Support Services
The International Buddy scheme is a non-academic, peer to peer support scheme, designed by the Full-Time Student Officers and coordinated by SUBU (Students’ Union at Bournemouth University).
The scheme will last for four (4) weeks and you will work through a different theme each week. You and your buddy can choose any theme which you want to discuss each week, or you can follow the Scheme’s schedule below.
WEEK 1: Welfare & Wellbeing
Health: It is vital that you register with a local GP upon arrival. The BU Medical Centre is ideal as it's based at Talbot House on Talbot Campus, and is open to all BU students, offering a full range of medical services and health advice. The registration form can be completed online. Daily appointments are available from 8.45am-5.00pm Monday to Friday (term-time only). All registered patients have a named GP and online prescriptions and medical records access.
Visit: www.bournemouth.ac.uk/students/health-wellbeing/medical-centre
Mental health: Starting university is an exciting time, but we know it comes with challenges. Here are some of the confidential, and safe well-being support services available on campus:
- Students Assistance Programme: Need help outside regular hours? A free 24-hour confidential helpline and digital resource to support BU students with personal or student-related problems. They have advisers who speak over 250 languages available on 0800 028 3766.
- Faith & Reflection: The team are available to listen to students, offer spiritual support and care, answer questions and help grow. They provide activities and have an open-door policy and are happy to welcome students whether they have a faith or not. They can help put students in touch with local faith communities and tell students the nearest location for a mosque, church, temple, etc. Their space on Talbot Campus includes an Islamic prayer room and a Meditation/Quiet room.
Visit: www.bournemouth.ac.uk/students/health-wellbeing/faith-reflection
SportBU: Our fantastic SportBU facilities include the on-campus gym and fitness classes, along with access to rehab, physio and chiropractic services. SportBU team can provide nutrition advice, personal training and exercise programmes, plus health checks, referrals and rehab.
Visit: www.bournemouth.ac.uk/why-bu/sportbu
SUBU Advice: Independent from the university, Advice provides free, qualified and confidential advice on anything ranging from about housing, finances, academics, to food – register for an appointment on SUBU’s website. Visit the team at the Student Centre on Talbot or Bournemouth Gateway building.
Visit: www.subu.org.uk/support/advice
Community Kitchen: Located on the second floor of the Student Centre at Talbot Campus, the Community Kitchen is open to to help those who are facing difficulties during the cost-of-living crisis and are unable to afford daily essentials such as food or sanitary products. They also hold free breakfast and monthly supper clubs.
Visit: www.subu.org.uk/involved/community/community-kitchen
Immigration and Visas – the Immigration and Visas page has key information on student visas and biometric residence permits (BRPs). Contact the immigration advice team:
Telephone 01202 969696 and email immigration@bournemouth.ac.uk.
Socialise – There are weekly and regular events to keep an eye out for, some especially catered to international students. Global Café is a regular social gathering at Faith and Reflection in the Talbot House with free coffee, cookies and a chance to meet other international students to chat. They also run Soup-er Mondays offering free vegan soup and soul care.
WEEK 2: Careers & Employablity
As an international student, it is very important to take active steps to enhance your employability to enable you seamlessly transition into the job market post-study. It is importance to amass as much relevant experiences as possible and engage with volunteering opportunities as this will exponentially increase your chances of getting the job of your dream in your preferred field/sector.
CareersBU: The CareersBU team can help you with your career and employability needs, loan out job hunting and job application books and resources and much more. They also run regular workshops and webinars on job interviews, CVs, career planning and employment skills for international students.
The CareersBU team is located at the Hub in Poole House, Talbot Campus.
CareerBU Services
- Career Advice: You can book an appointment with the careers adviser for your subject area. You can do this online via MyCareerHub mycareerhub.bournemouth.ac.uk (use your usual BU login details) or contact them by phone and email. They can support you in deciding what jobs you would be suited for, how to navigate the job market, advice you on how to improve your employability etc.
- CV Doctor: CareersBU can support you in editing and polishing your CV for job applications to ensure you are maximizing your chances of getting the job. Check www.bournemouth.ac.uk/events/careersbu-cv-doctor-pop-campus to find out when the CV doctor pop up events on campus are happening throughout the year.
- MyCareerHub: If you’re looking for careers support out of hours, log in to MyCareerHub, where you’ll find resources, careers event listings, loads of resources to help you apply and interview for jobs – and of course, job vacancies for anything from temporary part-time work to graduate schemes and opportunities in the UK and overseas.
Link: mycareerhub.bournemouth.ac.uk
- Career Fairs: The CareersBU team organizes job fairs throughout the year which brings employers from different sectors to campus to recruit students. It’s a great way to meet and talk to employers and potentially get recruited so make sure to keep an eye on the events tab on Mycareershub for the dates.
- Student Circus: The Student Circus platform is a job listings platform for international students that highlights skilled worker visa sponsored jobs. To access the platform go to Mycareerhub > Search for jobs (UK and global > Vacancies > Jobs & Placements for International Students > Access Student Circus
- Grad Skills Program: The Bournemouth University Graduate Skills Programme is a free employability programme open to all current students. Managed by CareersBU and delivered with industry partners, the programme supports you to develop and articulate transferable skills that can be applied to any career path. CareersBU offer a programme of industry-led Masterclasses, online learning resources and extracurricular opportunities, helping you to gain valuable skills. You can register for the graduate skills program on Mycareerhub.
Link: www.bournemouth.ac.uk/students/things-do/graduate-skills-programme
Volunteering: Volunteering is a great way to give back to society meanwhile attaining varying experiences in different fields and sectors which will enrich your CV and increase your employability. There are a plethora of volunteering opportunities available and advertised through the Students’ Union, available at link www.subu.org.uk/involved/volunteering.
Additionally, you can log the hours volunteered on the volunteering hub and get a certificate after completion.
WEEK 3: Education
Libraries and educational support:
Libraries at Bournemouth Universty
- The Sir Michael Cobham Library, Talbot Campus
Open 24 hours*, Monday - Sunday (Ground floor only after midnight).
Your ID card is required to access the library overnight between 5pm - 8am, and all day during weekends and bank holidays.
- Weston Library, Bournemouth Gateway Building, Lansdowne Campus
Open 24 hours*, Monday - Sunday (Ground floor only after midnight).
Your ID card is always required for access.
*Always check the library website on opening hours as this may change due to Holidays, Bank Holidays and more.
Resources within the Library Department:
- Academic Skills Hub
The Academic Skills Hub allows you to book one-to-one appointments, in person or online, with our tutors or librarians who will share their skills and expertise. You can also sign up to our workshops which cover many topics including:
- Academic Integrity and Plagiarism
- Academic writing
- Critical thinking
- Digital skills
- Dissertations and Projects (Dissertation Tool kit, step unto how to write a dissertation)
- Exams and Revision
- English language skills
- Finding sources
- Healthy study habits
- Maths
- Presentation and seminar skills
- Referencing
- Statistical analysis
- Understanding Assignments
Faculty Librarian Team: Team you can book one to one appointment with them, there is a team for each faculty. They can help you with your academic journey just go to the library to ask for assistance and guidance.
10 bites of learning: Another resource that highlights 10 skills to help students get started studying at university.
Other external resources within the Library Department
- Academic Skills Audit: This can help you find resources appropriate to your individual learning needs. (a quiz)
- Bloomsbury skills for study: Another resources for study skills, log in with your uni ID.
Covers topics such as:
- Getting ready for academic study
- Time management
- Reading and note-making
- Writing skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Referencing and understanding plagiarism
- Exam skills
- Groupwork and presentation
- Confidence with numbers
- Projects, dissertations and projections
- Research principles
- Employability and personal development
- LinkedIn Learning: It provides video courses taught by industry experts in software, creative, and business skills. All the courses on LinkedIn fall into four categories: Business, Creative, Technology and certifications.
Personal Tutors: All students on taught programmes at BU will be allocated to a named Personal Tutor throughout their programme of study. (Personal tutors does not apply to research students, as separate support arrangements for research students are set out in 8A Code of Practice for Research Degrees).
Personal Tutors are a nominated first point of contact ad support for students. They support students as independent learners, contribute to a personalised, supportive and authentic learning experience based on the tutee’s programme of study.
They are designed to:
- Provide guidance on academic progress and study choices.
- Support tutees to identify obstacles or blocks to learning and discuss potential responses
- Signpost students to relevant university and external services as appropriate
- Refer students to an appropriate academic, programme support, or professional service staff.
Additional you can always talk to your Programme Leader, Programme Support Officer or your lecturer about specific academic issues.
If you don’t know who your personal tutor is you can always speak to AskBu, they have a system to find your personal tutor.
SimOn Feedback Tool:
www.subu.org.uk/represented/studentreps/simon
SimOn is our Simple Online feedback tool, empowering students to be able to have their voices heard. This tool encourages you to give positive and negative feedback about anything to do with the student experiences.
The video on the link, helps you to know how to use this feedback tool, and using it effectively
WEEK 4: Extracurricular Activities
SUBU offers a wide variety of opportunities and an all inclusive student friendly environment!
Clubs and Societies:
- There is over 80 student led clubs and societies. There is something for everyone ranging from special interest, performance, academic, cultural and faith based.
- To find the full list of clubs and socs head to the SUBU website! They are a great place to continue a hobby, learn something new and make friends.
- Clubs and societies range from film society, threads, Indian society, Kpop, catholic soc, Iris LGBTQ+ soc and climbing!
Clubs and Societies hardship fund:
- The Hardship Fund allows students to apply for grants to contribute to joining and remain an active part of SUBU clubs and societies. This fund has been generated in an effort to make clubs and societies more accessible to students who may not otherwise be able to afford to join them or have additional challenges that make it more difficult for them to join and remain an active member. Covers a proportion of the membership
- You can apply and out more on the subu website
Liberation officers and networks:
- There are 6 liberation networks which are a space for specific student groups to gather, create communities, and run campaigns. These networks are a great place to meet like minded people. They are free to join and all students who self-identify are automatically part of their relevant communities.
- To self-identify, visit your relevant Liberation Network page and use the self-identify options on the page.
- These communities are headed by a part time officer who has been elected into this role to represent and run campaigns for the network. In these networks you can take part in events black history month, disability month, Diwali, Pride and even run your own.
Student Communities:
- Subu also has 4 student communities for mature students, international, independent, and student parents. Student Communities are protected students’ groups organised by the Students Union.
- Each year the communities will host a number of events to enable you all to get together. You can expect the communities to provide space and opportunities for students to come together socially and share their experience as well as developing an understanding of the student voice of these groups to enable SUBU to better represent it.
Dylan’s bar & kitchen and The Old fire Station
These hold regular events, like clubs’ nights, quizzes, and karaoke. They offer discounted drinks and a great place to hang out. All profit go back into the student union, to run schemes like this and support students.
If you want to hold your own event in one of these venues, speak to any SUBU member of staff in the student centre. Students have also been known to hold “Dylan’s takeover” where you can hold an event for your culture, a celebration, or fundraiser.
Events in Bournemouth:
- To see what events are happening in subu you can check out ‘the what ‘on page on the subu website. This is a one stop shop to see all the event happening in and around campus
Link: www.subu.org.uk/social/whats_on
- make sure to follow the subus Instagram for regular updates and events too! And @sububournemouth and @subuftos
Some popular regular events include:
- Taking part in Campus sports activates – head to SportBu to find out more
- Fortnightly yoga session in Lansdowne in the Bournemouth Gate Way Building
- Monthly supper club in the Community kitchen on the second floor of student centre
- Global café meet ups on landsdowne and talbot campus
- Chill with your friends in faith and reflection
Some of SUBU's popular annual events include:
- LGBTQ+ history month - Feb
- Speak Week - late Feb
- International Women's Day - early March
- Mental Health Day - mid March
Things to do in bournmouth:
- Take a walk on the pier
- Visit Russell coats art museum
- Visist Boscombe town and beach
- Oceanarium
- Take a trip to corfe castle, Durley chine beach, lulworth cove, durdle door
- Crazy golf
- Cinema