Storying Sheffield

Students’ stories from the pandemic

This ‘Living History’ project was one of several options in Dr Jenny Burnham’s Skills for Success module. In SFS, students select a project that fits their career ambitions or skills-deficit needs and then spend 30 hours working on it during Semester 1. The project involved a group of students collaborating to make a set of stories to capture the experiences of students transitioning through the phases of Covid (before, lockdown, new normal).

International

Academic

Freshers

Year in industry

Current year abroad

Returned year abroad

“In the Skills for Success Living History Project, students were tasked with researching how the COVID-19 pandemic affected students in the Chemistry department at the University of Sheffield. We gathered information by interviewing and sending questionnaires to students in varying situations, and extended the project brief to include staff (lecturers) in the department. The questions ranged from how the department were handling matters and what they could do differently, to questions concerning mental health and aspects of pre-COVID life that they were missing. Overall, findings highlight just how much students and staff have been affected and how their current working situation contrasts that of previous years.”

George Edge, Oliver Parry, Verity Knight, Larissa Aravantinou