Blog: Creating an online community during COVID

By Sarah Burnard

Like Amy before me, my internship was originally intended to revolve around event management. My job was to help organise the IGDC Photo Competition Awards, and subsequent Festival of Ideas exhibition and talk. But I realised in the week before my start date that planning a large in-person event would no longer be possible. 

The timeline was intense: the Monday before I was due to start work, the University announced the move to online teaching for all students. This was not a huge concern to me personally, as I had finished all face-to-face teaching for my degree. What shocked me, as an English student, was the closure of the library - announced on Wednesday, and enacted on Friday. In a frenzy, I tried to work out which books I would need for the last three assessments of my degree, and I picked up over a dozen texts on Thursday morning. With a nationwide lockdown looming, I decided to move back home and spent the majority of Thursday and Friday packing. My Dad picked me up on Saturday, and I said goodbye to my partner, not knowing that we wouldn’t see each other again for four months. Lockdown officially started on Monday.

Through all this uncertainty, the IGDC team was endlessly understanding and accommodating. Although it was unclear at first what I would be able to do, since all events on campus had been cancelled, the Centre nevertheless honoured their internship offer. They also allowed me to postpone the start date for a month, giving me time to adapt to the new way of life and complete two of my three remaining assessments. 

My internship was transformed almost entirely, due to Covid-19: instead of working towards any one event, I have helped on numerous projects supporting the new BA in Global Development. I sourced videos, podcasts, blogs, and virtual experiences to supplement incoming students’ academic work; I carried out extensive research on Problem-Based Learning to help the teaching team develop the course using this new and innovative teaching style, and I established and managed the Instagram account for the BA course (follow us @UoYGlobalDev). 

This final task, as well as having to start a new job entirely online, has led me to think extensively about the creation of online communities. As difficult as it is to have finished my degree in these strange circumstances, I cannot help but think about the tremendous difficulties new students will face on a socially distanced campus. My priority, therefore, has been to introduce them to the people they will see in class, and thereby establish their lecturers as familiar faces, not intimidating authority figures. The Instagram strategy I have developed is focused on the students of the BA course, and creating an online community where they can talk to the course leaders and one another in an informal way. 

One example of this in action was our Instagram Live event, where Dr Ingrid Harvold Kvangraven – one of the BA’s teaching leads – and Clemmie, a student ambassador, answered students’ and potential students’ questions live.

I organised, advertised, and moderated this event, which was a resounding success. Around one in six of our followers tuned in, and two students decided to join the course during the event! 

This internship has enabled me to develop many new skills: from creating and delivering online presentations; to self-motivating, while working from home; social media management; and cultivation of an audience. Most importantly, it has proven my adaptability and ability to learn quickly. While none of us would have wished for the difficulties of the last four months, the way my internship at IGDC has turned out has developed essential skills which make me far more employable in these strange times. It has also whetted my appetite for further study in this area, and I hope to be able to undertake a Masters in Human Rights in the autumn. 

^{Photo courtesy of Sarah Burnard}