A crisis can bring out the best in people and that is certainly what we have witnessed here in the UK and across the University of Sunderland community.
We are particularly proud of our own graduate nurses who went straight to work in regional hospitals. There is pride too in the paramedics and pharmacists who studied at the University of Sunderland, caring for patients on the front line. Nor do we forget our graduate teachers, engineers, software developers, illustrators and psychologists – to name but a few – who have all continued to offer their own expertise and support during the pandemic.
Some of our current student nurses are now volunteering in hospitals. Our engineers at AMAP even designed and produced a visor to keep NHS staff safe while treating patients. At the same time, they designed and produced a simple but effective door opening device so people working in all kinds of care settings and key businesses could reduce their potential contact with the virus.
The University has donated much needed equipment and services to the region’s NHS as it faces the biggest challenge in its history. Our state-of-the-art training ambulance – normally used by our paramedic students to get a flavour of life on the frontline - is currently being used, along with a large range of other medical equipment.
Our academic staff swiftly developed modules and materials for online teaching and assessment, to ensure students could continue in their studies. Our key workers on campus have continued to care for students in our accommodation, keeping spaces scrupulously clean and well-maintained.
And, our student support and wellbeing teams have been offering advice and giving guidance and support to students with all kinds of queries, as well as listening and being a friend to students who needed someone to talk to.