Humans of Warwick - Richard Harrison

Richard Harrison

Digital Platform & Channel Manager, MCI

“The things I’ve enjoyed about working at Warwick the most, have not actually been my job!”

“I moved to Coventry from God’s own county, Yorkshire! Taking up a position at Marconi, where I had my first encounter with Warwick. I was managing student interns and came to campus to meet with the staff and student liaison committee. Not knowing that I’d end up working here years later.

I’ve been at Warwick for 22 years. Starting off in postgraduate student admissions. Which back then were paper applications that had to be typed into the system. Very time consuming. The person who had the role before me used to like to take the whole day doing them. I used to get them done by lunchtime, which left me with time to fill, so I started to look for those new opportunities.I’ve been doing that ever since, every time something new comes along, I’m always first to say, ‘I’ll have a go at that’!

During the pandemic, I ran Warwick Presents, which is now Together at Warwick. It was a difficult time for everyone, but we were asked to make things as good as we could for our student community. We had a laser display, flying off the top of the Rootes building onto the Arts Centre. Delivered over 500 board games across campus and put together recipe kits so people could make their own Christmas cakes. Oh, and we played the Crystal Maze as well!

And there’s been more ‘can anyone help’ moments. For the last three years I’ve been supporting the National Scientific Thinking Challenge (NSTC) for children in Year 10. The NSTC has the power to give someone the chance, who maybe hasn’t had many opportunities in life, to see how they match intellectually with someone from a fee-paying school. This could make the difference in them staying in education and changing the world. It’s been an opportunity for me to give back and make a difference. And it’s growing every year, starting with 600 pupils to now over 20,000.

I also helped set up ‘Coffee Roulette’. If you’ve not signed up it’s highly recommended and a great way to meet colleagues across campus. I think it’s very important to build up those networks, you never know when you might need some help.

One of my current passions at the University is neurodiversity. I’m pleased to see it openly discussed, because for a long time it wasn’t. I’m a member of the ‘Sharing is Caring’ group which is for university staff with neurodiverse children. Both of my daughters are autistic. My youngest hasn’t left the house for over a year and half and that’s been tough. I’m often asked what the group do, it’s simple, we’re there to support each other. Whether that’s through a chat, a hug or a cry. It feels like we’re making a difference to each other, and I appreciate that.”