This regular feature shines a spotlight on key people involved in Campus Reimagined.

What’s your role in Campus Reimagined?

My job title is Development Manager which means I have overall responsibility for the delivery of the Campus Reimagined programme.

At the moment my main job is to help our team of masterplanners have the right conversations at the right time with staff and students.

Collaboration and an understanding of what students and staff want and need from their campus is at the heart of the programme.

What are you proudest of so far in the project?

Campus Reimagined Live! We wanted to engage with people differently – to create a buzz and inspire people but we didn’t really know how interested people would be.

So it was a risk and we also needed to plan the whole thing very quickly.

I was particularly proud of the group of staff and students who helped us deliver the event. Having over 3,000 people come through the door and see so much excitement was really special.

What’s your favourite part of campus?

The Precinct during graduation period. I love seeing the pride on peoples’ faces – students, friends and families.

What’s next in Campus Reimagined?

Well, we’ve just announced the mini projects so we’ll be getting going on those. We really want people to get involved and we’ll let you know soon how that will work.

Personally I’m excited about the exercise trail as I hope it will help people explore different parts of campus in a fun way.

The masterplanners are making great progress and really doing justice to all the ideas that have been shared. Over the summer they’ll be putting together some ideas of what the campus of the future could look like.

These will be purposefully provocative to create debate about what’s important to us and help us to define what makes our campus so special. I’m looking forward to sharing this in the autumn.

University of Leeds campus to me is…

A wonderful place where people around the world can share ideas… and somewhere that would benefit from some extra thought and attention.

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You came, you saw, and 3,602 of you voted!

Results are in for the Campus Reimagined mini projects that received the most votes from the 12 shortlisted, which will now be developed during the next 18 months. Find out what they are on the Vote or Veto page.

You can register your interest in being a part of making the projects happen by filling in the form on the Campus Reimagined website.

Will Reed, Development Manager for the Campus Reimagined programme said:

“Thank you so much to everyone who voted for their favourite quick win projects. You’ll start to see them being delivered during the coming months, with all of them being completed by the end of next summer.

“Alongside this, watch this space for future opportunities to feed into our long-term planning to make our campus more welcoming, accessible and inclusive for everyone.

“Looking further ahead, we’re already planning a ‘Campus Reimagined Live 2’ to present back ideas and seek your feedback.”

Votes for other mini projects

Votes recorded for the other mini projects were:

• More phone charging facilities in libraries, study spaces and across campus: 1,338 votes
• Introduce better open-access shower and clothes drying facilities to support active commuting to campus: 1,207 votes
• Create a new outdoor multi-use activity space for use by dance groups, sports clubs etc: 1084 votes: 1,084 votes
• Introduce more mindfulness and wellbeing spaces across campus: 1,010 votes
• Create an iconic piece of public art that makes us all feel proud of Leeds: 970 votes
• Work with local artists to brighten up campus bike stores: 676 votes

Sign up to our newsletter to keep up-to-date with progress on the mini projects and other developments on campus.

Twelve projects have been shortlisted from hundreds submitted by staff and students during the Campus Reimagined Live! festival in February.

Vote between Monday 9 June and Sunday 15 June for your chance to win an iPad!  

From Monday, you’ll be able to vote for your six favourite mini projects that will be developed alongside the substantial work to reimagine campus in the longer term.

There’s also a prize draw to win an 11-inch iPad if you vote.

The mini projects are:

1. Making our existing outdoor green spaces more usable year-round such as increasing the amount of covered spaces.
2. Building an outdoor botanical garden with a greenhouse and raised beds for teaching and wellbeing.
3. Introduce better open-access shower and clothes drying facilities to support active commuting to campus.
4. Work with local artists to brighten up campus bike stores.
5. Create an iconic piece of public art that makes us all feel proud of Leeds.
6. Create an outdoor exercise and jogging trail around campus.
7. Create a new outdoor multi-use activity space for use by dance groups, sports clubs etc.
8. More phone charging facilities in libraries, study spaces and across campus.
9. Create more eating areas for people who bring lunch onto campus, including areas to heat up food.
10. Create a campus plants and greenery trail.
11. Introduce more mindfulness and wellbeing spaces across campus.
12. A big screen that can be used for pop up movie nights, sports events and screening graduations.

How do I vote?

You can vote online from Monday 9 June.

The final six will be announced at the end of June.

Jen Wilson, Director of Campus Innovation: Masterplanning, Asset Management and Sustainability in the Facilities Directorate said:

“It’s fantastic to see how engaged staff and students are with Campus Reimagined. There were so many creative suggestions for the mini projects:  I’m excited to see what people vote for!

“We are at the beginning of an ongoing conversation about the long-term planning of campus. Through our work to improve campus now – such as the recently-opened Health Sciences Library learning space – we are also investing in meeting the needs of current students and staff.”

Campus Reimagined

The aim of the Campus Reimagined programme is to plan for the long-term future of our campus, whilst starting to make change now. Campus Reimagined is based on four principal objectives:

• To provide a framework that can guide bold and cohesive decisions around the planning, development and management of the campus over the next 15 years and beyond, underpinned by thoughtful design standards and strategies that respond to the climate crisis.
• To strengthen confidence in the purpose and identity of the University’s campus, through an evidence-based and deeply consultative process for developing the vision for campus – “Your Campus, Your Ideas”.
•  To support the development of a financially sustainable strategy for the campus that recognises the potential for greater efficiencies and identifies opportunities for the built environment to accelerate the University’s mission.
• To guide the University towards the creation of a welcoming, inclusive campus environment that embeds social and environmental sustainability as a guiding principle.

  Sign up to our newsletter to keep up to date, or cast your vote now.

Student and staff suggestions from the Campus Reimagined Live! event in February have fed into the long-term plan for campus, alongside data from a new, in-depth series of surveys.

These surveys have included a study to understand more about how spaces in buildings are used around the University.

Space utilisation survey

Forty buildings were chosen as representative of four main functions – teaching, learning, office and central amenity spaces.

Working with Evolve Digital Workspaces, under the leadership of masterplanning and economics consultancy Prior + Partners, 4,380 spaces were subject to 350,381 observations over two weeks in March 2025.

The study, which captured anonymous data on how – and how efficiently – each space was being used, found that learning spaces such as libraries had the highest rate of usage: 80% at their peak with an average of 63%.

Usage was much more varied for central amenity spaces such as cafes, with office space the lowest in terms of average time at 33%.

Other surveys

Alongside this, the masterplanners have been studying the heritage, adaptability, condition, and climate resilience of our buildings.

They have also been reviewing the servicing, wayfinding, and accessibility of the spaces in between them.

The findings from these surveys all contribute towards our masterplan framework.

What is a masterplan framework?

A masterplan framework provides a strategic basis for the future development of a specific area. As a document that sets out principles and guidelines, it acts as a blueprint, setting the stage for more detailed planning and development activities.

It is expected that the Campus Reimagined masterplan framework will be complete in summer 2026.

Jen Wilson, Director of Campus Innovation: Masterplanning, Asset Management and Sustainability in the Facilities Directorate said:

“The work of the Campus Reimagined programme is critical to our university campus of the future.

“I want to thank colleagues for their cooperation and engagement in this exciting process. As we progress the masterplan framework, there will be more opportunities for staff and students to engage with the ideas that arise.

“This is a critical part of the process, as we understand the importance of campus in underpinning a sense of belonging, while also supporting the University’s active role in the cultural, social and economic growth of Leeds and the wider region.”

To keep up-to-date with progress about Campus Reimagined and your opportunities to get involved, please sign up to our newsletter.

To find out about Campus Reimagined mini projects and to vote for your favourites from 9-15 June, head over to the Vote or Veto page.

Enter our festive giveaway!  

To celebrate the announcement that Campus Reimagined Live! will be taking place on 10-12 February 2025 – we’re giving you a chance to win a £250 Love2Shop voucher and a host of other prizes. 

To enter, you need to follow the instructions on the giveaway post found on our Campus Reimagined Instagram page. 

Terms and conditions   

Campus Reimagined will use any personal data submitted only for the purposes of facilitating the prize draw.  

All entries must be received by Friday 13 December 2024 at 11:59pm. 

All correctly completed entries will be entered into a prize draw which will take place on Monday 16 December 2024. Multiple winners will be chosen and allocated a prize at random. There will be one prize per winner, and it will not be exchangeable for an alternative prize. 

One entry per person allowed, on completion of liking the post, commenting on the post and following the Campus Reimagined Instagram account. You can gain an additional entry by sharing to Stories. 

The giveaway is open to all University of Leeds staff and students.  

The winners will be awarded one prize from the following; a £250 Love2Shop voucher, a three-month membership to The Edge gym, two chances to win a £50 Great Food at Leeds Rewards voucher, a KeepCup provided by Great Food at Leeds, a Residence Life goodie bag and four chances to win a £20 Amazon gift card. The Love2Shop voucher will be sent to you via your staff or student email address. The Amazon gift cards are physical cards and we will arrange a pick up of physical prizes. No cash alternatives are possible. 

Prizes are not transferable or exchangeable.   

The winners will be notified via the Campus Reimagined Instagram page from Monday 16 December 2024. Campus Reimagined will make a reasonable attempt to contact the winner, but reserve the right to draw a substitute winner if this is not possible after two weeks. 

Please note that Instagram are not responsible for any element of this promotion and has in no way sponsored, endorsed, or administered this promotion.