Hey, this is Lara from Italy and I’m in my final year here at BU studying computer animation art and design. In this blog, I would like to tell you a bit about the academic support I use at BU to sustain my studies.

Throughout my time at BU I discovered there are many ways in which the university can help you overcome all sorts of issues. 

When you have a technical issue get in touch with IT service…

First of all, I wanted to mention the top used support service for me and my peers. As with any NCCA course, we are required to do most of our work on a computer using various software packages, and through this remote academic year, we had to use virtual desktops to continue using our powerful machines. This creates a lot of technical issues, when it comes to any IT issue we have the IT service always ready to be contacted.  There are lots of ways to get in touch with them such as live chat, email or phone to help you fix any problems you may have with technology at uni! It can be extremely helpful and much needed. 

…And if is course related, you have the demonstrators!

While when it comes to needing help for course-related issues specially on media or computer based courses, we have course demonstrators.  They are a group of highly skilled people working beside our lecturers, they are present on any practical lecture to help you out straight away with any issues so you won’t fall behind, but they are also available during weekdays 9 till 5 to give you a hand when you encounter a problem with software. I have personally called for help many times during the last 3 years and they have always been extremely helpful. They have a lot of specific knowledge and you can learn a lot from them.

A more personal support with the academic advisor…

In my first year, I was assigned an academic advisor, which is a lecturer on your course that is there for you throughout the whole time at BU, to talk about the course and uni-related issues but also any personal concerns. It’s a very useful resource to have someone there to talk as well as someone who can direct you to the right support on campus you may need. In my case I remember in the first year, I felt I was lacking in life drawing experience, I then talked to my supervisor to see what I could do to improve it, they invited me to a life drawing class on campus which helped loads and allowed me to get some great experience. Also, when I had some difficulties understanding my feedback, I found it very relieving having a chat with him!

…or an ALS tutor!

Similarly, as a dyslexic student, I have access to ALS support (Additional Learning Support) which has been extremely helpful when overcoming the obstacles of writing essays, reports and creating presentations. For your time at BU, you get assigned a tutor that you can meet up with regularly to prepare your work and setting up yourself for exams. This for me was one of the best discoveries about UK universities, in Italy, if you have any sort of learning difficulty is very hard to find any sort of help. Here, I actually learnt how to deal with it, and I believe this will be so useful in the future!