We’ve pulled together some of our top tips to help you settle in and make the most of university life as a distance learner.
How to Get Involved with University Life as a Distance Learner
Distance learning can often feel like a solo experience, and you might be wondering how you can get involved with university life remotely. We’ve pulled together some of our top tips to help you settle in and make the most of university life as a distance learner.
Join In With Our Events
We run a yearly programme of events and activities to entertain you and help you make friends, and this all starts with Welcome.
This year during Welcome, we’re hosting an ‘Answer From Anywhere’ online quiz and social which is a great way to get involved from a distance and meet new people who may also be Distance Learners.
All of our events are posted on our website so make sure to keep checking back and come along to any that are hosted online that you might want to get involved in
Join a Society
If you’re closer to Birmingham, you could join in with your pick of societies and come along to their in-person events as and when you’re able to. We have over 350 societies at the Guild so be sure to explore all the groups and see which ones interest you.
If there’s a society you want to join, why not email the committee and see if you can join in remotely? Lots of societies describe the kind of events they organise and some might already fit perfectly around a more remote lifestyle – it’s always worth asking.
A lot of societies will have discord servers or WhatsApp groups so you can meet likeminded people even if you’re not able to attend every event – who knows someone in that group might live nearby out of term time!
Make Friends with Other Distance Learners
Community doesn’t come from just being physically in the same place, and making friends with other distance learners can be a great way to feel connected. Whether this is through joining in events for distance learners, by joining a society or meeting other distance learners on your course.
Although you should exercise caution with external groups, if there are any group chats* for your course, you could join these and see if anyone else is a distance learner or commuter student. That way you’ve made connections early on and can discuss anything related to distance learning together.
*Disclaimer: Please remember to only purchase official Welcome tickets through the Guild website, rather than through WhatsApp groups. We can guarantee that all events hosted by us are tailored for University of Birmingham students, and will be held either at the Guild, or at Guild approved venues.
Keeping You In The Loop
There’s lots of way that you can make sure you aren’t missing a thing while distance learning. Firstly, you can follow us on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook to be the first to hear all about our latest news, events and happenings on campus.
We also send regular emails straight to your inbox both during Welcome and throughout the year. Make sure you look out for these as they’re a great way to hear about key information, events and support available to you as a UoB student.
Looking for something more student-led? Did you know we have a student radio station, Burn FM, which broadcasts online throughout the year on their website – this is a great way to hear campus news from other UoB students! Our official student news publication, Redbrick, also publishes both online and in print and covers a wide range of topics, including student life at UoB.
Accessing Support
University is an exciting experience, but we recognise it can be challenging at times. We’re here for you and we have lots of support available to you, whether that’s wellbeing support, academic support, cost-of-living support or something else. Our Support Hub outlines all the different schemes and support we have available to students so make sure you take a look.
At the Guild, we have a free, online, impartial and confidential service, Guild Advice, which any UoB student can access if they require practical advice on any subject related to student life. You can learn more on our Guild Advice webpage.