With any major transition in our lives, there is the potential for feelings of grief, or deep sadness in response to something we’ve lost. We often associate grief with the loss of a loved one, but grief can also come with other transitions: leaving university, losing a job, divorce, children leaving home, menopause and retirement qualify as major life transitions. 

These transitions can cause can great turmoil. There are so many aspects of our lives that can be affected: physical, emotional, behavioural, social, confidence, self-perception, worries about how others perceive you, coping with stress & anxiety, dealing with embarrassing and sensitive symptoms, lack of control, tolerance levels,  coping with the feeling you’re not understood/it’s not acceptable to let things affect your work, I’m sure that we can all identify with this in some way or another.

In this episode have the Reverend Mandy Williams and Colette Leleu here to chat to us about some of these changes in life, the impact that can have on the individual and those around them, and to share what help and support there is here in the university. So welcome to a Pinch of SALT once again Mandy & Colette.

Bereavement Support

Faith@Campuslife

TogetherAll

Student Services

Staff Services 

In 2020, Swansea University adopted a new Digital Learning Platform, moving from Blackboard to Canvas. To ensure the transition was as smooth as it could possibly be, the University assembled a project team of individuals who are passionate about Technology in education. Over the past couple of years, the team has evolved, adapted, and supported staff to launch out into the world of online learning in the face of one of the most challenging events in recent history – the COVID-19 pandemic. Members of the former Canvas Project Team have since joined a group of Academic Developers within SALT called the Technology Enhanced Learning team, who bring together a great wealth of practical technological experience with a strong knowledge of pedagogy within Technology Enhanced Learning. We have the privilege of meeting some of them today to talk about their journey, how they support staff across the university, and best practice in blended learning.

Swansea staff can access the TEL dev team's provisions or find out more about engaging in ABC learning design.

Episode art by cottonbro from Pexels

We began planning A Pinch of SALT a little over a year ago February 2021 and published our first episode in July 2021. We opened with Swansea's Pro-Vice Chancellor of Learning and Teaching professor Martin Stringer which was the perfect start to the collection. So far, we have managed to capture staff and student voices from a range of perspectives, with many more in the pipeline. In this episode, Mandy Jack shares a few of her favourite episodes, although she admits it was difficult to choose. We would also like to take this opportunity to get you to share your favourites and to suggest topics for future episodes too. Also if you’d like to be a guest or you have a suggestion for a topic please get in touch by emailing the SALT Podcast Team at [email protected]

Studying for a PGCert in teaching in higher education provides an important grounding in teaching techniques, approaches, and theories and supports the continuing development of your teaching practice. Some might argue, that it is a vital developmental qualification for both new members of academic staff who are just embarking on a career in Higher Education, as well as those who may have been teaching for a while but have had no formal guidance in learning and teaching strategies. However, starting a new job, often in a new area and sometimes in a new country is hard enough, but to do that alongside gaining a qualification is a tough ask. So how is it done? In today’s episode, we talk to four newly qualified staff here at Swansea University. We have Dr. Tegwen Malik who lecturers in the School of Management, Dr. Jennifer Thompsona lecturer in Mechanical Engineering, Dr. Shirin AlexanderSenior Lecturer in Energy Safety Research, and Chemical Engineering, and Dr. Pete Arnold Senior Lecturer, in Health Data Science. Together they share how they juggle the day job whilst becoming a student again.

In this episode we talk to SALT's own team of Academic Developers, supporting the internal HEA Fellowship programmes. A must for anyone thinking of pursuing a fellowship application, becoming an assessor or simply wishing to find out more about the world of HEA Fellowship here at Swansea!

In this episode we talk with Paul Edwards, Swansea University's longest serving Grounds Manager. We gain an insight into the work of the Grounds Team and explore how the university's two diverse campuses continue to support learning, promote wellbeing and help nurture Swansea's distinctive identity.

Talk about mental health and wellbeing in society has changed, so is it assumed that we are more proactive about asking for help to ensure our own positive metal health? It is fair to say that conversations emerging around mental health and wellbeing are well established on the HE sector’s agenda and have dominated the media, it has even caught the attention of government. But the level of stress among academics in higher education institutions has significantly increased over the past decade. So, what can we do to help ourselves? What is out there for us to help us recognise that we might need help, or to stop us even getting to that stage? Today we talk to about what is going on around us that can offer help in a proactive and maybe even preventative way. Today we are delighted to be speaking to two members of Staff Wellbeing at Swansea University; the Reverend Mandy Williams and Colette Leleu who are part of a group of dedicated individuals that promote health and wellbeing at work.  Together they are trying to improve our workplace culture with a special emphasis on health and wellbeing. If you are staff at Swansea you can find some resources in the Health and Wellbeing section of HR, here is the list of the centre series events.

For women all over the world, just being a woman can be very hard. Having a special day like International Women's Day means that some of their stories can be told, and those more fortunate can learn and begin to understand how privileged we are. In today's episode, we celebrate being a woman in higher education. We discuss our fortunate position, of living in a country where higher education is not just a male opportunity. We share our varied experiences from a range of perspectives of university life. On the podcast today Rhian Ellis and Mandy Jack talk to Sophie Leslie Student Partnership and Feedback Development Office, Liza Leibowitza former Swansea University student and the welfare officer for Swansea University students union, Saabina Abubaker second year student studying psychology and sociology; Dr Helen Williams lecturer in people and organization, based in the school of management, Professor Yamni Nigam faculty of medicine, health, and life sciences and Joanne Parfitt Head of English Language Training Services. Together we show how far we have come from the London 9 back in 1869, but how much there is still to do.  #BreakTheBias

This is a special episode today where we're promoting our Living Books event, which is taking place on the 23rd of March. So what is a Living Book? We got our inspiration for the event from the Danish organisation The Human Book Library. So essentially in the true sense of the word, it is a library of real people, with real stories to tell. On the 23rd of March, readers can borrow 'books', our human volunteers, and have conversations they would not normally have access to. It is a safe space where difficult questions are expected, appreciated, and answered.

It's the second time we've held an event like this at Swansea University. So, we're fortunate to have some of last year's books here to chat to us about why they offered to be part of the library, and what they got from the experience. We also have, one of this year's books with us, so, we can hear a little bit about what is to come up in March. I feel like I'm in a bit of a magic library at the moment.

Talking about their experiences from last year's event are: the event organiser, Philippa Price - Subject Librarian; Mohsen Elbeltagi - Muslim Chaplain Campus Life team member; Theresa Ogbekhiulu - Senior Project Manager for Race Equality and Professor Martin Stringer - Pro-Vice-Chancellor For Education. We also have Dr Gareth Noble Associate Professor and Director for Postgraduate Taught Studies at Swansea University Medical School who gives us a snippet into what his book is about and why he wanted to be a part of this year's event.

To join us on 23rd of March 2022 you will need to register and choose a 'book' to read. So listen well and come along in March and become better read! Peruse the blurb of the books confirmed for this year's event.

#InclusiveSwanseaUni #BetterRead #LivingBooks2022

Today we are talking to Archivists at the Richard Burton Archives, here at Swansea University. This enthusiastic and engaging team of archivists have come here today to share their passion for the wonderful resources that are held within the archives and to share ways in which these artifacts, not only of local and regional, but also national significance, can offer a unique opportunity to enhance the student learning experience. So a warm welcome to Katrina, Emily, and Stacy, the Richard Burton Archivists. Please follow the team on Twitter @SwanUniArchives, read the blog, or peruse the LibGuides to find out more!