Flexible working, agile working, or as one of my colleagues calls it – “work-life integration” is a hot topic at the moment. Conducting research for this blog has led me to have some interesting conversations with colleagues, friends and my wider network about their thoughts on how flexible working is fast becoming a key element…
Guest blog
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Black Lives Matter – when impatience is a virtue
Today is Martin Luther King Junior Day, marking the birth of the great Civil Rights leader. It’s impossible not to wonder how someone who dedicated and eventually sacrificed his life to what we now describe as equality, diversity and inclusion would view how far we have come. When people, especially those in authority, are inclined…
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A memorable year if ever there was one
We won’t be forgetting 2020 in a hurry. Twelve months ago it felt like every overheard conversation was about Brexit and the election. Little did we dream that reports of a small cluster of cases of pneumonia in an unfamiliar part of China would come to impact all our lives so dramatically. It would be…
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On George Floyd’s birthday – signs of hope and battles to come for fairness and equality
In the immediate aftermath of the death of George Floyd and the outpouring of emotion and protest which followed it, I wrote an article expressing the College’s commitment to equality and diversity and our support for the Black Lives Matter movement. It provoked a great deal of comment, the vast majority of which was extremely supportive. In…
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Life in lockdown: The importance of self-care and positive mental wellbeing
Marc Gillham, Director of Funding, MIS & IT. Shares his story of life in lockdown. The current pandemic has affected many people in lots of different ways. I, like many others, have experienced challenges adapting to the changes – and as we face a slow return to life before the COVID-19 lockdown – I wanted…
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Posture, pyjamas and clocking off on time: Top tips for working from home
For many of us this may well be the first sustained period of working from home. Some of us are WFH connoisseurs with fancy home offices, and some of us are facing this new challenge on the sofa or the kitchen table. There is no one right way to work from home, however Connie McAffery,…
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Love Our Colleges Even More
I was proud to be one of upwards of 220 college principals from across the country who jointly wrote to the Secretary of State for Education and the Chancellor about further education funding. As the Chancellor is himself a former FE student we’re hopeful our pleas won’t fall on deaf ears. This week is #LoveOurColleges…
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Why we should all be proud of Pride:MK
By Julie Mills OBE, CEO & Group Principal I look out of my office window at the College and I see the Pride flag flying, and it does my heart good. There is a well-worn path to the College’s door trod by representatives of all manner of good causes and campaigns looking for our support,…
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Analogue Soul, Digital World
Chris Coghlan, Head of Business Engagement at MK College, touches on the importance of encouraging and nurturing digital skills, but still giving them the human factor. As part of my new end of the day wind down, last night I dusted off my 1972 Pioneer turntable went to my modest but eclectic vinyl collection ran…
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Guest Blog: Looking Ahead
Our Events Manager, Janine Coney offers some wise words on what to look out for from MK College in 2018. With Christmas now a distant memory, your thoughts will be turning to the year ahead and everything that 2018 will hold for you… There is so much more to college than just a qualification. You…
