Chris Oldham is our Director of Estates and Campus Services. Here he tells us about the latest Campus Services campaign, Keep it on Campus, which helps support our University by reinvesting the money we spend in the food outlets and shops on campus.
When the layout of the original Colchester Campus was first proposed, the plan put forward by Sir Albert Sloman, our founding Vice-Chancellor, was to create the variety and liveliness of town life, with ‘our own shops and coffee bars, bank and post office’.
More than 50 years later this still holds true. There is a wealth of services on the campus, which not only helps to foster a sense of community but also raises funds that are re-invested into the University as a whole.
Wherever you see the Keep it On Campus badge you can be reassured that the goods you are about to buy or the facility you are about to use, are owned by University of Essex Campus Services, UECS, a company owned entirely by the University. UECS gift aids any surpluses generated back to the University, for the benefit of all our students.
There are also plenty of part-time job opportunities for students within the businesses, either during term-time or the holidays when through Event Essex, Southend and Colchester campuses host residential conferences in student accommodation.
Staff development is vital to our goal to continuously develop and improve our services to you. Our programme of training keeps everyone up to the date with the latest innovations in each business and ensures good customer service across the University.
You will probably be most familiar with Essex Food, which runs many of the catering outlets across the Colchester campus, including the striking No 64 bus and Food on the Square, a pop up takeaway option, set up to provide quick and tasty hot food for busy staff and students during term time.
This initiative is a great example of how Campus Services responds to the challenges of ever growing student numbers and the changing demands of you, our partners. Feedback is vital to ensure we are providing the right services. Can we do it better, or differently, should we be trying something new? By helping each other, we can keep it in the family.