The University of Westminster was established as the first polytechnic in London over 180 years ago to educate the people of London. As the Coronavirus pandemic has shifted our working lives, home lives and our economy, the first purpose of our University has come sharply into focus and we have been thinking about how the wealth skills and knowledge we have as a university can help London to bounce back.
Since the start of the pandemic we have been doing our bit to help with the resources we have; sending our analysis kit to expand Covid-19 testing capabilities, 3D printing visors, donating our supplies of PPE. Our academics have refocused, supplying study materials for high schools and working on frontline research to identify blood test markers to protect those with Covid-19; and our students have been active too — making gowns for the NHS, and volunteering for food banks and charities.
We have been thinking about what skills or tools those working in London might find useful in this environment and have put together two courses for London First members which we hope will support your ability to cope personally, and to excel at work in these new and uncertain conditions.
The Westminster Centre for Resilience offers evidence based human resilience training, working with organisations like Microsoft and the NHS. Recently the Centre has been running online sessions in North Middlesex Hospital and Guys and St Thomas Hospital to support NHS workers through the Coronavirus pandemic.
This course, Resilience in Challenging Times, offers some tools and techniques to manage the inevitable peaks and troughs which come with the uncertainty brought by the pandemic. The course is run by Centre Director, Justin Haroun, and guides participants through the keys to resilience, demonstrating how to evaluate your stress reactions and triggers and directly help you to come back into ‘recovery mode’ throughout the day providing practical interventions for reflection and coping.
The sessions will be run during Mental Health Week, on Tuesday 19th May from 11am-12pm and on Thursday 21st May from 3 – 4pm and there are 200 places available.
Looking forward, we recognise that we will likely not be returning to “business as usual” in the near future as the need for social distancing and working from home continues and anxiety levels remain high. Leading organisations and teams will come with new challenges so Westminster Business School has redeveloped its flagship short course in leadership to offer Management and Leadership Development in the time of Covid-19.
This five-day course is designed to provide promising executives and functional specialists with the skills, tools and competencies they need to operate effectively in today’s constantly changing environment. There are 50 places for London First members and it will be delivered online from July.
These courses are free of charge, and are offered to support any of you who may be interested to attend as part of our work to help support people during these difficult times.
To register please click on the course name:
Register for Resilience in Challenging Times
Register for Management and Leadership Development in the time of Covid-19
