As a student, I often walked past the row of red-brick terraced houses on Oxford road and wondered what kind of work was going on there – the big purple ‘Legal Justice Hub’ banner outside number 188 had stuck out to me, but I’d never noticed the more discreet sign next to the door of number 186. This is the Office for Social Responsibility, and now, my office for a year. I started working at the University in September after being accepted on to a three-year graduate scheme called ‘Future Leaders’: my role as a project coordinator in the Office for Social Responsibilty marks the first of three 12-month placements within Professional Services (the non-academic departments of the University). I will also complete a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education and a management accreditation over the next three years.

After a lengthy induction into University structures and systems, I was shown around the once-mysterious building at Waterloo Place. The co-working space on the ground floor, overlooking Oxford Road, is where I now spend most of my time: it’s a great place for people watching – the maple tree outside the entrance draws a lot of visitors and photographers in the winter, when the leaves turn a deep auburn. Aside from watching the many passersby (there are 2 million visitors to the Oxford Road Corridor each year), I’ve had the chance to do some great work. My projects have been focused on improving and expanding relationships with our local communities, as well as gathering data and capturing community voices.

In November, I supported the organisation of our Manchester 2035 civic engagement workshops, where local residents and groups were invited to share their ideas for the University’s new strategy. I’ve also been helping to update the community-facing sections of our website and to design a pilot scheme for community members to access University rooms more easily. I’ve supported the work of my colleagues in communications, helping to edit the monthly newsletter and shooting content with community partners and graduates.

I’ve been to some exciting and inspiring events linked to our community and public engagement, like the civic launch of the Caribbean African Health Network, showcases and workshops around co-created research, and the GM Citizens General Assembly. I’ve worked with colleagues from all over the University, including our cultural institutions, which are perhaps the best part of our campus. Occasionally, I take a walk around Manchester Museum, just next door to the office, on my lunch break – my favourite section is the vivarium, where you can see live amphibians and reptiles (like the tiny black-and-yellow poison dart frog), closely followed by the South Asia Gallery, curated in collaboration with community members and definitely worth a visit!

All of the work that I’ve been doing is aligned with our five social responsibility priorities – social inclusion, prosperous communities, better health, environmental sustainability, and cultural engagement – and designed to address the UN Sustainable Development Goals. But, just getting out and talking to people is the best part of the job – this is perhaps not surprising given my background in modern languages, and two degrees spent having lots of conversations with different people, both in the classroom and abroad.

The next six months are set to be pretty exciting as we continue to shape our 10-year strategy – I’ll have lots of opportunities to talk to our community members and work with them to create a more open institution ready to respond to modern challenges. When my placement comes to an end, I’ll move into a different department in a different building. Leaving the now-familiar row of terraced houses and the wonderful team who make up the Office for Social Responsiblity will be sad, but with 229 campus buildings, 12,000 staff, over 40,000 students, and even more residents and visitors, there are many places to explore and many new people to meet.

Eleanor Seed, Future Leader Graduate Placement, Office for Social Responsibility