Dear Students,

I hope you are all well and the exams are going well.

As some of you might know, one of my manifesto pledges in the elections of spring 2017 was to get sleeping pods on campus (aka power nap pods). I have done sector research and found out that in addition to the international trend (more than a dozen universities in USA, Australia, Canada and other countries have implemented some new initiates to provide napping facilities to their students) two UK universities at the moment have nap pods on their campuses: the University of Manchester and the University of Bedfordshire. I have also done a research on the wellbeing benefits of having a power nap in the afternoon and its impact on cognitive functions. My full report can be found here.

I’ve gathered all the data and composed it into a business case asking City to fund installation of two power nap pods on campus as an initial trial with a potential of expanding the provision of such facilities if there would be a significant demand. I have presented the business case to City’s Revenue Allocation and Management Board in November last year. Unfortunately, the business case was not approved then due to the lack of evidence that there is student demand for such facilities on campus. One of the key concerns of the University is that there might be a situation when, in theory, students will be quite keen to have a power nap pod on campus, however, it might be the case that in practice only a limited number of students will be using it.

Therefore, in order to prove to the University that there is in fact a clear demand for permanent napping facilities on campus (my impression from a number of conversations with students), the Students’ Union has incorporated Power Nap sessions into our Study Well campaign. If you would like to see in the future permanent napping facilities on campus such as Nap Pods, please come and enjoy a short nap in the Students’ Union’s Lounge (next to the Students’ Union Reception on Level 1 of the Tait Building) in the afternoon between 2 and 3 pm on the following dates: 24^th, 29^th and 31^st May as well as 5^th and 7^th June (we have already delivered three nap sessions on 16^th, 17^th and 22^nd May). If you take part in one of our Power Nap sessions, you can take away with yourself some freebies after the event: a branded Study Well blanket, an eyemask and ear plugs (plus you can help yourself with some of our other regular freebies such as notepads, highlighters, sticky notes, energy bars, soft drinks, etc.). Spaces are limited so please make sure to book yourself a slot in a Power Nap session to avoid disappointment.

Let’s show our university in practise that we want Nap Pods on campus!

Take a good care of yourself this exams and assessment period (don’t forget to check more than 100 free events that the Union runs in partnership with the university to support you during this challenging times). Best of luck with your exams!

Best wishes,

Olesea Matcovschi

Your President