On Thursday, 17th October, our annual GSL Live conference took place in London, bringing together a huge mix of PBSA professionals from across the UK and Europe. There was a range of content catering for everyone from CEOs to site managers. Over the course of the day, it was clear that there were a number of recurring themes, and so we want to share some of the key takeaways with you.
1. Supporting vulnerable students creates a far wider positive impact
There were two sessions on the day specifically dedicated to supporting more vulnerable groups of students. However, the topic naturally crossed over into other discussions such as wellbeing, community and the moving in experience.
Fiona Earley shared some of the Autism-specific support that Dublin City University (DCU) has put into place to become the world’s first accredited autism-friendly university by Aslam. This session took attendees through challenges and solutions for students who are autistic, both for the sensory environment and the transition to university.
Fiona shared the statistic that 8 in 10 people who are autistic process sensory information differently to neurotypical people, and shared an immersive video filmed from a first-person perspective that gave the audience an understanding of the feelings of sensory overload experienced by a student who is neurodiverse as they navigate their way around campus. Needless to say, this was extremely impactful.
The video did an amazing job of highlighting the importance of having dedicated quiet spaces that students can retreat to when they feel overwhelmed. Another key aspect of this is the signage and communication in place at DCU, so that all students are aware of the quiet spaces, their location and how they should be used.
We know from our own research that students who are autistic and neurodivergent particularly appreciate more specific and visual information about their university and accommodation. The way DCU achieves this is with their Campus Explorer webpage, which acts as a digital map for students to virtually look around the campus. One huge benefit of this tool is that it highlights the location of dedicated quiet spaces and generally more quiet areas, as well as showing students where to find entrances to buildings and some common routes around the campus.
GSL’s CEO, Tim Daplyn, also presented some key findings from our 2024 report, Closing the Gap, created in collaboration with CUBO. This report uses the latest data from the GSL Index to explore the experiences of students belonging to four vulnerable groups – students with a disability, who belong to an ethnic minority, who are LGBTQIA+ and who are neurodiverse. Tim shared that the name of the report primarily refers to the consistent gap in satisfaction with accommodation between students with and without a disability. Although overall satisfaction has generally increased in recent years, satisfaction for students with a disability remains stubbornly and consistently 7-8% points below satisfaction for students without a disability. Further gaps can be seen in wellbeing and mental health scores, which also tend to be lower for each of the four vulnerable groups, compared to the rest of the student population.
For me, one of the key takeaways from this session was that when looking at the report’s sample of over 50,000 students, 43% of students fit into one of these four groups. The impact of changes made in favour of students who are seen to be in the minority is likely to reach much further than it might initially seem.
2. Communication is key, especially in the early days
I don’t think there was a single session of the day that didn’t touch on communication at least once. In fact, every session that I attended emphasised the huge importance of getting communication right and fostering two-way communication with students.
The ‘First Impressions Count’ session seems a logical place to start here. As the name suggests, this session focussed on students’ early experiences – open days, pre-arrival information and the all-important move in day. Sarah Ead shared recent GSL Index data highlighting that arrival instructions are the top driver of students’ satisfaction with their moving in experience. We discussed the huge amount of information that needs to be relayed to students ahead of their start date, and how to improve engagement with this information by utilising virtual learning environments and making the information more interactive.
Kasper Wigen shared some of Yugo’s latest research into the communication habits of Gen Z in the UK and US. Trends highlighted in this research include shortening attention spans of Gen Z and the biggest barriers to conversion and how we can overcome these to improve communication. I will be keeping an eye out for the full whitepaper when it is released, ‘Catering to a Gen Z world, the digital lens’!
In the next session, the GSL Index Masterclass, James King shared recent GSL Index data on communication channels most used by students. Email is still the platform most students studying in the UK use and is also most consistent when looking at the different preferences of UK and international students or the differences in usage between genders. For students who don’t use email, Instagram is the most popular method of communication.
In her session ‘The importance and impact of an intercultural experience in student accommodation’, Zoe Revell shared some of the findings from recent research that Red Brick Research has undertaken in collaboration with the British Council on the expectations and experience of international students studying in the UK. One interesting point in this session, that links back to pre-arrival information, was that roughly half of international students say that their English language proficiency is intermediate at best upon their arrival in the UK. Zoe suggested that pre-arrival information on UK culture could really help international students feel more prepared. This could include a guide to common British phrases or slang terms, everyday etiquette, food and drink, social culture, academic life, and even tips on staying positive in the dark cold winter, as well as where they can access support.
Interestingly, Fiona Earley raised a similar issue in her session on DCU’s Autism Friendly Project, highlighting that an issue that is likely to be common to both international students and students with autism is not always being able to pick up on ‘hidden social rules’ or sarcasm. Both groups of students may be more likely to feel they are making ‘social blunders’ or let fear of social blunders prevent them from socialising in the first place.
‘The Blame Game’ session explored how providers can work collaboratively with students to tackle environmental challenges, and this provided some great communication tips. Ashleigh Dunlop shared the success Student Castle has had with their student influencer program, and finding that sometimes the easiest way to communicate with students is via other students!
On the topic of communication, Olivia McCafferty from Red Brick Research drew parallels with charity initiatives, in which some of the most successful campaigns have demonstrated positive change, and therefore inspired others to get involved in order to do the same. This is similar to a suggestion from an audience member in the ‘GSL Index Masterclass’ session, who had successfully used ‘you said, we did’ campaigns as a great way to encourage students to take part in the survey. The operator ran a campaign sharing feedback they’d received in the previous year’s survey and the changes they had made as a result. Students trusted that their opinion would be heard, so these types of campaigns can be particularly effective in encouraging two-way communication.
Throughout the day there were multiple discussions on the value of getting students to communicate back to accommodation teams, including the importance of building trust between staff and students, as well as checking in regularly, both in person and using online anonymous surveys.
It was great to hear so many universities and operators share how they use the feedback they get from the GSL Index, and we used the conference as an opportunity to demo our brand new addition – The GSL Index app! The app will bring both head office teams and site teams even closer to their student feedback by sharing comments, voice-notes and video messages in live time, and alerting the user to any common themes and trends in incoming feedback, so that you always know what your students have to say.
3. The importance of considering community-building in design of spaces and programmes
Sarah Ead opened the ‘Wellbeing by Design’ session by sharing some insight from recent GSL Index data. When asking students what they would be willing to pay more rent to improve in their accommodation, the most common answers are laundry and bathrooms. However, students who say their accommodation has a negative impact on their wellbeing, are more likely to say that they would pay more to improve the condition of the building, and the quality of the communal areas, as well as noise levels and care & support.
Clayre Massey, Associate Partner at Sheppard Robson Architects, also spoke in the ‘Wellbeing by Design’ session about the importance of designing buildings and social spaces with the ideal student journey in mind.
One aspect of this is the adaptability of spaces, and in particular, the common areas. If an area of the communal space has been specifically signposted as a ‘study area’, students may not feel comfortable using that area for other uses. So messaging is also a key part of this, and giving students the freedom to feel at home in their space and make it their own.
The ‘Wellbeing by Design’ session highlighted the importance of a well-designed communal area in an accommodation, but this may not always be readily available for some existing buildings. While sharing ideas for community activities in another session, ‘Designing Communities’, Paul Mercer, Vanya Campbell and Jo Blair shared some of the initiatives that Kaplan Living, University of Essex and Unite Students run off-site, that help students feel integrated into the local community. These included running and walking clubs, organised days out to local landmarks and volunteer days, such as litter picking on the beach or in a nearby park.
In this session, Jenny Shaw asked panellists their thoughts on how the current cohort of students differs from previous cohorts. Observations included an increased appetite for non-drinking activities and less partying, and a growing desire for events that are smaller, more individual or more tailored for students with different interests rather than large-scale events.
The panel agreed that arts and crafts type events are usually popular. Another suggestion was bringing therapy animals in from charities, perhaps dogs, llamas or cats. Some students will have left homes with pets, and either moved abroad or across the country, so bringing animals in can help them feel more at home in their accommodation.
The Designing Communities session was recorded as a live podcast for Unite Students’ Accommodation Matters podcast, so you can listen back to the full session on all good podcast platforms or find it here.
We want to say a huge thank you to everybody who contributed to the GSL Live conference and helped to make it a success, particularly our speakers and our Host, Gareth Duffin.
Next year’s GSL Live conference will be taking place on 16th October 2025, and we’d love to see you there. We are always open to feedback, and this includes ideas for future content, so if you have any recommendations for research, speakers, or topics for next year’s conference, please feel free to get in touch at [email protected].
