On Monday there was an initial discussion of the New Ways of Working (NWOW) plan for the Blizard Building at the all-staff meeting.
Many thanks to those of you who attended and contributed to the debate. The slides presented at the meeting can be found attached and at https://www.qmul.ac.uk/blizard/staff-zone/administration/. My own opinion is that we need to try this if we wish to expand existing groups and hire new groups.
In brief the plan is to move to bookable open plan desks, grouped in Centres. The large offices on the east side of the building will become bookable meeting rooms. The small offices at the North and South sides will mostly remain permanently assigned. More informal meeting spaces will also be created. This plan requires minimal structural alterations and will be piloted for 6 months from September (approximately), with feedback then invited from the Blizard community. I do appreciate that this change to your workspace will create anxiety. I’m happy to meet anyone to discuss their issues; you can also contact Tania (t.maffucci@qmul.ac.uk), who will relay your concerns (anonymously if requested) to the planning group.
Next steps will be interviews for Centre Leads, followed by the formation of a planning group of around 12 people to discuss details of the plan. Today I’m asking for volunteers to join this planning group. Please send me an email copied to Maria (m.caballero-blaya@qmul.ac.uk). I’m going to make sure that all staff groups are represented, so may have to make some selections.
Prof Mary CollinsDirector, Blizard Institute