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Solar panel project

June 7, 2022

We are significantly increasing the amount of photovoltaic (PV) panels on roofs at Penryn Campus this summer.

This is part of continuing work to support the declarations of climate emergency, by Falmouth University and the University of Exeter.

Sarah Roby, FX Plus Director of Estates and project sponsor, said: “This is one of several pieces of work, large and small, that we are carrying out to support the ambitions of our partner universities to achieve net zero carbon emissions and making our campuses more sustainable. This will save energy and money for future investments and improvements.”

Starting in July, more than 1700 new panels will be fitted on the roofs of Daphne Du Maurier (DduM), Peter Lanyon and the Sports Centre. These will add to existing panels already installed on DduM, Stella Turk and AIR; with the existing Sports Centre panels also being upgraded and expanded.

Chris Piper, Head of Estates Operations, is managing the project for FX Plus and Cornwall-based ZLC Energy will be carrying out this work, with project management support provided by Devon-based KingWelsh Consultants.

Once complete, the newly installed solar panels will have a total capacity of 775 kW with an estimated 700,000 kWh per year generated; carbon savings of 149 tonnes CO2 per year and energy cost savings of about £150,000 per year (based on current energy costs).

The panels will be placed to the roofs with weights to keep them in place. This system means they are easy to reposition and they will not disturb any turf roofing underneath.

About FX Plus

Falmouth Exeter Plus (FX Plus) delivers shared services for Falmouth University and the University of Exeter in Cornwall to ensure a top quality experience for students, staff and all users of Falmouth and Penryn campuses.

Our vision is to provide ‘Exceptional environments that enable talented and creative minds to thrive’.

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Pack for Good saves lives

May 18, 2022

Falmouth and Exeter students have donated the almost £50,000 to the British Heart Foundation since our campuses began supporting the Pack for Good campaign in 2015.

FX Plus has been supporting Pack for Good since 2015 meaning that tonnes of unwanted items have been diverted from landfill or an incinerator as well as thousands of pounds being raised for the BHF to fund life-saving research.

Pack for Good targets students who are moving out, encouraging them to donate unwanted items including books, household goods and clothes. University, FX Plus and Students’ Union staff are also invited to donate.

According to the most recent (2021) BHF report, £8,792 worth of goods was donated via FX Plus in 2021 alone. This is a significant increase from the previous two years of COVID-19 restrictions when not many students were able to be living on campus or even in Cornwall.

That summer, 346 bags were collected from FX Plus-run accommodation (and staff) and 282 bags from private student accommodation. And since 2015, 28.5 tonnes of unwanted items have been diverted from landfill.

Our Halls team, based at Glasney Lodge, is supporting the Pack for Good campaign again this year. Collection points are around student accommodation areas, on and off campus, including a main point at Glasney Lodge Reception. Staff and students can also pick up their own collection bags from Glasney.

The Halls team also collects unwanted items for local food banks, with trolleys in Glasney Lodge.

According to the BHF:

• There are around 7.6 million people living with heart and circulatory diseases in the UK – an ageing and growing population and improved survival rates from heart and circulatory events could see these numbers rise still further.

• We estimate that in the UK more than half of us will get a heart or circulatory condition in our lifetime.

• Around twice as many people are living with heart and circulatory diseases in the UK than with cancer and Alzheimer’s disease combined.

• Heart and circulatory diseases cause around a quarter of all deaths in the UK; that’s more than 160,000 deaths each year, or 460 each day – that’s one death every three minutes.

• Around 47,000 people under the age of 75 in the UK die from heart and circulatory diseases each year.

• Since the BHF was established the annual number of deaths from heart and circulatory diseases in the UK has fallen by around a half.

Graphic breakdown of the £8,792 raised by FX Plus for the British Heart Foundation in 2021. 346 bags were collected from FX Plus-run accommodation and 282 bags from private student accommodation.
Infographic saying Falmouth and Exeter students have raised £49,966 since 2015 for the BHF. This money goes towards research. 28.5 tonnes of unwanted items have been diverted from landfill.

About FX Plus

Falmouth Exeter Plus (FX Plus) delivers shared services for Falmouth University and the University of Exeter in Cornwall to ensure a top quality experience for students, staff and all users of Falmouth and Penryn campuses.

Our vision is to provide ‘Exceptional environments that enable talented and creative minds to thrive’.

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IT & Digital Services score Compliance Plus in Customer Service Excellence

May 13, 2022

On 24th March, IT & Digital Services had their Customer Service Excellence Standard 12-month review assessment. The team, which manages IT and digital services across our university campuses, not only retained its standard but scored several ‘pluses’.

Gemma Prisk, Falmouth Exeter Plus IT & Digital Service Excellence Manager, said: “IT & Digital Services are committed to providing the highest levels of service and support to all customers and so were extremely pleased to not only score ‘full compliance’ across all 57 elements of the assessment for the second year running, but also to achieve compliance plus scores in the areas of ‘Customer Insight’, ‘Culture of the Organisation’ and ‘Delivery’.”

The Customer Service Excellence Standard is a Government quality standard for customer focused teams and organisations and is based on a rigorous assessment of 57 elements grouped into five criteria. By meeting the standard at the review assessment, IT continue to hold their place in the Customer Service Excellence Standard Directory.

About FX Plus

Falmouth Exeter Plus (FX Plus) delivers shared services for Falmouth University and the University of Exeter in Cornwall to ensure a top quality experience for students, staff and all users of Falmouth and Penryn campuses.

Our vision is to provide ‘Exceptional environments that enable talented and creative minds to thrive’.

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Community furniture donations

February 3, 2022

Communities and organisations have been benefiting from furniture donations from our campuses as part of our commitment to sustainability.

The working styles of many people at Falmouth and Penryn campuses changed during COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Furniture was taken out of rooms to allow for more space and social distancing.  As restrictions lift and people return to the campuses to work, many prefer the less cluttered office style.

Rather than throw away unwanted but good quality furniture, our Caretaking team has been busy finding new homes for it with community organisations and schools.

Lynn Storey, Falmouth Exeter Plus Facilities Operations Manager, said: “With our commitment to avoid disposal of any furniture that still has life left in it, we have been reaching out to local communities to see if we can find new homes for our furniture.

“Over the last few months the Penryn caretaking team has donated items to Cornwall Business School at their new space on Kernick Industrial Estate and the Dracaena Centre and Princess Pavilion in Falmouth. The Falmouth Caretaking team has also been busy supporting local schools and community projects, recently delivering sofas, seating and tables to Constantine Primary School and Camborne Contemporary Crafts Hub.”

Oliver Milliner, Head of Sustainability, added: “We are committed to making our campuses more sustainable via a variety of initiatives and this is a perfect example of repurposing and reusing. With thought and care, our Caretaking team has found a great way of supporting local communities while reducing waste.”

About FX Plus

Falmouth Exeter Plus (FX Plus) delivers shared services for Falmouth University and the University of Exeter in Cornwall to ensure a top quality experience for students, staff and all users of Falmouth and Penryn campuses.

Our vision is to provide ‘Exceptional environments that enable talented and creative minds to thrive’.

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Sustainability highlights 21/22

November 29, 2021

Our Top Ten Sustainability Highlights for the 2020 – 2021 Academic Year

It’s been over two years since the University of Exeter and Falmouth University declared a climate and environment emergency. Even in amongst a global pandemic, both institutions have been actively transforming themselves to raise the climate agenda across the student curriculum and life on campus. At FX Plus, our operations are pivotal for this to happen, so here are our top ten sustainability highlights:

  1. Launched the FX Plus 2030 Sustainability Strategy & Policy. These two files outline our climate and environment targets, objectives and projects. The strategy ultimately outlines how we’re going embedding sustainability across FX Plus and how this supports the universities independent sustainability strategies.
  1. Last academic year we recorded a 47% drop in energy emissions per m2 for Penryn Campus based against our 2005 to 2006 AY baseline. This follows the integration of energy efficient infrastructure we are implementing across campus.
  1. Sustainability Week 2021 was another great success – we hosted 35 events open to all staff, students and the local community. Recordings for these sessions can be found here.
  1. We produced our first comprehensive carbon emission profile for the University of Exeter including Penryn Campus. The same profiling system was used in collaboration with Falmouth University, working together on shared climate reduction and sustainability targets.
  1. Following campus lockdown, we dedicated 4.5 acres of land on Penryn Campus for wildflowers. Last year, we maintained and improved the quality of these areas through volunteering events.
  1. As part of the grounds biodiversity agenda, we have also designed and installed four customised biodiversity signs as well as a series of signs illustrating areas for regeneration and wildflowers, which we hope to help educate our campus community about their local natural environment and inspire them to engage in conservation and sustainability.
  1. Our procurement team partnered with Net Positive Futures to initiate data collection and climate action plans amongst our supply chain. Our aim is for 100% of our supply chain to have completed this by the end of 2022. 
  1. We launched our flagship Sustainability Café with the new building extension to the Daphne du Maurier building. The café along with its outstanding views of the ocean, offers seasonal and locally sourced produce, organic where possible and a variety of vegan and vegetarian options.
  1. Our Penryn Campus was awarded the bronze award with the British Hedgehog Preservation Society Hedgehog Friendly Campus program. This follows a series of initiatives implemented by the grounds team to protect and raise awareness on hedgehog safety across campus.
  1. Penryn Campus was also awarded the Green Flag zone award for the fourth year running. This continues the campuses excellent approach to the protection and regeneration of ecology.

Any questions or if you would like to learn more, please email sustainability@fxplus.ac.uk.

About FX Plus

Falmouth Exeter Plus (FX Plus) delivers shared services for Falmouth University and the University of Exeter in Cornwall to ensure a top quality experience for students, staff and all users of Falmouth and Penryn campuses.

Our vision is to provide ‘Exceptional environments that enable talented and creative minds to thrive’.

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Management apprenticeship award

November 26, 2021

Congratulations to Emily Stanbury, winner of the Management category in this year’s Truro and Penwith College Apprenticeship Awards.

IT Project Manager Emily, who has been working for Falmouth Exeter Plus (FX Plus) for nearly seven years, said: “I was very surprised to win as the other candidates had clearly achieved a lot on their courses and I won it in 2019 so I didn’t expect it again. It was nice to be shortlisted and be able to go to an event after so long.”

Stuart Gaslonde, FX Plus Director of IT and Digital Services, said: “This award is well deserved – Emily has worked really hard over the years and we are delighted that we have been able to support her with the appropriate training to expand her skills. At FX Plus we are very keen on supporting apprenticeships and other training opportunities.”

Emily started with FX Plus as a Service Desk Support Technician and moved on to Print Services Manager, which is when she started the apprenticeship to support that role. During the apprenticeship she got a secondment to Project Management which was recently made into a permanent position.

She said: “The course I did was a combination of a diploma and apprenticeship and was called Level 3 Team Leader Supervisor. I had to spend one day a week working on the apprenticeship as part of my role. This could be a day in college, writing assignments or taking on extra responsibilities in my role. I also had to complete work in my own time due to the amount of work there was to complete as part of the diploma.

“I did the apprenticeship to support me in the promotion to Print Services Manager. I wanted to improve my skills and confidence in my abilities but also to look into other areas of management I would be interested in. This turned out to be project management!”

Emily, who was also a highly commended runner up for Apprentice of the Year, has more plans to progress. She said: “Next, I have been selected to take part in a programme called Aurora which encourages and develops female leaders in Higher Education. It begins in January so I am looking forward to starting that.”

Truro and Penwith College Apprenticeship Awards celebrates exceptional achievements. After a break because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s gala awards dinner (on Friday 19 November) was presented by Holly Day and Neil Caddy from Pirate FM.

About FX Plus

Falmouth Exeter Plus (FX Plus) delivers shared services for Falmouth University and the University of Exeter in Cornwall to ensure a top quality experience for students, staff and all users of Falmouth and Penryn campuses.

Our vision is to provide ‘Exceptional environments that enable talented and creative minds to thrive’.

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Biodiversity signs

October 28, 2021

Four new biodiversity signs have been installed at Penryn Campus to highlight the variety of natural habitats, unique ecologies and the conservation plans in place. 

The signs have been placed at Lime Avenue, the Walled Garden, the Ox Eye Daisy Bank (near the Chapel Lecture Theatre) and in woodland near The Lodge.

They complement the existing wildflower signs which highlight even more ways in which biodiversity is encouraged on our campuses.

Our Grounds and Sustainability teams work hard to encourage biodiversity on our beautiful campuses. This includes creating bee hotels; planting bee friendly plants; leaving areas unmown and seeded with wildflowers; leaving dead trees in situ so creatures can make them their homes and joining the Hedgehog Friendly Campus initiative. Recent planting has included herb and daisy beds outside The Exchange and herb and flower beds near The Stannary extension.

Wildflowers encourage more insects which, in turn, support more birds and bats. We have seven species of bat on campus, including pipistrelle, long eared and horseshoe and they regularly feed on insects in the wildflower areas around Glasney Village (the student and holiday accommodation).

This combination of efforts also contributes to Penryn Campus holding the international Green Flag award for five years in a row. Green Flag recognises and rewards well-managed parks and green spaces, setting the benchmark standard for their management across the United Kingdom and around the world.

About FX Plus

Falmouth Exeter Plus (FX Plus) delivers shared services for Falmouth University and the University of Exeter in Cornwall to ensure a top quality experience for students, staff and all users of Falmouth and Penryn campuses.

Our vision is to provide ‘Exceptional environments that enable talented and creative minds to thrive’.

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Welcome Paula Sanderson

July 19, 2021

Paula joins us today (Monday 19 July) from Queen Mary University of London. Prior to that, her roles included Registrar and Secretary at SOAS University of London, Director SOAS University of London Asia, Chief Operating Officer and part of the leadership team that established the University of Reading’s Malaysia campus, as well as senior operations roles at the University of Sydney and University of Exeter.

Paula joins us at a challenging but exciting time in our sector and we look forward to working with her to support our university partners and all campus users.

SET (David, Lee, Oliver, Sarah and Stuart).

About FX Plus

Falmouth Exeter Plus (FX Plus) delivers shared services for Falmouth University and the University of Exeter in Cornwall to ensure a top quality experience for students, staff and all users of Falmouth and Penryn campuses.

Our vision is to provide ‘Exceptional environments that enable talented and creative minds to thrive’.

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Work experience success

July 8, 2021

FX Plus is encouraging training and employment in Cornwall by supporting 18-year-old Sean Burrows with his T level construction industry placement.

This is a first for the FX Plus Estates team and is also part of the pilot scheme for T levels.

Sarah Roby, FX Plus Estates Director, said: “As one of the main construction clients in Cornwall we are trying to develop much-needed skills and keep talent here. We, as FX Plus, already offer apprenticeships and a variety of in-house training and, when Sean contacted us, thought this would be an excellent route to encourage talent.”

Truro and Penwith College was the only provider in Cornwall chosen to trial the T levels – the equivalent of three A levels – from September last year (2020). Sean is one of the first cohort and, to gain real work experience, has to complete 20% of the course in a placement with an employer.

He said: “I feel very privileged to be with FX Plus and I am planning to extend my work experience because I enjoy it so much.”

During his time with FX Plus, Sean has been shadowing, Anna Foster, Head of Asset Management (Estates). She set out to give Sean as varied an experience as possible and has introduced him to colleagues and external partners, including building and structural surveyors, construction experts and landscape consultants, as well as ensuring he completes courses such as fire safety training.

“I am exposing Sean to a lot of different professions that are associated with the construction industry,” she explained. “I want to show him the variety of careers available.”

As a result of this, Sean has taken a particular interest in mechanical and electrical design and has helped out in a project for outside lighting at the Heart space on Penryn Campus.

“Design really put a light in my eyes,” he said. “I would recommend this T level and work experience to any other students. I am even hoping to come here on my days off from the course in my second year.”

About FX Plus

Falmouth Exeter Plus (FX Plus) delivers shared services for Falmouth University and the University of Exeter in Cornwall to ensure a top quality experience for students, staff and all users of Falmouth and Penryn campuses.

Our vision is to provide ‘Exceptional environments that enable talented and creative minds to thrive’.

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Little Wonders Wild Challenge

March 12, 2021

The Little Wonders Nursery team at Penryn Campus has joined the RSPB Wild Challenge.

So far the staff have helped the children to make a frog-friendly habitat for some resident frogs; dig a hole for a small pond and plant some Starwort to oxygenate the water; recycle some old wooden cot sides to make a fence to protect the habitat and plant some wildflower seeds to create a butterfly garden.

Rosie Hillier, Day Nursery Nurse Little Wonders, said: “The challenge has given us lots of ides to educate our children in ways to make our garden more wildlife friendly.

“We found a particularly large frog hiding under a pallet so we asked the children to come up with some names for the frogs. Our favourite is ‘Susan’, so we are thinking of naming the frog area ‘Susan’s spot’.

“The children have also prepared a ‘wildlife tracker’ to put out in the garden. It consists of a tray of sand with a bowl of food in the centre and we are hoping to see the prints of any animals that come to eat it. The children have discussed what animals we might get… Frogs, Hedgehogs, Cats, Owls or wolves…!”

To read more about the RSPB Wild Challenge, click this link.

About FX Plus

Falmouth Exeter Plus (FX Plus) delivers shared services for Falmouth University and the University of Exeter in Cornwall to ensure a top quality experience for students, staff and all users of Falmouth and Penryn campuses.

Our vision is to provide ‘Exceptional environments that enable talented and creative minds to thrive’.