SERC Online and Open For Business During Lockdown

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought about many changes and challenges, including the physical closure of South Eastern Regional College’s (SERC) seven campuses in Northern Ireland. In response to the outbreak SERC has transitioned to an online learning platform to ensure SERC remains online and open for business, enabling the College to continue providing support for students and staff.  

Entering the world of remote learning presented a challenge for some. These challenges were not just a case of being unfamiliar as some students did not have access to the learning materials and online classes as they did not have a computer at home. To overcome this barrier to remote learning, SERC staff have been going above and beyond to bring college computers with the required software to the homes of students to allow them to complete their course remotely. 

SERC’s Students Union are dedicated to being online and open for business and have launched a Microsoft Teams site as a new platform for online student engagement and support. The SU have been working in collaboration with external organisations such as the National Centre for Suicide Prevention and Ulster Bank to deliver support around Health and Wellbeing and E-Safety. The SU are currently working on the development of online social activities for students and the provision of online workshops to further support remote learning. The SU are intent on keeping the support and engagement going during these uncertain times, offering students a place to voice their concerns as well as providing a Health and Wellbeing Hub where students can find the resources and information they need.  

Support for SERC students also came from Hospitality and Catering staff, who rallied together to create care packages for students most in need. Stock originally intended to be used for teaching and serving at the college restaurants was packaged and distributed to students in need as well as a local food bank. The Hospitality and Catering team are going to continue their good work by preparing meals for those in need in the wider community.  

The Enterprise and Entrepreneurship team have also been getting involved in helping the community by working with staff to raid classrooms, workshops and storage cupboards for any PPE that could be donated. The team have been coordinating the collection and distribution of material and PPE to those in need across the South Eastern Region and beyond. There have been many beneficiaries of these efforts including care homes, hospitals, shops, and vulnerable people in the community. So far, the Enterprise and Entrepreneurship team have coordinated the donation of 19,000 gloves, 2,400 aprons, 60 pieces of eye wear, over 250 masks and counting, along with countless steri-wipes, paper towels and hand cleanser.  

This coordination by the Enterprise and Entrepreneurship team seen material donated from shops such as Thomas Kelly and Co, Mad About Fabrics and Hab and Fab. This material has been given out to SERC staff members, students and members of local communities who have been working hard to make create homemade masks, scrubs and scrub laundry bags for key workers.  

To get as many people involved in making vital PPE, SERC lecturer, Marie Dunwoody has passed on her skills and knowledge by creating an online tutorial. This video demonstrates how to create a mask at home and has been shared on SERC social media platforms.  

In addition to the ever-growing response to PPE needs, SERC have given staff the opportunity to volunteer for the NHS during their normal working hours. This allows volunteering to count towards normal contractual hours.   

Staff have also had the opportunity to upskill and develop knowledge on ever changing technologies through the college’s Learning Academy. Online classes, webinars and one on one sessions have been available to staff on topics such as Nearpod, Class Notebook, Moodle and Microsoft teams, making the change to online that bit easier. The Learning Academy have also set up free online webinars and workshops for the public to join and gain knowledge on remote learning.  

SERC’s business services team have moved to an online platform in order to help support businesses. The College understands that this is an extremely challenging and difficult time for the businesses. Even though face to face delivery has been suspended our business team are still here to help. We are currently waiting on approval from DoE for online courses aimed at helping businesses continue to innovate and upskill its employees despite the current situation.  

Apply now for courses commencing September 2020. Visit www.serc.ac.uk to find out how you could be #BetterOffAtSERC