, it can also bring along some stress and anxiety. That is why, to mark Mental Health Awareness Week in May, we ran our “Look at Yourself Differently” campaign to encourage everyone in our community to reframe the narrative and believe in themselves.
Our goal for this campaign was for it to become a regular thing beyond the campaign week that, when you look at yourself in a mirror, you take a second to say something positive, because something as simple as that can help to overcome self-doubt and reduce self-sabotage.
We shared an inspirational video, social snippets and key support resources at RGU all throughout the week. If you were on campus at the time, you might have also noticed small mirrors hidden in different buildings to help you practice positive affirmations.
Watch our video below or visit our dedicated webpage to rediscover the campaign.
4. Northern Lights at SPECTRA with Gray’s School of Art
In February, we had the honour of playing a key role in SPECTRA, Scotland’s Festival of Light, which returned to Aberdeen for its tenth year! Look Again at Gray’s School of Art was selected to lead an augmented reality showcase entitled “Northern Lights” created by emerging artists from the North East.
With the work produced, visitors and residents were invited to embark on a captivating journey through Aberdeen’s historic cityscape. Some of the things that could be found on this journey included talking trees, a hag stone-inspired portal, and a dazzling rainbow bridge.
The digital pieces highlighted Aberdeen’s vibrancy and offered a fun and rewarding interactive experience.
5. Launch of the Denis Law RGUplus Award
Following the introduction of RGUplus in September 2023, we announced this year the launch of the Denis Law RGUplus Award which rewards the efforts taken by students and other members of the community who make a positive impact through volunteering.
Everyone wishing to take part can collate their hours and developed skillset from various endeavours to receive certified recognition through the four levels of the award. We have already celebrated the first winners at our Summer Graduation ceremonies, with renowned local volunteer Mike Melvin being one of the recipients. While Mike currently works for ACVO as their Volunteering Services Manager, he has also volunteered for a number of years at the University’s library.
The Award will ensure that community engagement and learning beyond the classroom at RGU is taken to new heights and recognised in a way that will enhance skills, develop unique employability and global citizenship skills.
We encourage you to learn more and take part by visiting our webpage.
6. A record-breaking year for RGU SPORT
RGU SPORT also had a fantastic year and reached important milestones, showcasing the importance of the work they are doing.
Contributing towards the campus vibrancy and health and wellbeing of the entire RGU community, including staff, students, and community members, RGU SPORT welcomed over 120,000 visits to its facility over the course of the last academic year, representing a 17% increase from the previous year.
And did you know that RGU is only one of two universities in Scotland to offer a free sports membership to students? Because of this, over 4,000 student members now exist at RGU SPORT, in addition to 1,200 sports clubs’ members.
Well done to the team at RGU SPORT for their achievements!
7. An emotional Pride campaign
Every June, we take part in the Pride Month celebrations to show our support of the LGBTQIA+ community. This year, we wanted to give a voice to RGU staff, students, and alumni part of the community to share their story in their own way.
With “Our Pride”, we produced a series of emotional videos and blogs sharing the real-life experiences of RGU individuals from a wide range of background.
Visit our webpage to meet Peter, Fiona, Caelan, Daniel, Connor and Jerri and be inspired by their story. You can also watch the video below for a snippet.
Alongside this campaign, we of course took part in the Grampian Pride parade once again, with students and staff in attendance to proudly hold the University banner.
8. Our very first Student Experience Sub-Strategy
We always strive to improve to continue to meet the needs of students and provide the best experience possible. It’s with this in mind that we introduced our first Student Experience Sub-Strategy, developed through student and staff partnership, consultation, and feedback.
The sub-strategy clearly sets out what RGU offers students and ensures that they are supported in a meaningful and holistic way, including academically, personally, and socially.
It was shaped around RGU’s historical motto “‘omni nunc arte magistra’, which loosely translates to “make the most of your abilities”, highlighting how we want to help you reach your potential.
You can find out more on our webpage.
9. Accelerator Showcase held on campus for the first time
The RGU Startup Accelerator Showcase was brought to campus for the first time in May 2024 as 16 budding entrepreneurs pitched their business ideas in the hope of winning funding to develop their venture.
The theme for this year’s programme was ‘back to the future’ as it opened itself to applications from RGU staff, students and alumni, just like the very first cohort six years ago, and to once again showcase innovations and display visions of the future.
Some of the big winners on the night included Cardio Intel, who won £10K for their digital technology aimed to reduce heart disease mortality, and Carnie Bees, an Aberdeenshire-based firm that offers bee-based solutions to modern health challenges, who went home with £6K.
The showcase took place in the Sir Ian Wood Building in front of a physical and online audience, and also welcomed RGU alumna Sheli McCoy, known to many as Sabre following her starring role in hit BBC show Gladiators.
10. A House in the Woods at RGU
RGU’s campus got even more vibrant in 2024 with the addition of “A House in the Woods”, a colourful gothic sculpture created by renowned Glasgow-based artist James Rigler.
The sculpture was originally installed in the quad at Marischal College as part of the Look Again festival in 2018. Rigler found inspiration for the piece in the witches’ gingerbread houses found in fairy tales, and the “Carpenter Gothic” buildings of iconic American films such as The Wizard of Oz and Psycho.
Everyone in the RGU community and beyond can now enjoy this work by taking a stroll through our campus, in the green space behind the Sir Ian Wood Building.
11. Launch of biodiversity project Waterside Farm
Just before the end of the year, we launched one of the largest biodiversity projects on a university campus in Scotland, aiming to transform a 55-acre site into a thriving habitat for both flora and fauna.
Waterside Farm is an area of land directly opposite RGU’s iconic library tower which has been owned by the University for a number of years. We are now ready to showcase our green credentials and become exemplary conservationists by transforming the space back into its natural state!
We have received a generous donation of £100,000 from the SRM Foundation and been continuously working alongside environmental consultancy firm The Habitat People to make our plans for Waterside Farm become a reality.
Read more about the project on our website, and watch the video below.
12. Women in Business national roll-out
RGU’s Women in Business initiative launched back in 2021 in partnership with Aberdeenshire Council and has supported 69 women to start their own venture or enter self-employment while navigating motherhood and all the responsibilities that come with it.
This year, we were awarded government funding to pilot the roll-out of the initiative across two regions, partnering with the University of Stirling and the University of the West of Scotland. The course will take participants through online, interactive workshops over a seven-week period to create a viable business focused on the needs of the customer.
With over £83,000 in funding from the Pathways Pre-start Fund, we hope to help many more women achieve their ambitions!
13. “Engage” turned two
In 2024, Gray’s School of Art’s creative development programme, Engage, celebrated its second anniversary. Since its launch, the programme has welcomed 700 participants from across the North East of Scotland and established 89 collaborations with 37 different creative practitioners.
Engage offers a mix of art weekenders, a portfolio building course, and evening workshops, but one of the highlights of this year was “A Week in the Life of Art Schol”, offered for the first time in the summer to 47 young people from 18 different secondary schools, as well as NESCol.
What makes the programme so special is how it helps RGU on its quest to widen access to higher education for those from under-represented groups, as those were prioritised to take part in the activities.
Find out more about the programme on our website.
14. Another great year for the RGU Student Blog
2024 has also been a great year on the RGU Student Blog, with more stories than ever being shared accounting to a total of 94! We’ve also kept growing, with an increase in views of 27% from 2023 to 2024.
None of this could have been possible without you, the reader, but also all the students and alumni who have contributed to the blog. We are extremely grateful to all of you and hope we can continue sharing great stories in 2025!
If you want to write for the RGU Student Blog, contact the Communications team at rgucommunications@rgu.ac.uk
Clara Sutherland-Maurillon, RGU Student Blog Editor
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