View all news

Students choose free sports classes

Alumni donations will help support free sports classes for students

Alumni donations will help support free sports classes for students

8 July 2013

Bristol students have chosen to use £20,000 of generous alumni donations in a Build a Better Bristol project that will increase both the availability and range of the University’s free sports classes.

Bristol students have chosen to use £20,000 of generous alumni donations in a project that will increase access to sport within the University, through the Build a Better Bristol campaign.

In February this year, as part of the Build a Better Bristol campaign, the University of Bristol Students’ Union (UBU) joined forces with the Campaigns and Alumni Relations Office to give all students the opportunity to nominate projects that they felt would have a significant positive impact on student life.

Nominations included a wide range of ideas – from supporting student media to creating a new outdoor space to setting up a cyclist changing room. UBU compiled a shortlist and gave final-year students the chance to vote on their favourite ideas. The winning project, Making Sport More Accessible, will provide greater access to recreational sport within the University for the 2013/14 academic year.

Second-year BA French and Spanish student Ciara McKibben, who nominated the project, felt that there was an opportunity to get more students involved with sport and fitness. ‘I am really pleased and pleasantly surprised that the project has been chosen,’ she said. ‘I look forward to seeing sport become more accessible to all students in the future. I am incredibly grateful to the alumni who have made this project possible and I really hope to make good on their investment by increasing the number of students participating in sport and removing some of the cost barriers to make sport more inclusive at Bristol.’

Student Projects Intern Daniela Kistulincova who helped administer the campaign said: ‘It has been so great working on this campaign and seeing the projects put forth by students. We received some truly amazing ideas. As a final year student, I’ve enjoyed being able to vote and leave my mark on the University. I would also like to thank the University of Bristol alumni. This campaign could not have happened without their continuous support and generous donations.’

Every year, Bristol graduates donate more than £1 million to the University in regular gifts. This year, £20,000 of unrestricted alumni donations were allocated to the Build a Better Bristol campaign – giving students a voice in how alumni donations are spent, and providing a real opportunity for the University to see what the students felt would improve their experience.

Senior University staff expressed real interest in learning about student ideas and preferences. The University plans to take forward some of the ideas generated by students about postgraduate support.

The UBU and Campaigns and Alumni Relations thank all the students who voted for their favourite projects. The campaign will run again in the 2013/14 academic year and new nominations will be sought. The Campaigns and Alumni Relations team will also hire a new Student Projects Intern at the beginning of the Autumn Term through the University JobShop. If you would like to speak to this year’s intern about the role or the campaign itself, please email Daniela Kistulincova at dk0105@my.bristol.ac.uk.

 

Edit this page