In early June the first cohort and 5 members of staff travelled to Firbush outdoor centre in the Highlands for a two-day residential retreat.
After lunch on the Monday we settled into our accommodation in the centre, then we got the chance to properly meet the Firbush team and to choose our activities for the afternoon. Monday afternoon’s offering was Kayaking, a guided walk or mountain biking. The most popular activity was kayaking which many of the students took part in, some of them even tested out the water with a practice capsize!
A hearty dinner in the evening was followed by the NASA challenge led by project manager Kate Morris. Students were given a space adventure exercise to work on in small teams. This initiated a lot of discussion within and across the teams but there was one clear winning team by the end who successfully made it back to the mothership!
Tuesday morning was for outdoor teambuilding activities led by the brilliant Firbush staff. Students and academics were split into two teams to complete a rotation of activities. Activities included the Keypad Challenge, the Shepherding Challenge and the challenge of crossing a crocodile infested muddy swamp – some imagination required for this one! These activities were brilliant for highlighting everyone’s different strengths when working in teams and also gave us the opportunity to identify where we could improve our teamwork and communication.
After lunch it was time for more outdoor exploring. Unfortunately the weather was not on our side but we got our waterproofs out and chose between walking, orienteering or kayaking in the bay. Our guided walk took us up to Finlarig Castle where we saw the infamous beheading pit and castle ruins.
Tuesday evening was spent learning about the different career paths our academic staff had taken and provided insights into an academic career which the students found really useful. It also sparked further discussion into the evening.
Wednesday morning was our departure day and as we piled on the bus to return to King’s Buildings we reflected on the great opportunity Firbush had provided us with to try something new, relax and get to know our colleagues better.
We’re already planning next year’s trip!
