Unite Students Accommodation Matters

With a new academic year just weeks away, we’re looking at the class of 2025 – and the factors that influence their wellbeing.

Our expert panel discusses how key factors like part-time work, sense of community, loneliness and settling into a new city can impact student wellbeing, and what universities and accommodation providers can do to help new students settle into their new city.

Join host Jenny Shaw and this month’s expert panel:

Accommodation Matters brings together sector experts to discuss the Higher Education sector's key issues through the lens of student accommodation. This episode was recorded on 6th August 2025 and produced by Ed Palmer.

If you’d like to share feedback on the 2025 Applicant Index report with Unite Students, please get in touch at [email protected].

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are the personal views of individual guest speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Unite Students and/or Unite Group plc.

They’ve made headlines and opened up a whole new opportunity for the future of student accommodation… so, in this very special episode of Accommodation Matters, we’re exploring joint venture (JV) partnerships.

This half-hour episode will tell you everything you need to know about JVs – why universities are choosing JVs, the benefits to universities, students and the local community, and the challenges of implementation.

Join host Jenny Shaw and this month’s expert panel:

Accommodation Matters brings together sector experts to discuss the Higher Education sector's key issues through the lens of student accommodation. This episode was recorded on 17th and 19th June 2025 and produced by Ed Palmer.

If you’d like to discuss joint venture opportunities with Unite Students, please get in touch with Moray Notman ([email protected]).

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are the personal views of individual guest speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Unite Students and/or Unite Group plc.

Every building needs a refresh at some point. Whether it’s adapting amenity spaces to meet changing student needs or refreshing the look of bedrooms, a refurbishment can unlock significant improvements in student and employee satisfaction. But balancing budgets against quality and student expectations is easier said than done.

So, this month’s episode is a deep dive into refurbishments – how to do them right, and their hidden benefits. The conversation covers:

Hosted as ever by the inimitable Jenny Shaw, this month’s expert panel includes:

Accommodation Matters brings together sector experts to discuss the Higher Education sector’s key issues through the lens of student accommodation. This episode was recorded on 13th and 14th May 2025 and produced by Ed Palmer.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are the personal views of individual guest speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Unite Students and/or Unite Group plc.

Resources

Want to see what the refurbished properties mentioned in the episode look like? Check them out on our student website:

Follow Unite Students on LinkedIn to hear about all the latest refurbishment and development updates: https://www.linkedin.com/company/unite-group-plc/

In an increasingly competitive student market, understanding the drivers of student satisfaction has never been more important. This month, we’re getting into what student satisfaction looks like in 2025.

Hosted by Jenny Shaw, our panel covers what satisfaction surveys tell us about student needs, the role of quality, wellbeing and value for money, and what might drive satisfaction for Generation Alpha when they arrive at university in a few years.

This month’s expert panel includes:

Accommodation Matters brings together sector experts to discuss the Higher Education sector’s key issues through the lens of student accommodation. This episode was recorded on 10th April 2024 and produced by Ed Palmer.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are the personal views of individual guest speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Unite Students and/or Unite Group plc.

‘Compassion’ is the word of the moment in the HE sector. But why, and what does that look like in practice?

Join host Jenny Shaw and an expert panel for a deep dive into how compassion is shaping new approaches across UK Higher Education, in student support and beyond.

This lively discussion covers how compassionate communications can enhance the student experience, how to integrate compassion into your organisation’s policies and procedures, and examples of this in practice across accommodation and university functions.

Our expert panel includes:

Accommodation Matters brings together sector experts to discuss the Higher Education sector’s key issues through the lens of student accommodation. This episode was recorded on Monday 24th February 2024 and was produced by Ed Palmer.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are the personal views of individual guest speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Unite Students and/or Unite Group plc.

Resources

The Higher Education Mental Health Implementation Taskforce (HEMHIT)’s Compassionate Communication Statement is available to download from Nottingham Trent University’s website: https://www.ntu.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0030/2526771/Compassionate-Communication-Statement.pdf

Read more about Unite Students’ CARE service philosophy on our website: https://www.unitegroup.com/articles/student-support-resident-experience

Find out more about Unite Students’ Support to Stay framework on our website: https://www.unitegroup.com/articles/student-support-to-stay-unite-students

Learn more about the Nurture-U and Compassionate Campus initiatives at the Nurture-U website: www.nurtureuniversity.co.uk

Dr Kathryn Waddington is currently writing a book called 'How to be a Compassionate Academic' and would love to hear stories from listeners where compassion has been brought to life through small acts of kindness. These will be used with permission and anonymised in the book, for more details please email Kathryn at: [email protected] with 'BOOK' in the subject line.

Season 9 launches with something a little bit different. To celebrate four years of Accommodation Matters, we took the show on the road to GSL Live and recorded a live episode!

Join host Jenny Shaw for a lively panel discussion about designing community within student accommodation – including how the physical design can support community-building, the role of accommodation teams, whether themed accommodation works, and how to measure the success of community-building events.

Our panel includes:

• Jo Blair, Head of Specification at Unite Students

Accommodation Matters brings together sector experts to discuss the Higher Education sector’s key issues through the lens of student accommodation. This episode was recorded on Thursday 17th October 2024 at GSL Live and was produced by Ed Palmer.

Thanks to Hannah Colbran and Sarah Ead at Global Student Living for helping to organise the session, to James King for providing technical assistance on the day, and to our GSL Live audience.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are the personal views of individual guest speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Unite Students and/or Unite Group plc.

Resources

Read more about the support that Unite Students offers on our website: https://www.unitegroup.com/articles/student-support-resident-experience

In July, Unite Students launched the 2024 Applicant Index: an in-depth look at the needs and concerns of this year’s university applicants.

We recorded an episode about the findings at the time – now, as these applicants take up their places at university, we’re sharing our full interview with Nick Hillman, Director at the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) to give you even more insights into your first-year students.

Host Jenny Shaw and Nick get into topics including:

• Trends we’re seeing across three years of Applicant Index data

Accommodation Matters brings together sector experts to discuss the Higher Education sector’s key issues through the lens of student accommodation. This episode was recorded on 19th July 2024 and produced by Ed Palmer.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are the personal views of individual guest speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Unite Students and/or Unite Group plc.

Resources

You can download the reports mentioned in this episode from Unite Students’ website, including:

• Applicant Index 2024 [July 2024]

You can download the latest HEPI/Advance HE Student Academic Experience Survey from HEPI’s website. [June 2024]

You can watch the HEPI/Unite Students launch day webinar on the Applicant Index on YouTube. [July 2024]

On 17th October, we’re recording our first ever live episode of Accommodation Matters at the GSL Live conference! If you’d like to join us, you can get tickets from the GSL Live website – we’d love to see you there.

The Higher Education sector is full of ideas for improving student life. Last year, we asked our listeners to get in touch with what ideas and initiatives they’d launched in their accommodation – and our listeners loved it. So we’re doing it all over again.

Join host Jen Steadman for this month’s episode of Accommodation Matters, where you’ll hear about initiatives to promote inclusion, safety and sustainability. Among other ideas, we look at a new app that's helping to build student communities, a student safety campaign that's brought together nine universities, and a podcast by and for students to support with belonging.

Our contributors include:

• Pete Collins, Partnership and Engagement Manager at University of Birmingham

Accommodation Matters brings together sector experts to discuss the Higher Education sector’s key issues through the lens of student accommodation. This episode was recorded throughout August 2024 and produced by Ed Palmer.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are the personal views of individual guest speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Unite Students and/or Unite Group plc.

Resources

Download the Unite Students Applicant Index from the Unite Students website.

Learn more about LSE’s consent education campaign from their Consent video on YouTube.

Read more about the Respect at Uni campaign from Deakin University’s website.

Find out about the Unite Foundation’s scholarship, and download their podcast, from their website This Is Us At Uni – and the All Of Us community for estranged and care-experienced students at www.allofus.uk.

🎧 The special Student Accommodation Podcast Summit Episode is out now!

Accommodation Matters host Jenny Shaw recently collaborated with experts Sarah Canning and Deenie Lee (The Property Marketing Strategists), Dan Smith (Student Housing Consultancy), Laura Bosworth (REAL), Richard Stott (Kexgill Group) and Rebecca O'Hare (University of Leeds) to record a special episode discussing crucial issues in student accommodation.

This top team of professionals share expert views on key topics, including:

⚪ PBSA vs. HMOs: Is affordability in student accommodation a self-perpetuating issue created by PBSA?

⚪ The evolution of PBSA rooms: Have they truly evolved to meet student needs?

⚪ Mental health challenges: Is the sector prepared for upcoming issues?

⚪ Understanding changing demographics and adapting services and products accordingly

⚪ Staffing costs and rent: Should increasing staff costs impact rent?

⚪ Undervaluing PBSA: Why are we still focused on rooms rather than the whole package?

⚪ Data, research, and market gaps: How data can reveal opportunities

⚪ Technology's influence on the future of accommodation

⚪ Future demand for flexibility from students

⚪ Intersectionality and inclusion: Implications for future accommodation options

It's a conversation you definitely don't want to miss.

If you enjoyed the episode, do check out our collaborators’ podcasts – Housed: The Shared Living Podcast (Sarah, Deenie and Dan), Get Real About Marketing (Laura) and Free Food, Free Drinks (Rebecca), available from all good podcast platforms.

*****

Accommodation Matters brings together sector experts to discuss the Higher Education sector’s key issues through the lens of student accommodation. This episode was recorded on Friday 12th July 2024.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are the personal views of individual guest speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Unite Students and/or Unite Group plc.

Every year, Unite Students surveys university applicants for our Applicant Index. And every year, we’re surprised by the differences between applicant cohorts. If you want to be prepared for the first year students who will arrive into your city in the autumn, you won’t want to miss this episode – or the report that spawned it.

Hosted by Jenny Shaw (Higher Education External Engagement Director at Unite Students), our expert panel looks at the ever-shifting impact of the pandemic on this year’s incoming student cohort, how they’re feeling about their finances ahead of coming to university, the specific needs of working class and disabled applicants, and what this will all mean in practical terms for universities and student accommodation providers.

Our panel includes:

• Dr Michelle Morgan, Dean of Students at University of East London

We’re also joined by special guest Nick Hillman, Director of HEPI, who shares his reflections on this year’s findings and some of the stand-out stats that caught his attention.

Accommodation Matters brings together sector experts to discuss the Higher Education sector’s key issues through the lens of student accommodation. This episode was recorded on 19th and 22nd July 2024 and produced by Ed Palmer.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are the personal views of individual guest speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Unite Students and/or Unite Group plc.

Resources

The following reports referenced in the episode can all be downloaded from the Unite Students website:

• The Unite Students 2024 Applicant Index [July 2024]

You can also learn more about our Resident Ambassadors initiative from the Unite Students website. [April 2024]

Jim Dickinson’s piece about duty of candour within Higher Education can be found on Wonkhe’s website. [July 2024]

HEPI / Advance HE’s Student Academic Experience Survey 2024 report can be downloaded from HEPI’s website. [June 2024]

The Unite Students / HEPI webinar on the Applicant Index 2024 can also be viewed on HEPI’s website. [July 2024]

Paul Bolton and Joe Lewis’s ‘Degree apprenticeships’ briefing can be downloaded from the House of Commons library. [May 2024]