Community and Belonging
As a student here you’ll be part of our Bradford community and there will be a range of opportunities and activities for you to get involved in.
It’s important to make the most of your time here and build connections with others, in your course and beyond. Getting involved can help you to meet students with similar interests, aid your health and wellbeing as well as enhance your skills and employability development.
Via your course you can engage in various learning and extra-curricular opportunities. There are also lots of wider activities on offer such as volunteering, sports, societies and more. All of these can be social opportunities and opportunities for development and networking.
Some of the types of activity to look out for and consider engaging with to help you build your peer network and make friends include:
- Step Up to HE
- University of Bradford Union of Students (UBU): societies, clubs, sports, Kickstart, student representation and elections
- Peer support
- Extra-Curricular activities
- Look out for additional opportunities via the student portal and your student email
- Connect with other students via our social media channels.
Student top tips
- Make friends - be socially active
- Don’t be intimidated - we’re all new to this
- Take advantage of the opportunities on offer
- Be prepared - look at the syllabus and what you’ll be required to do
- Don’t panic - it’s normal to feel unsure
- If you need help... don't be afraid to ask for it
What do our students say?
There are more than 100 clubs, societies and sports activities to get involved with and feel part of university life. You can sign up to these at the Freshers’ Fayre or can have trial sessions during the first few weeks and join later via the UBU website.
You can get the most out of your university experience by joining extra-curricular activities to enhance your social skills and wider skillset. Meeting new people is also a part of widening your horizon and networking is a useful skill for your future career.
Joining the University of Bradford isn’t just about getting your degree, it can be more than that. You can gain different skills as well as have a sense of belonging in a community.
Your next steps
Use the ideas and links above to write a list of the types of activities you might want to get involved with when you start university.
Note down who you could contact to find out more about these (the University and Student Union websites might be a helpful place to start).