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Our podcast: Accommodation Matters

Our Accommodation Matters podcast brings sector experts together to discuss the Higher Education sector’s key issues through the lens of student accommodation.

Join our host Jenny Shaw each month for a lively round table chat with university student accommodation leaders from across the UK, national policy experts and subject specialists. Focusing in on topical issues, we’ll explore student accommodation and the student living experience within its broad context, talk about what’s happening right now and look at what might be coming over the horizon.

The future of race and inclusion in student accommodation
Hot off the launch of the new Living Black at University Commission report, we’re continuing our focus on the future of sustainability within purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) with this month’s episode on race and inclusion in student accommodation.
The future of environmental sustainability in PBSA
Environmental sustainability is ever-more important within the purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) sector - but how can we get to net-zero in operations and development, and what does the future hold? Our expert panel explores some of the challenges and solutions.
Enhancing the student experience in accommodation for 23/24
With a new academic year rapidly approaching, we wanted to know what new and exciting initiatives are being rolled out to enhance the student experience in purpose-built student accommodation around the UK – so we asked our Accommodation Matters listeners to submit their own contributions about what they’re doing differently for the 2023/24 academic year.
What do we know about the class of 2023?
The class of 2023 will soon be arriving at universities up and down the UK - and our recent Applicant Index report highlights some of their needs and concerns. Now, an expert panel discusses the research findings and explores how we can support this year's new students to flourish at university.
Supporting students through the cost of living crisis
Last year’s cost of living episode of Accommodation Matters proved to be the most popular yet – but more than a year on, how has the cost of living crisis moved on, and what does the cost of living picture look like for students in 2023?
UCAS: What is the ‘Journey To A Million’?
Following on from our latest Accommodation Matters episode ‘What does 1 million applicants mean for student accommodation?’, we now share Jenny Shaw’s full interview with Ben Jordan, Head of Policy at UCAS, about the UCAS ‘Journey To A Million’ essay series – sponsored by Unite Students and Knight Frank.
What does 1 million applicants mean for student accommodation?
Ahead of the release of Unite Students’ Journey To A Million essay, co-authored with Knight Frank, a panel of sector experts looks at what a million applicants means for student accommodation - covering supply and demand, research into the student experience, and what accommodation for the next generation of students looks like.
28/03/2023
Podcasts
How can Higher Education meet the needs of neurodivergent students?
An expert sector panel discusses Unite Students' new report on neurodivergent students' university experience and what universities and accommodation providers can do to better meet their needs.
Student belonging – more than a buzzword?
Student belonging is the Higher Education's current hot topic - but what does it all mean for accommodation? Jenny Shaw hosts a panel of experts to weigh in on what their research and experience has shown about students feeling a sense of belonging in their accommodation, how inclusion and wellbeing intersect with that sense of belonging, and how student accommodation practitioners can facilitate a community in which students feel they belong.
What are student accommodation marketing’s latest trends?
Jenny Shaw hosts two experts as they share their thoughts on marketing to students, including current data trends, the impact of cost of living, and the use of social media.
How can we reduce harm from student risk-taking behaviours?
What does the Higher Education sector need to know about student risk-taking behaviours, and how they can support students and reduce harm? Our expert sector panel speaks to Jenny Shaw.
Student accommodation: Home or hotel?
Accommodation Matters is back - and we’re kicking off the new series by looking at the intersection between student accommodation and the hospitality sector.