Professor Mike Larkin and Total Equality For Students
I retired from Queen’s University Belfast after 37 years of research and teaching Microbiology, Biochemistry and Genetics. I ran a busy Microbiology research laboratory and chaired the Queen’s University Environmental Science and Technology Research (QUESTOR) centre for 25 years of that time.
I also served on the Senate and Finance and Planning committee of the university.
I taught students at all levels without a break for 35 of those years. The video captures some of my thoughts at my final lecture to first year students in 2015.
As student numbers increased, it became clear that many were impacted by time pressures that took them away from their studies. Those who commuted, had part-time jobs or caring responsibilities found they were at a significant disadvantage. Yet this remained largely a hidden problem and a ‘blind spot’ for university managements around the UK.
My experience helping students struggling with the system led me to set up TEFS as a way to draw attention to the multiple pressures that causes students to lose valuable study time.
Interview by the BBC at my last lecture to first year students. This was part of a documentary series in 2015 called ‘A University Challenged’.