¹û¶³Ó°Ôº

The summer term is a particularly demanding time for students, whether you are taking first year examinations or writing your postgraduate dissertation. I wanted to wish you the very best for this important period.

Students will doubtless have a number of practical questions about arrangements forÌýthe examination period, and we will be updating you regularly through my¹û¶³Ó°Ôº.

The frequently asked questions webpage to help you navigate exams at ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº is a good starting point for practical questions - ranging from where to find your exam venue to what happens if you are late.

I'd encourage you to take note of the range of resources that ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº provides for you to draw on during the exam period, particularly if the stress of examinations is taking its toll on you, and you'd like some additional support during the term.

It includes a range of helpful guides including managing nerves during an exam, information on telephone and online counselling, as well as details on drop-in sessions for students experiencing any mental or physical health difficulties.

Share the space

Study space tends to be a particular concern at this point in the year. One of the main challenges that we have at ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº is that certain libraries are heavily overused in peak periods, while others are under-utilised.

¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Senate House Hub, ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Eastman Dental Library and the ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Language & Speech Science Library are three examples of alternative spaces for study that you might want to consider.

At the same time, ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Library Services, as a direct result of user feedback, is piloting a new scheme - - in several of our libraries to make life fair for students waiting for a space.

If you are taking a break for more than 30 minutes, please remember to clear your space and take your belongings with you. Staff will be leaving reminders on desks that have been left unattended to indicate that they are available for use after 30 minutes.

In addition to library space, Halima Begum, ¹û¶³Ó°ÔºU Education and Campaigns Officer, has worked with ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº to , creating extra study spaces that are a mixture of desks for quiet study, computer clusters and group work spaces with configurable seating.

Between these measures, we hope to create an environment that enables you to work profitably.

A word to our students from the EU

On 29 March, the UK government formally began the process of exiting the EU by triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. Ìý

I issued a statement the same day expressing both my concerns and determination to pressure the government to give a clear commitment that EU citizens here will be entitled to stay, study and work in the UK following our EU exit.

As more than 4,000 ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº students come from EU countries other than the UK - a greater number than any other UK university - it remains my number one priority.

I realise that those of you it affects must be experiencing awful uncertainty. We have made it crystal clear to the government that they are dealing with the lives of some three million EU citizens and, therefore, it would be totally unacceptable to leave all those people with such uncertainty for the next two years.

UK and EU politicians and officials need to get this one issue resolved as soon as possible, and we will continue to apply pressure on them until it has been.

Professor Michael Arthur
President & Provost