Professional Staff Week

The 2025 Professional Staff Week will be held from 23 - 27 June 2025. The theme "Ever to Excel" comes from on the University of St Andrews motto, which derives a speech by Glaucus to Diomedes from the sixth book of Homer's Illiad. Glaucus' words speak of the battle to maintain excellence and achieve new successes, building on the work of those who went before us. The week is open to our strategic partners in Europe: the universities of Bonn, Charles and Padua.

In the mornings, there will be a conversational English course, taught by teachers from the International Education and Lifelong Learning Institute (IELLI). The course is aimed at people with an intermediate English level (B1-B2 on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages).

In the afternoons, the Global Office will coordinate a variety of activities, including discussions, presentations, tours, team building exercises and social activities. These activities aim to give our visitors the chance to meet colleagues from St Andrews, share best practice and practise their English. Activities take place in historic buildings, the sports facilities and at Eden Campus, enabling participants to see much of the University during their visit.

Ensuite bed and breakfast accommodation will be offered at Agnes Blackadder Hall, with check in on Sunday 22 June and checkout on Saturday 28 June. Extra nights can be booked on request. The programme fee includes buffet lunches for Monday-Friday and a restaurant meal.

The 2024 Professional Staff Week welcomed 25 colleagues from our European strategic partner universities: Padua, Charles and Bonn. The week involved a conversational English course in the mornings, and a range of activities in the afternoons, including discussion sessions, presentations, tours and team building activities. Saints Sport, Estates (Environment team), CEED, Human Resources (EDI team) and Global Office led activities and discussion sessions. Many staff from other professional service units and academic schools met with their counterparts through these activities and at lunch.

Feedback from participants

"We had good discussion. I think it helped people at other universities realise they were not alone with some of the issues they faced, and they had some good practice examples they could take back."  — Pamela from St Andrews.

"The [English] course encouraged us to talk and exchange ideas on topics that we need in our day-to-day work. That was very useful. It was particularly exciting to practise ad hoc presentations. The afternoon programme was very well thought out and organised. The sports afternoon was particularly fun: we then immediately networked with the partner universities and spent the rest of the week in mixed constellations - which was also very good for language practice...I can wholeheartedly recommend the Professional Staff Week in St Andrews: It was enlightening to get to know this extraordinary university location better and it was great fun to get to know my colleagues from the strategic partner universities."  — Anonymous participant from our partner universities.

In-person activities

The Global Office coordinated in-person staff weeks for colleagues from the University of Bonn in 2019, 2022 and 2023. 30 colleagues from the University of Bonn participated in these in-person activities. These involved an intermediate English course at IELLI and job shadowing activities across the University. For example, in 2023, our visitors from Bonn were hosted by professional staff in the Business School, Geography & Sustainable Development; Modern Languages, CEED, Finance, Global Office, IEILLI, Human Resources, Principal’s Office, RDBC and RIS.

Feedback from participants

"Our English lessons were informative and fun. Overall, I had a great time in St Andrews."  — Angela, 2023

“It was just the right mix of learning the language, experiencing the professional culture and having fun cultural activities. I strongly recommend the staff mobility program to anyone. “ — Olaf, 2022

Virtual activities

The Global Office also coordinated some virtual staff networking and training activities during the Covid-19 pandemic. We collaborated on virtual staff training and networking with colleagues from the University of Bonn, which took place in late 2020.

In 2021, the Global Office coordinated a Joint International Staff Week "Celebrating University Anniversaries," with the University of Padua. This virtual Staff Week looked at the impact of university anniversary celebrations, drawing on St Andrews' 600th anniversary and Padua's 800th anniversary. Sessions were dedicated to both academic and general topics, including research, collections and cultural heritage; public engagement, postgraduate projects, communication, global engagement, logistics, fundraising and alumni. Academic staff, postgraduate students and professional staff at all levels were involved in the programme. The Staff Week provided scope to deepen relations with the University of Padua, and engage with our partner universities around the world.

Individual professional staff visits are organised directly, between an individual staff member and a host School or unit. These visits usually last around 5 days. Individual visits should be mutually beneficial for professional development, sharing knowledge and establishing relationships. 

Individual Professional Staff Visits (Outbound)

Professional Staff interested in visiting a partner university should discuss an opportunityof interest and potential funding support with their line manager. The University's Global Partnerships Travel Grant could support a visit by professional services staff to a partner university.

Individual Professional Staff Visits (Inbound)

Professional service units and academic schools have also welcomed a number of individual professional staff visits from our partner universities. These visits are usually supported financially by the Erasmus+ Staff Mobility funds from the vistor's home institution. Visits can include job shadowing, workshops or training events. These visits can be very valuable in sharing ideas, developing skills and building opportunities to collaborate with other institutions. Individual professional staff visits should facilitate a mutual exchange of best practice that is beneficial for both the visitor and the host.

Due to the volume of requests we receive and the time required to organise and support these visits, it is impossible for us to welcome all colleagues from other higher education institutions.

Contact

If you are looking to welcome a professional services colleague from another university or come to St Andrews, please feel free to contact the Global Office for advice.