Volunteering at the University of Strathclyde

The Senior Studies Institute provides opportunities for people over 50 to use their learning and life skills in a range of socially valuable contexts – as family members, active citizens and volunteers. This includes developing learning opportunities in areas not traditionally viewed as the domain of adult education.

Many students at the Senior Studies Institute enjoy gifting their time and experience in voluntary activities. The two main opportunities for volunteering are University Guides and Computer Buddies.

University Guides

Ambassadors for Strathclyde University’s historic buildings, the Barony and the Ramshorn, as well as Campus tours.

The volunteer guides offer a personalised and unique service to the community by showing members of the public around the historic Barony and Ramshorn buildings during the summer months.

In the summer of 1994 the Barony Hall and the Ramshorn were first opened to the public and a group of Learning in Later Life students was recruited and trained to act as guides.

During the summer months the two buildings are open on certain days when guides are available to conduct tours and in the case of the Ramshorn, also to take visitors round the Graveyard. The guides are on duty too during the annual Doors Open Day programme in September and at Churches Doors Open Day in the Spring. As part of their duties, guides are involved in conducting campus tours and assisting delegates at conferences. Over 2500 visitors are recorded annually at these two buildings.

In winter, the guides meet monthly. Talks on relevant topics are arranged and visits to places of interest, lunches and other social occasions are organised. At present there are 30 guides.

In 2006, the University Volunteer Tour Guides conducted tours of the Barony and Ramshorn for 2791 visitors. 1421 visitors came from overseas, from 56 different countries. 1275 people made visits to the two venues from Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England, and of these 1147 were Scots.

Since the guides began in 1994, over 29,000 visitors have toured the Barony and Ramshorn. Over half are overseas visitors from virtually every country in the world, including Azerbaijan, Mauritius, Oman and Panama.

*  Scotland’s first Sunday School was held in the Barony
    in 1775.
*  The Architect of the Ramshorn, Thomas Rickman,
    classified the different styles of medieval architecture
    (perpendicular, early English etc.). The Ramshorn is
    his only church in Scotland.
*  Tony Blair’s parents were married in the Barony.
*  The “neck-breaking” stairs of the Ramshorn were featured
    in a cartoon in a Glasgow newspaper of the time.

Computer Buddies

One-to-One introduction of older people to computers.

The Computer Buddy Project has been running at the Centre for Lifelong Learning since 1999. The project involves one-to-one sessions where Volunteer Buddies take students through the basics of how to use a computer in a friendly and sociable way. To date more than 500 students have benefited from a Buddy session.

The Buddies are all trained Volunteers, who have been involved in the project for a number of years. They devote their own time to helping beginners get started, overcome fears, and enjoy the experience.

The computer buddy programme is aimed at older people who have never used a computer before and would like to, or have recently bought a PC but don’t really know what to do.  It is targeted at individuals who have very little or no knowledge of computers.

The Buddy Project is broken down into three parts:
1. Webwise Taster
2. Internet and E-mail
3. Word Processing

The first session is FREE. The follow on sessions can be booked at a cost of £4 per session.

The Buddy sessions are an ideal way to prepare for one of the Learning in Later Life programme courses, such as ‘Computing for Absolute Beginners’ or the ‘Beginner’s Guide to Using a PC’. It is recommended that one, if not both of these courses are completed prior to enrolling for the accredited ‘Introduction to Information Technology’ course.