Read: Opportunity Bridge

Spotlight on Mark Power and Liverpool John Moores University

Mark Power, Registrar and Chief Operating Officer at the university, speaks to Justine Greening about its links with Northern Ireland and its ambitious outreach programme.

JG// I imagine it’s been a challenging time for you at Liverpool John Moores during the coronavirus crisis?

MP// Definitely. If we look back to March and April, we spent a considerable amount of time moving from face-to-face delivery to as much online delivery as we possibly could.

We were in a very good position to do that, because we had a very robust digital infrastructure that supported our virtual

learning environment. And I have to say, our academic colleagues were absolutely amazing in moving materials into that online space, delivering synchronous and asynchronous lectures very quickly, and supporting students through the remainder of the academic year.

JG// Your Northern Irish students represent just over 10 per cent of the population this year. Can you tell me a little bit about the work that you've been doing in Northern Ireland?

MP// Our links with Northern Ireland go back many years and we've built a reputation by really having a presence there; going out and talking to people in schools and colleges. Our great ambassadors for the university are our Northern Irish students who have travelled over to Liverpool, studied with us and, in a number of cases, returned to Northern Ireland to build successful careers.

We’re a relatively small team, but we’re dedicated to offering advice, guidance, support and events. We invite parents and supporters of potential applicants to these events so they can see that the Northern Irish population is particularly important to us.

We have seen an increase in both applications and new entrants into the university from Northern Ireland, which is fantastic and goes to show that all of that outreach activity that we’ve undertaken has worked.

JG// How do you support Northern Irish students once they arrive at university?

MP// It’s about recognising that some of the best mentors for students are fellow students. I work with parts of the Northern Irish student community to provide a buddying infrastructure around the new entrants that arrive in the city.

Also, we recognise that the funding situation in Northern Ireland isn't identical to that of England, and the students are not quite as well supported financially as they are in other parts of the UK. So, we’ve entered into an organisation called UniTemps where we seek to provide students with paid employment opportunities to help support them through their studies.

JG// With COVID-19 taking much of your teaching online, how does that affect your work in Northern Ireland?

MP// We’ve moved all of our outreach work online and the indication is that we've had a greater engagement than we would

have done with face-to-face events.

We also moved our summer support sessions online, which we’ve been running for a number of years, in July and August. We recognised that many students haven’t been in the school setting for a considerable amount of time.

Running them online gave an opportunity for applicants who wouldn't have otherwise had the opportunity to travel over to England during July and August to engage with the sessions.

JG// Do you think remote learning and outreach will continue post-pandemic?

MP// I think it certainly will. It has far-reaching implications for how universities think about their investments in their digital infrastructure. And that's something that we've certainly been considering over the last six months; what will the university look like over the next five to ten years and beyond?

But in this time of crisis, it really does focus people's minds. And it's amazing how innovative and creative people can be in those circumstances. For me, that's probably one of the most heartening parts of the last six months; being able to see how colleagues have come together in such a constructive way.

JG// What are some of the challenges you have faced moving your support services online?

MP// One of the challenges is something that is particularly related to the Northern Irish students, who typically do come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. We cannot make assumptions that they either have the equipment or access to data. So this year for students from widening participation groups, we have invested around a million pounds in a laptop scheme. We will provide students with their own laptop, as well as buying them data bundles so they can access online materials from wherever they are.