The UK’s SouthBest West’s Best Publication Student Publication The Student 2023
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ISSUE 768 12 MAR 2025 exepose.com @exepose
THE UNIVERSITY OF EXETER’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1987
University executives make over 80 foreign trips in 22 months
Image: Freedom Society
Image: Wikimedia Commons, km30192002
Future Leaders Summit Page 4
Charlie Gershinson Deputy Editor
EXCLUSIVE
Napoleon’s Guild presidency campaign Page 14
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NIVERSITY of Exeter executives made over 80 foreign trips in less than two years, Exeposé can reveal. Through information from a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, 11 University officials made a total of 83 foreign trips as part of official University business. When accounting for multiple officials attending the same visit, this accounts for over 55 unique visits. All these journeys took place in a 22-month time span, from November 2022 to September 2024. The majority of the visits — 52 — were taken by three executives. Vice Chan-
cellor Prof. Lisa Roberts accounted for the second most journeys at 13. Meanwhile, the official who took the largest number of journeys accounted for 27. The vast majority of the destinations visited by executives were outside of Europe — which accounted for less than 10 trips. The most frequently visited destination was to the United Arab Emirates, which accounted for 13 visits. The next most frequently visited destinations include Australia, the United States and Saudi Arabia. There is a large variety of reasons given for the visits. By far, the most frequent reason was for “partnership” reasons, which was cited 49 times. These covered multiple contexts such as partnership and philanthropic meetings in Sharjah, UAE, and establishing new relations with international universities. These included the Princess Nourah, Saudi Electronic and
King Saud Universities in Saudi Arabia and the Queensland University in Australia. Other reasons include attendance of international conferences such as the CUHK Sustainability Conference in Hong Kong and the COP27 summit in Cairo. The University has guidelines which help to govern their policy on international relationships. These Partnership Principles include “seeking and prioritising partnership activities that align with our purpose and vision and our institutional values, and with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, maximising our positive impact on the world.” The University also takes into account differing views on how they should act towards these international partners, saying they “will welcome and encourage ongoing constructive and critical debate about our partnerships through the Universi-
ty’s governance processes. We will treat each other with respect when our views differ, and we acknowledge that not all members of our communities will agree with all our partnership decisions, but we will ensure that these are based on a clear and robust rationale and accountability.” When asked for comment, a spokesperson for the University said, “as a global research-intensive university with world-leading research and industry partnerships, it is vital that representatives attend meetings, engagements and appointments regionally, nationally and abroad. These engagements not only promote the University’s expertise and knowledge to a global stage, but also bring vital partnerships and investment into the South West region. Any travel that is undertaken complies with our institution’s Travel Policy.”
due to the lack of available study spaces, while 95.3 per cent said noise and congestion influenced their decision to study on campus. For many, arriving early is the only way to secure a seat. “If I don’t go early enough, it’ll stop me from going,” admitted one student. Another put it bluntly: “I feel like I spend more time looking for a place to study than actually doing work.” The frustration runs so deep that some students have given up altogether. “Sometimes I would rather just go home and work rather than search
for a seat,” one respondent shared. The problem is even worse for group study. “It’s impossible to find more than a single seat after midday,” one student said, while another described the extreme lengths they had to go to: “One time we had to do our group project together in the stairwell in the Forum by the seminar rooms!” Even when students manage to secure a study space, excessive noise remains a major frustration. More than 61 per cent of respondents reported struggling to find a truly quiet place to work, with
many complaining that designated silent areas fail to live up to their name. “People are way too loud in the ‘quiet zones,’ which defeats the whole purpose,” one student said. Beyond noise levels, students expressed clear preferences for study environments that offer comfort and functionality. Nearly half of respondents cited moderate noise levels as necessary, while over 50 per cent said comfortable seating was essential.
Campus study spaces: a growing problem
Female author spotlight Page 19
Images (top to bottom): Kieran Moore, exeterunilib (Instagram), Flickr
Nina Exton and Isabella van der Putten News Editors
EXCLUSIVE
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ITH 46 per cent of students studying on campus 3-4 times a week and 27 per cent opting to study there daily, the battle for a study spot has become a significant issue. A recent Exeposé journo request found that 92.3 per cent of respondents had their productivity disrupted
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