Nominations are now open for the Students’ Union Recognising and Advancing Teaching Excellence (RATE) Award scheme — and we want to share why we think the Library and IT Services truly merit your support this year. You can submit your nomination now via the Student Portal, with entries open until Tuesday, 1st April.
🌟 Why Vote for Us?
📚 The Library: Your Campus Home Base
The Library continues to be the place to be for students — not just for study, but for collaboration, connection, and community. Day after day, our students choose the Library as their preferred space to meet friends, work on group projects, or settle into focused individual study. We’re hope that you agree that we offer an environment that is both welcoming and academically supportive.
📖 Fantastic Access to Resources
Whether you’re a new student on the start of your academic journey or deep into your dissertation, our extensive collection is ready to support you.
- Thousands of ebooks and journals
- Subject-specific LibGuides curated by our subject librarians
- A constantly evolving digital collection shaped by student needs
And if you ever need help navigating any of these? Support is only a click away through the UniDesk Self-Service Portal (accessed from the left hand navigation on your portal0, covering everything from finding resources to requesting help with one of our fantastically knowledgeable staff.
💻 IT Services: Supporting you every step of the way
✨ Help from before you even arrive
Our IT support begins long before Welcome Week. We guide applicants and new students through getting onto the portal, completing essential pre-arrival tasks, including some recommendations on what kind of device to buy for study. There’s even a dedicated New Students start here section on our Self-Service Portal containing everything you need to know before you set foot on campus.
📶 Welcome Week IT Wizards
When you arrive, our friendly IT Wizards are on hand to help you connect quickly and easily to eduroam, connect to printers, and give a little bit of advice about Canvas or how to read your timetables, they can ensure your devices are set up and ready and you know the basics of how things work for university life from the beginning.
🧰 Software for students at no extra cost
We believe digital access shouldn’t be a barrier to success. That’s why IT Services offers:
- Free Office 365 software with installation support
- AppsAnywhere, letting you download course-specific software directly to your own device
- Laptop Loans cabinets, available 24/7, these laptops are available for 4 weeks or 8 hours to suit your study needs.
- Ongoing technical guidance whenever you need it. Check our Self-Service Portal.
🚀 A reimagined digital Skills Hub
This year, we’ve completely refreshed the Digital Skills Hub, bringing together valuable tools, videos, and guidance from across the University in one easy-to-navigate space. You can also use the Discovery Tool to assess your current digital skill level and follow curated learning pathways to boost your confidence and capability.
🎓 Workshops that support every stage of your learning
🆕 Stirling Essentials Workshops – Including Pre-Arrival Week
Our Stirling Essentials programme is designed to help every student feel confident and supported from the start. During Pre-arrival Week, we run a dedicated session introducing Library and IT Services, including a guided demonstration of:
- Our virtual learning environment, Canvas
- Key Library services and support
- How to access and use online resources
These early sessions help new students settle in quickly and begin their studies with confidence.
📚 Workshops for every student — From first year to dissertation
We also run a wide range of Library and IT workshops throughout the academic year, supporting students at every stage. This includes specialist sessions for those working on dissertations, with a focus on advanced research skills, resource discovery, and academic tools to help you succeed.
💚 Information Services Cares: Wellbeing at the Heart of What We Do
🌿 A Dedicated Wellbeing Space
We know university life can be challenging — which is why we offer a dedicated wellbeing space in the Library, complete with comfortable furniture, calming views of campus, and a range of wellbeing resources including books, games, and blankets.
There’s also a Book Swap, and yes — our very own wee book fairy who hides books around campus for students and staff to find and enjoy.
🧠 Virtual Wellbeing Space
If you’re feeling stressed or need a moment of calm, our virtual wellbeing space offers relaxing activities, inspiration, and resources available anytime you need them.
🎉 Events That Bring the Community Together
We love engaging with our students, and our Library events have become annual favourites. Highlights include:
- The Library Christmas Wish Tree
- Blind Date With a Book
- Celebrations for Black History Month, StirPride, Women’s history month, and Halloween
- What would I tell my 1st year self– where we asked staff and students to provide some advice to our newbies.
We hope with these events we are building a environment that is not just a study space, but a community space.
🗳️ Make your voice heard
Every year, we work hard to try to make the student experience the best it can be. From the spaces you study in, to the digital support you depend on, to the tools that help you to develop skills that are important during your studies, but that also carry you forward into life beyond the University — we’re here because of you and for you.
If we’ve made your university journey smoother, made you feel more supported, you have enjoyed one of the events or even had fun putting one piece in to the library jigsaw please consider nominating us in this year’s RATE Awards.
✨ Submit your nomination via the Student Portal before Tuesday, 1st April.
Thank you for your support — and for making the library an inspiring place to learn.