Helping our students make the most of IT during Welcome Week and beyond
Summary
As Teaching Week one of the new Academic Year comes to an end, we take a quick look back at what we got up to over the last couple of weeks, including attending new student events across campus and teaching students about the key Information Technology, library and learning services alongside our Library colleagues.
For many students, Welcome Week is one of the most exciting weeks on the University calendar…and possibly of their University lives. Packed with excitement, nerves, intrigue and enthusiasm, there’s so much to see, do and take in. For our team, it’s also a highlight. It’s our chance to get out across campus, meet new students in person, and make sure they know we’re here to support their digital skills development.
Welcome Week stalls and events
Armed with thousands of our latest Digital Skills Programme guides, suitcases bursting at the seams with merchandise, and our mascot, Digi the Duck, we visited stalls and events across campus to spread the digital word. Sounding a bit like a well-known Craig David song, we were outside the Main Library from Monday to Thursday, at the Informatics Fair on Tuesday, and at both the Student Information Fair at McEwan Hall and the School of Engineering’s Welcome Event on Wednesday.
Across the week, we spoke with an estimated 1,600 students, and handed out over 1,500 programme guides and 5,500 items of merchandise. These events have a real feel-good factor. We love hearing about students’ chosen subjects, their first impressions of Edinburgh (often their first time in this amazing city), and answering questions about developing their digital skills.
Making the Most of IT
As well as our promotional activities, we delivered a range of open and School-specific Making the Most of IT presentations for both on-campus and online students during Welcome Week and the first week of teaching—something we’ve done for many years. Co-delivered with Academic Support Librarians, these presentations introduce new students to the key IT, library and learning-technology services they need to know about at the University. This year, we delivered 13 sessions attended by over 200 students, and we also provided pre-recorded videos for those who preferred to view the content at a time and place convenient to them.
If you would like to arrange a Making the Most of IT session for students within your School, please complete our Making the Most of IT request form.
Planning, preparation and delivery of our Welcome Week and Making the Most of IT activities are truly a team effort. Not only is this work beneficial for our students, but it’s also a great opportunity for our wider team to come together and work towards a shared goal.
We can’t wait to start planning for the 2026 Welcome Week events, and look forward to meeting a brand-new intake of excited students.
