News

In the summer of 2020, the Quintin Hogg Trust awarded the University of Westminster Students Union just over £500,000 to refresh and renew the student social space at the Cavendish Campus. The campus situated in the heart of central London forms part of the University’s West End Estate and is home to science and technology-based students studying a range of courses from bio medical science to nutrition. The original space was situated in the main entrance of the campus and lacked the facilities for students to engage in group work and interact socially with each other.

The development of the space included updating a social area for students, refurbishing the employability offices and the introduction of a new Students’ Union information centre to support students with their enquires. The social space, the largest part of the development, took on a whole new aesthetic, it has been transformed into an urban social environment, a place for students to interact with their peers and work together on projects and coursework. The development of this space included creating pods to support group working and installation of TV’s into the pods to aid work. Due to the abnormal shape of the social space a bridge between two parts of the building was created to allow students easier access to the onsite catering facilities encouraging a work / social environment. There is also a Students’ Union “one stop shop” offering one clear point of contact for all enquires and support, including the purchase memberships to sports teams, tickets for events and branded University merchandise. The SU is a charity and all money raised within this space goes back into supporting students at Westminster, the shop offers an employment opportunity to Westminster students to. The final piece in the plan included an update to the current Westminster Employability offices, ensuring that the area is fit for purpose and visible to students who may need to engage with their support.

The work was completed in November and whilst the space has not been fully opened to students, due to current pandemic regulations, the comments so far have been positive. With the creation of this space which will be used to capacity before and after lectures and teaching, a social space has been created and a sense of place established.

A biomedical science student commented – “This is exactly the type of thing that was missing from this site, there was enough space for us to work in a group and the labs are great but for a more chilled out setting we would always have to go off site. Now we have this space it makes you want to stay on campus more, I am really impressed’.

Sarah Parsons Head of Business Development and Communications, SU commented,

“It’s another great addition to a Westminster campus, the Students Union is very grateful for all the support given by the Quintin Hogg Trust, in supporting these development projects, we can’t wait to get students back onsite and using this new space”.