Well, it's adieu to the Paris 2024 Olympics and bonjour to a new teaching block. As expected, the wake of the 33rd Olympic games has left many of us feeling inspired by the sheer level of achievement displayed over those glorious 3,800 hours of live sports. Here at Arden, our students are focused on a different kind of achievement, namely, that of academic variety, and this overlap of Paris 2024 with the launch of the new Learning Success Hub has made us wonder, "What does learning success look like?" So, with a few carefully constructed Olympiad-themed metaphors, here are the conclusions we have come to.
You Set the Bar
When we think of the word success, we might think of someone like the once-in-a-generation talent Simone Biles and with 7 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze, as well as the Presidential Medal of Freedom tucked under her belt at the tender age of 27, it can be hard to disagree. However, if we dwell on this for too long, we might be fooled into thinking that this complete-and-utter-annihilation-of-the-competition is the only form that success takes. This is not the case; watching the reactions of athletes like the Polish fencer Aleksandra Jarecka, who took bronze after a tense battle for a winning point in the 11th hour, conclusively demonstrates that third place can mean just as much for one person as another first does for someone like Biles.
The same is true of learning: success doesn't have to mean a first-class honors. If you are returning to education after a long break, or if you have finally silenced your inner critic and taken the plunge into HE for the first time, then you determine the form success should take. It could be something as simple as asking one question in every lecture you attend. It could be finding an hour to study each day instead of 30 minutes. It could mean a 75 in your module assignment – it could also mean a 58. The important thing is you set the height of the hurdle you want to jump, and you jump it.
A Player is Nothing without a Coach
Tom Daley has been one of the darlings of the GB Olympic team since his debut in Beijing 2008. Now, after making the country proud with five medals he is set to enjoy his retirement with his husband and two children. A less familiar name is Jane Figueiredo, his Zimbabwe coach, who has played a pivotal role not only in bringing out his innate talent and guiding him to gold, but also in providing him with emotional support as he shot to fame and the tabloids invaded his personal life.
The lesson here is that success requires both professional and personal support, and that's what we at the Learning Success Hub are all about. We provide students with the support they need to put their best foot forward as they embark on their academic journeys. Here's what we offer:
Main Services
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Arden University Library Portal: Free online 24/7 access to an extensive digital library containing the academic resources you need for your study and assignments.
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Academic Skills Support: Workshops, one-to-one appointments, and teaching sessions focused on academic writing, referencing, research, and study skills. Plus, support with developing skills in statistics, and programming.
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English Language Hub: Academic English courses, one-to-one appointments and workshops for those of you who are studying with English as an additional language.
Campus Changes
- Many of our courses and workshops will now be provided by the Academic Skills Tutors and English Language Hub on campus, as well as the existing online support and resources.
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You will also have the opportunity to meet with an Academic Skills Tutor or Academic English Lecturer on campus for more personalised support, giving you greater access to the teams and resources you need to succeed in your academic studies.
Coming Soon
We will launch a software library to simplify accessing and installing the software you need for your studies on any device, from anywhere.
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We will introduce online reading lists to make it even easier for you to access and use your module reading resources.
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Our new Learning Success Hub will feature a 24/7 chat service, ensuring support is always available whenever and wherever you choose to study.
Triumph over Adversity
Paris 2024 has been subject to much controversy, not least that surrounding the Algerian boxer, Imane Khelif. Khelif, who was born a woman and has competed in women's boxing for six years, has had her eligibility to compete viciously questioned due her previous disqualification from the World Championship on grounds of "gender". The reasons for the IBA disqualifying her are unclear, but what is clear is that Khelif is a female boxer with the right to compete. Despite this, she has received a great deal of harassment where she should have been lauded with praise. This means Khelif deserves our respect not only for taking home gold, but for doing so whilst receiving so much abuse she had to file a cyberbullying lawsuit.
What does this teach us about success? It teaches us the necessity of resilience. There will come a time in your study when the weight of the task will seem too heavy. There will come a time when you question the choices you have made or doubt yourself. There may even come a time when you feel your work has been unfairly criticized. However, the key here is to bend and not break. The purpose of university study is the pursuit of truth; it is a place where we discover new ideas, subject them to scrutiny, and try to prove them wrong so we know they are right. As such, to succeed we must be willing to suffer the heat of the fire in which these new truths are forged: you may sweat, but if you grit your teeth, bear it, and keep hammering away, like Khelif, you will triumph.
