Working with Rob has been revelatory for me and many colleagues in my Faculty who are involved in leading and delivering recruitment events, especially Open Days and Applicant Days.
Rather than focussing on small details of presentations (font size etc.), Rob has invited us to undertake a process of self-examination and inner renewal, rebuilding confidence in the strength of our entire offer at UEA. Rob's work began with a well-attended Faculty-wide presentation in January 2024 when he introduced to us his concept of The Gift. This is what we need to aspire to give to our students when they attend an Open Day. As I understand it, essentially The Gift is quite simply the answer to this question - 'why should you study X at UEA?'. But the strength of this concept is the particular way that Rob framed this within the wider context of the pressure students are under at schools and colleges when making their decisions on university choices. In other words, The Gift needs to be something powerful enough to answer that question within the context of the strength of feeling prompted by contemporary questions over the value of university as a whole and the push towards the RG. It also needs to be able to resonate within networks of 17-year-old students so that they can become our advocates. But this is no easy thing to achieve - and pious platitudes or generalities aren't anywhere near enough to cut through to that age group in this context. Therefore, this search for The Gift -where colleagues have really undertaken it - has enabled truly honest conversations and reflection about each subject's distinctiveness.
Rob has followed through his inspiring first meeting with the Faculty as a whole (which was very well received by colleagues across the Faculty, which is not a given!) with several detailed conversations with colleagues in key leadership roles (especially our School's Admissions Directors) in order to continue pressing forward this process of self-reflection.
What has enabled this to work particularly effectively is that Rob's manner is always supportive and encouraging, recognising that the best performances at recruitment events emerge from a position of confidence and self-belief. Rob has also provided exactly the right kind of updates and advice to me in my academic leadership role, giving intelligence from schools and colleges that has helped to frame our approach to Open Days.
One thing I think he's helped us to see is that we need to get the level of detail right at Open Days - it's easy to become too granular and to lose sight of the overall story we're telling about the subject ('making the students the hero of their own story' has been another of Rob's valuable injunctions that has resonated with me and my staff).
I am greatly looking forward to continuing to work with Rob in building a truly thoughtful, positive, and self-reflective culture around Admissions, and would highly recommend him to any institution seeking to undertake a similar journey.
