Hope Heroes
Our Students

‘We were aware that most days, due to the guidelines, we were the only people our clients were seeing so we made sure to provide the best care as well as giving them the sense of company and social interaction. During social hours we would set up facetime calls with family members to keep our clients connected to their families during these difficult times. I really enjoyed the job and felt appreciated and supported by both the clients and the team.’‘We were aware that most days, due to the guidelines, we were the only people our clients were seeing so we made sure to provide the best care as well as giving them the sense of company and social interaction. During social hours we would set up facetime calls with family members to keep our clients connected to their families during these difficult times. I really enjoyed the job and felt appreciated and supported by both the clients and the team.’

Biomedical Science student, Katrina Paley, gave up her summer holidays to volunteer at a local care home when they were met with a staffing crisis due to Covid-19. Originally from Linlithgow, Katrina and two other friends joined Bield Housing and Care to help out when a number of staff had to shield or self-isolate.

Katrina underwent a rigorous training programme to ensure she met care standards and abided by strict Covid-19 guidelines. During her time there, Katrina provided personal care, social support and domestic assistance to the older people living in the home.

Katrina said: “I am a person who doesn’t like doing nothing, so lockdown was not ideal. I wanted to get out and do something to help out and I’m glad my work has help to make a difference to older people in my town.

“One of the other students told me about the position and I immediately was keen to get involved.

"We were aware that most days, due to the guidelines, we were the only people our clients were seeing so we made sure to provide the best care as well as giving them the sense of company and social interaction. During social hours we would set up FaceTime calls with family members to keep our clients connected to their families during these difficult times. I really enjoyed the job and felt appreciated and supported by both the clients and the team."

While the current Covid-19 restrictions are limiting the ways in which we can interact face-to-face, many students are finding new and creative ways to collaborate and enhance their University experience.

Among them is music student Anthony White who has helped to launch a virtual choir, is interacting with renowned composers through virtual workshops and has written his own new music dedicated to the work of the NHS.

Anthony, who has just completed the second year of his BMus, said: “Lockdown has certainly imposed restrictions on many people globally, but one thing that unites us all is music."

The work of an Aberdeen PhD student has made it easier for policymakers, charities, and researchers to access vital data about Scottish households – which will play a key role in decision making when it comes to tackling Covid-19. Viktoria Eriksson, who is in the second year of a PhD in Sociology, has been shortlisted for a prestigious award for her efforts. As part of her placement with the Scottish Household Survey, Viktoria developed a more user-friendly and accessible method of sharing survey data which usually requires expert skills to access. The surveys include a wide range of household characteristics, factors for the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) and mapping of vulnerable groups.

Access to this information has proved particularly valuable during the Covid-19 crisis enabling policy makers, charities, activists and campaigners, without expert research skills, to access this otherwise complex survey data.

The Data Explorer is available for anyone to explore the characteristics, attitudes and behaviour of Scottish households.

First year PhD student, Ed Devlin, working with Silvia Gratz in Gut Health (Rowett), and Carol Munro and Donna MacCallum in Aberdeen Fungal Group (IMS) moved to Inverbervie about 18 months ago. Ed set up and looks after the Inverbervie Community Response page on Facebook.

 He said: ‘Prior to the UK lockdown, I was concerned about outbreaks in other countries and how a similar outbreak might impact my community in Inverbervie. Although most households are well connected I wanted to ensure that everyone had some way to reach out for help if needed.

I set up Inverbervie Community Response on Facebook in March and shared some posters in the shops we have in Inverbervie. I was overwhelmed with the response of people wanting to help and by the time the lockdown was in full effect I had around 40 volunteers willing to help with shopping, errands and prescriptions.

People can make requests to the group directly, contact a specific volunteer from our map, or contact me via phone and I either help them myself or pass out details to volunteers. Combined with similar efforts from our local foodbank and church group, I’m confident that everyone who needed support had access to it. I’ve also been working with the medical centre to help with priority prescriptions or sample collection for individuals who are shielding.’