Chris Ince | AUA Chair | University Secretary and Registrar | University Secretary and Registrar

Hello fellow members of the AUA,

It’s Monday afternoon and I should be getting briefed on the AUA Awards Ceremony ahead of the Gala Dinner at our Annual Conference. I’m not. Instead I’m sitting inside as I’ve already been outside once today and I think I can hear drones flying overhead monitoring where I am, it is like Goodfellas all over again…anyway….

These are strange times we live in; I now hate the word “unprecedented” for example. We have almost all had to rapidly adjust to working at home for an undefined period at the same time as coping with the new dynamics of our lives at home. All of us are dealing with a new reality which brings challenges.

At London Met we decided to close our campuses earlier than other institutions so have had a few extra days to adjust but it is still a very strange and unsettling experience. Therefore the support the AUA can offer you is even more valuable at this time. Staying connected will help us all to get through this weird and challenging event. The forums remain a great place to contact people to get views or opinions on what is going on elsewhere and the website has a range of content that can support you. 

During this lock down period we will be growing the resources and content you can access online, and you can help us. Your take on what is happening counts and is important to our community. So if you find yourself with a little time please contact Laura to share your experience. How we undertake our roles has suddenly changed and our teams, departments and institutions are all doing amazing work to adapt and figure out how to deliver university business remotely, and as usual. We can all learn from each other and it is reassuring to know that we are in this together. 

We are continuing within the AUA to progress things as much as we can. The new strategy development, including our research around the Future of HE Professionals remains on track and I will provide a further update on this shortly.

Like everyone else, we are adapting AUA activity around the evolving situation so please bear with us. We are still considering how best to hold the AGM (which should have taken place during the opening plenary), and we’re working out with those who would have been presenting at Conference, how to bring you some of the amazing learning and development from the Conference programme.

For now though, all stay safe and enjoy some time away from work over the Easter break.

Chris

AUA Chair