Lucy McAllister

Deputy Director of Campus Services (Accommodation Services), The University of Strathclyde

What do you enjoy most about working in student accommodation?

The majority of my career has been spent in student accommodation and although I’ve worked in other sectors, something has always drawn me back. It’s hard to describe exactly what I love about it, but I’ve always enjoyed the fast-paced nature of my role and the need to continue to adapt and evolve, it’s what keeps the work varied and meaningful. The work we do has a lasting impact on people’s lives, it shapes life-long memories. Most people who have lived in halls remember it well and when I speak to people who went to Strathclyde they usually tell me which hall they stayed in and recount memories of the times they spent there. In student accommodation we are right at the centre of student life and our services are often fundamental in students’ experiences at University. Knowing that all this life is going on around us and that we can have a positive influence and support people to achieve their goals gives a clear purpose to what we do and I think that’s what I enjoy most about it. 

Can you provide details about a specific student accommodation project that you’ve been involved in, that you’re really proud of?

It’s so hard to pick just one! Although perhaps not the most significant in terms of scale, I was really proud of the refurbishment projects we completed during Covid.  It was particularly challenging, given the restrictions in place and all the other pressures that accommodation teams were facing at the time. But during that summer we completed a light-touch refurbishment of some of our halls, a new open plan office, meeting room, reception and student lounge, which is now our Reslife Hub. It was the end of my first full academic year in post, and I met a lot of challenges in driving forward the work, but I was determined to get the projects over the line. The new spaces meant we could deliver a safe and streamlined check-in experience. Seeing how well the space worked and the efficiencies it facilitated made it worth-while. We still use these spaces every day and I am proud to see the impact they have had on my team and the students who use them.

The project set the standard for how we would go on to continually improve and evolve.  It taught me that there is a lot you can do with the limited resources and time available to you, even if a solution doesn’t always seem clear initially. Small changes really can add up to have a big impact and sometimes we have to approach things bit-by-bit to get them over the line, but eventually you look back and the transformation is more than you ever thought possible. 

What does ASRA mean to you? 

ASRA is for everyone who is a part of our sector, and that’s what makes it so brilliant and unique. As a community ASRA has such a wide and varied membership, there are so many different job roles I doubt you could find two the same! The breadth of knowledge and experience is so extensive, and we all have the benefit of learning from each other and gaining a deeper understanding of our sector and our common purpose in student housing. 

In my career in accommodation, ASRA has always been there as a source of guidance through all the big changes that have impacted the sector, be those political, the pandemic or fluctuations in housing supply and demand. With so much happening in the world today I don’t know what we would do without ASRA! 

What is your best ASRA memory?

I really enjoyed the Aviemore conference. I might be biased, but I can’t think of a better location to get away from it all than the beautiful Scottish countryside! There was a special kind of atmosphere over those days, and it was the first time I truly started to appreciate the real scale of what we are part of and the impact of the work we undertake in our sector. I met some fantastic people at that event, and those connections have proven invaluable over the years and led to some exciting collaborations.

Thoughts on the future of accommodation? (general thoughts on what the future may hold, any challenges/opportunities, what you are looking forward to etc)

It’s hard to say what the future will hold but one thing’s for sure, it’s going to keep bringing change and challenge to the way we work. We’ve been through lots of challenges in recent years, but we are very resilient as a sector and I am sure we will continue to navigate and adapt.

Although student numbers always fluctuate, I think we will ultimately continue to grow and evolve as we accommodate new generations of students coming to university and the key to this will be in our partnerships and the way we work together to tackle some of the bigger challenges impacting our changing student population. One of these challenges will be in how we support students with their mental health and wellbeing and how we create places and communities that help them to be at their best. We can only do this together and so I hope the future will bring closer working partnerships and alliances across all sectors involved in supporting students to thrive.