Category: News

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Community furniture donations

June 7, 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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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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Food Waste Separation Trial

May 17, 2022

We’ve launched a pilot project to reduce more waste on our campuses by separating food waste in our halls of residence.

The Facilities team has teamed up with Cornwall Waste Solutions for this trial, which is underway in Glasney View blocks L and M, at Penryn Campus.

It is estimated that about a third of our household waste is food and we are aiming to divert this from general waste to anaerobic digestion facilities, where it can be turned into electricity, fuel and fertiliser.

Casey Thomas, Falmouth Exeter Plus Head of Facilities Management, said: “This is a key priority for the waste management team and supports both Falmouth and Exeter universities in their declarations of climate emergency and the plans to make our campuses more sustainable.”

There are 12 flats with about 80 student residents involved, with food caddies in each kitchen and waste bins close to the blocks. These larger bins are collected by a specially equipped truck that lifts, empties and then sprays the bins clean.

If successful, this scheme will be rolled out to other student residences at Penryn Campus.

Our main campus catering outlets at Falmouth and Penryn already have food waste collection in place.

For tips about how to reduce your own food waste, see https://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/ .

Bins being emptied into waste disposal truck
Waste Collection Caddy

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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Rooftop Training Day

May 11, 2022

Our Estates and Grounds maintenance teams have recently completed their rooftop safety training. Required every three years, Rig Systems led this session with participants learning how to stay safe on roofs and near unprotected edges. The one-day course included:

  • Legislation when working at height.
  • Risk Assessment for rooftop working.
  • Rooftop hazards and control measures.
  • Safe use of ladders (fixed & portable).
  • Edge protection.
  • Work restraint systems.
  • Fall arrest systems.
  • Emergency recovery plans

Our Health and Safety (H&S) team organises a whole variety of training sessions relating to employees’ work activities. Directors and other senior leaders from FX Plus and Falmouth University will soon be having their own bespoke day’s sessions covering legal responsibilities and liabilities.

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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Face covering recycling

May 6, 2022

If you have single-use face masks lying around then please feel free to drop them into the recycling bin in the Exchange foyer, Penryn Campus, or the Fox Café, Falmouth Campus. From here they will be combined with other ‘hard to recycle’ plastic items and sent to ReFactory, a company which will turn them into ‘stormboards’ that are then used for shopfitting, children’s furniture and new recycling bins.

Table made from recycled material
Colour coded recycle bins

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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New EV Charge points

April 25, 2022

Twelve new electric vehicle (EV) charging points are going to be installed at Penryn Campus.

The points, which will be in Car Park A, are in response to a growing demand as more people choose to buy electric vehicles meaning the two chargers currently installed don’t provide sufficient charging capacity.

They will be run by supplier Pod Point, a company which offers an app to make use and payment easier.

David Lawrence, Falmouth Exeter Plus Energy Manager, said: “This project will help to make our campuses more sustainable while also offering greater choice to users. While we try to encourage walking, cycling, or using public transport, we recognise that this is not always practical in Cornwall. These EV points will therefore support owners of more sustainable vehicles.”

The charging points will be installed in April and should be ready for use by the end of that month.

Further information on how to use the new electric vehicles charging points and location will be provided ready for use after upon completion of the installation.

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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Happy IWD 2022!

March 8, 2022

Happy International Women’s Day 2022.

At Falmouth Exeter Plus our female employees go right to the top (Managing Director Paula Sanderson)!

As we celebrate this year’s #breakthebias theme, here are some profiles of the great women working for us in just one of our many teams ….

FX Plus Security Team

The women within the Security Team at FX Plus stand out as a group of employees that collaborate, communicate and cooperate.  They are a powerful story of how a small but dedicated team can achieve great things.

Nat Brown – Head of Security Services.

Nat has a natural ability to extract the best from those within the team whilst providing support, exceptional advice and encouragement. Nat is leading the team through a transformative change producing tangible results, improving services whilst achieving an outstanding contribution to the organisation.

Louise Munn – Security Operations Officer.

Louise is dynamic individual who is working on the restructuring of security projects, processes and policies. Her ability to see things differently, has made a significant impact of the wellbeing of others. Louise’s efforts have made a positive impact to the working environment and culture of the business and its people.

Lois Craze – Security Team Supervisor.

Lois has a long track record of excellence within FX Plus and is particularly effective in taking control of a situation and introducing new ways of working. Lois effectively manages challenges and overcomes barriers when faced with difficulties. Lois seeks out new opportunities and demonstrates a desire to succeed matched by her ambition to turn those ideas into a success.

Misbah Abrahamjee – Security Team Supervisor.

Misbah has shown clear guidance and great strength to her colleagues during this time of crisis and transformation, she consistently shows great enthusiasm and resourcefulness whilst positively responding to the needs of the student and university communities.  Misbah pulls everyone together to propel the business forward whilst embodying the essence of teamwork.

Jess Goulding – Customer Services Manager.

Jess is nominated because of her innovation and customer focus demonstrating consistent support for our students and the universities and FX Plus employees.  Jess can be relied upon to provide a service that can be diversified to meet the changing needs of our community. Her leadership skills motivate a highly competent and efficient team.

Zoe Jenkins – Deputy Night Services Manager.

Zoe is making great strides towards achieving exceptional leadership. She is contributing positively and supporting others through great change and transformation.

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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Self serve refill launch

February 15, 2022

The Penryn Campus Shop has launched a new Bring Your Own (BYO), self-service refill section. This will help to reduce unnecessary packaging and waste.

The new refill range includes cereals and breakfast food; pasta; rice and snacks.

Customers can bring along their own refill container, weigh it, fill it up with their desired item, reweigh and pay.

To mark this launch, the Shop team is giving away free, reusable #oureffect food containers to the first 50 customers.

The new refill range includes:

  • Muesli
  • Porridge Quaker Oats
  • Quinoa
  • Banana Chips
  • Chickpeas
  • Couscous
  • Pumpkin Seeds
  • Basmati Rice
  • Penne Pasta
  • Fusilli pasta
  • Popcorn Kernels
  • Oriental Rice Crackers

For more information about Penryn Campus Shop, including opening times, please see our website.

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’.