Academic Skills and Development

To access videos, tutorials, and written guidelines on how to complete your assignments and develop your ‘best possible (academic) self’, visit my Learning Development at Surrey.

Visit us: To discuss quick queries about your work, come and see one of our Learning Development Librarians, Learning Development Advisers and/or a Maths and Statistics Adviser. There is no need to book!

When: Please take a look at your SurreyLearn module, 'my Learning Development at Surrey' for more information on the days and times the drop-ins are running.

Where: The sessions run in the Learning Development Zone on level 1 of the Library. If you are struggling to find us, please speak to one of our colleagues at the Library and Learning Hive.

Additional information: Due to the close proximity of the 1:1 setting, it is recommended to wear a face covering.

The Maths and Statistics Advice team also run drop-ins at specific days and times in the week. Take a look at their page to find out more: Maths and Statistics Advice drop-in.

PLEASE NOTE: drop-ins are confidential, non-judgmental and advisory in nature, we will not share details of our discussion with anyone without your consent.

Ask us

We encourage you to book an appointment for more detailed queries. Online and in-person appointment options are available.

How to book

You can book your preferred option using the links below.

Online: Book a 30-minute online appointment

In-person: Book a 30-minute in-person appointment

For guidance on how to book and cancel online appointments, please visit my Learning Development at Surrey.

To make the most of your appointment time, we recommend you view our Preparing for your appointment guide.

Where

Online appointments can take place on either Zoom or Teams.

In-person appointments will take place in the Learning Development Zone on Level 1 of the Library.

Additional information

• All appointments are for 30-minutes.
• You will receive the same advice whether you book an online or in-person appointment; however, feedback from an overwhelming majority of our students suggests that they find the online option most effective (due to the ability to share and discuss their work on-screen). Consider which option would best suit your study needs.
• Your online appointment link will be emailed to your Surrey University email address shortly before the meeting time.
• PLEASE NOTE: appointments are confidential, non-judgmental and advisory in nature: we will not share any email correspondence or details of our discussion with anyone without your consent.

IMPORTANT: If you have been asked to book an appointment with Academic Skills and Development as part of an Academic Integrity Referral, please see the section below on this.

All students, in all areas of study are welcome to attend the range of workshops designed to help you develop your academic, personal and professional potential. These are suitable whether you are a complete beginner or looking for a challenge to develop your current skillsets.

Where: Workshops are available online or in-person. In-person workshops will take place on Level 1 of the Library.

When: The workshop programme runs in both semesters. Please see the current schedule.

How to book: Please visit Surrey Self Service and select ‘Learning Development’ (located in the top banner).

Why attend: The workshops are intended to help you develop as a learner where you can apply the strategies taught and approaches discussed to your subject of study. All students are welcome to attend.

Content: Each workshop includes activities which may be related to pre-recorded material. You will also have the opportunity to ask questions relating to the topic area.

Workshop topics include: Be critical when researching, reading and writing; develop your dissertation and final year projects; use feedback to optimise your work; research, reference and integrate evidence in your work.

Self-directed workshops: There are, additionally, pre-recorded workshops that allow you to engage with the material independently, and at a time convenient to you.

PLEASE NOTE: there is a cut-off point of 24-hours for booking and cancelling appointments. If you would like to book onto a workshop past the cut-off period, please email the team on academic.skills@surrey.ac.uk.

Please contact us at: academic.skills@surrey.ac.uk.

We may be able to answer some quick study queries via email. If we are unable to answer your query in an email, we would either offer an appointment or recommend you come to a drop-in session.

We will respond to your initial query within two working days.

If you have been recommended to seek advice as part of an Academic Integrity Referral, please request an appointment to see a member of the Learning Development team. 

Where: The appointment will take place online and you will be emailed the meeting link by your Adviser shortly before the meeting.

Additional information: For any further advice or guidance on Academic Integrity Referrals, please email us on academic.skills@surrey.ac.uk and we will reply to you within two working days.

PLEASE NOTE: our Academic Integrity appointments are confidential, non-judgmental and advisory in nature, we will not share any email correspondence or details of our discussion with anyone. We will only share emails where necessary and with your consent.

Postgraduate students are welcome to take part in any of our workshops, appointments and drop-ins.

In addition:

• My Learning Development on SurreyLearn hosts a range of bespoke resources to help you understand the expectations of Master's level study
• Masters and Postgraduate Taught students can sign up to our Master’s events which will take place across the year. Forthcoming events will be posted on your my Learning Development at Surrey module.
• Postgraduate research students can access bespoke resources and events on the Researcher Development Programme, which are designed specifically for research students.

Peer-to-peer learning is a valuable aspect of developing as a successful learner at university. Academic Skills and Development offer a number of formal peer-to-peer support opportunities you can participate in, as outlined below.

Peer Assisted Writing Scheme (PAWS)

PAWS is a scheme that matches Foundation Year and for Undergraduates students (as mentees) with trained final year Undergraduate or Postgraduate mentors, to develop academic skills related to writing assignments. For example, mentees can work with mentors to develop methods to:

• Make effective notes when researching for assignments
• Include and reference evidence when writing assignments (this could include paraphrasing and summarising information)
• Structure written assignments (this can include overall assignment structure and/or sentence and paragraph structure)
• Be more critical when writing assignments
• Proofread and edit own written work.

Where possible, mentors and mentees are matched to the subject of study, though even where this is not possible, participants report of the benefits of taking part in the scheme.

Am I eligible to take part?

Mentees:

Any student on a Foundation Year course or in the 1st or 2nd year of an Undergraduate course can request to become a mentee on the scheme.

Mentors:

Students from the final year of an Undergraduate course or on a Postgraduate course can apply to be a mentor. You must have a grade of at least 68 per cent in two or more pieces of written work at Level 5 and 6. Full training and development is provided to support mentors in their role.

For further information on applying to become a PAWS Mentor, see PAWS and PALS mentoring. To join the scheme as a mentee, see PAWS - mentee.

Forthcoming opportunities for students considering a career in academia include the chance to be mentored by a Postgraduate Research student.

Information on how to participate will be available soon on the Development Opportunities webpage.

Journal Club is an opportunity to get together with fellow students to discuss journal articles and improve your critical reading and analysis skills. The club will be made up of students from across disciplines and is initially facilitated by Learning Development (Academic Skills and Maths/Statistics) staff.

Members will read an article and prepare some comments prior to each meeting and will then discuss the article in-depth.

Why would I want to join?

Students who have taken part in Journal Club in previous years found the experience valuable and have been able to apply the skills they have developed to different assignments, and beyond their studies.

Participating in Journal Club will be of interest, for example, if:

• You sometimes feel overwhelmed by reading
• You are not sure how to critically analyse an article or how to make connections between sources
• You are intrigued to explore similar and different expectations across different subjects of study (and how this can lead to better understanding of expectations in one’s own area of study).

If so, then Journal Club could be for you! To find out more and reserve a place see Journal Club in my Learning Development at Surrey.

Sprint

Please note, Sprint is currently on hiatus and is likely to resume in academic year 2023/24. For updates, visit your development opportunities page.

This is a free ground-breaking professional development programme open to all female undergraduates and Foundation year students at Surrey. Sprint addresses issues relating to your university- and future work-life. Importantly Sprint allows you to explore and address your own personal development and wellbeing, including the following:

• Achieve results such as improved visibility, concentration, and effectiveness in studies 
• Improved time management for revision and essay writing; less study stress; and improved self-efficacy
• Sharpen career goals, raise aspirations, and take advantage of networking opportunities 
• Work through difficult relationships and gain a healthier work/life balance.

STARS: personal and professional development events

The Surrey’s Top Achievers Recognised and Supported (STARS) programme is no longer running but many STARS activities are still available but now open to all students. These include various events to help you develop academically, personally and professionally.

Please visit your development opportunities page to see the range of schemes and events available.

Surrey Undergraduate Research Journal (SURJ)

Please note, SURJ is currently on hold and is likely to resume in academic year 2022/23 semester two. Updates will be posted on your development opportunities page.

The Surrey Undergraduate Research Journal (SURJ) is a multi-disciplinary online journal that showcases quality work produced by University of Surrey undergraduate students.