This edition of Experience Sussex! is being sent to all taught students.

Make the most of your time at university | 3 November 2025

Landing in your inbox every other Monday during term time, Experience Sussex! is your student magazine.

This week’s issue celebrates World Kindness Day on Thursday 13 November. There are lots of ways to extend kindness to others. In fact, kindness is one of the values in our strategy Sussex 2035: Creating Progressive Futures, flourishing, sustainability and progress for the whole world. 

Read on to find out about the many ways you can give, get, and celebrate kindness at Sussex!

A small act of kindness goes a long way!

Kindness doesn’t need a calendar. It is something we can live and breathe every day.

The Sussex Centre for Research on Kindness will be celebrating World Kindness Day on 13 November with series of uplifting and inclusive activities that invite our entire community to reflect, connect, and act with kindness. Kind@Sussex marks a series of events. Each event gives everyone a special moment to pause, reflect, and actively celebrate the incredible impact kindness can have in our communities, our workplaces, and our everyday lives.

Professor Robin Banerjee, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Global and Civic Engagement, who founded the Sussex Centre for Research on Kindness, told Experience Sussex!:

"Research shows that kindness plays a key role in human relationships, and that it has the power to bring us together and make us stronger. As well as receiving kindness, being kind, and even just noticing kindness around us, is associated with higher levels of wellbeing. So let’s use this week to remind ourselves of the moments of kindness that make such a difference in our lives, and share our commitment to growing that kindness, both to ourselves and to others”.

Discover the range of activities happening for World Kindness Day.

Celebrate kindness all week with the SEE team

Kindness Week with the SEE Team (Student Experience and Engagement) from Monday 10 to Friday 14 November invites you to celebrate compassion through giving, writing, and connection. Support the Hummingbird Project by donating small gifts for young refugees from warm winter wear to thoughtful games and treats at Student Centre tables all week. Then, drop by the Atrium for our letter writing campaigns: stand in solidarity with Amnesty International’s Write for Rights, or brighten a fellow student’s winter with a heartfelt card. Let’s make kindness visible, one gesture at a time. Find out more.

Boost your mood, cuddle a dog

Take a break from studying and join Canine Cuddles every Wednesday from 12 pm to 2 pm on campus, where you can relax and spend 20 minutes with friendly dogs thanks to the Student Wellbeing and Spirit of Sussex Award team in partnership with Canine Concern. Locations vary each week, and tickets are free but limited, so book early to secure your spot. It is the perfect way to reduce stress, boost your mood, and enjoy some furry company, don’t miss out!

Each issue, we’ll highlight a question from student social media to help our student community share their knowledge and experiences of university life with one another.

We had a wonderful response this week, thank you to everyone who showed just what it means to be part of such a caring community. Below are a selection of replies: 

The question we asked you for this issue: Kindness at Sussex means...?

"listening without judgement" - acaarafat

"Saying thank you to all staff around campus" - vanisha_mc

"Treating everyone you mean with respect and listening to their opinions" - g_lohur

"acceptance" - jesse.pointon

"Looking after each other, ensuring nobody has to be alone if they don't want to" - thegrandarchwizard

"Being respectful" - apryl.sl

"Helping the disadvantaged to adapt" - kaazaptiye

"Having student tutors here to support you!!" - olivia_melee 

Sussex regularly features in local, national and international media showcasing our research, student and staff achievements, and the University’s far-reaching impact.

Bye Bye I Love You: Michael Erard – book review
Prof M Lynne Murphy (Faculty of Media, Arts and Humanities) reviews Michael Erard’s Bye Bye I Love You, a wide-ranging investigation into the phenomena of first and last words, revealing how both mark thresholds in language and life.

University of Sussex researchers celebrate national net zero award
The University of Sussex has won the Research Centre of the Year at the prestigious edie Net Zero Awards! This national recognition celebrates the groundbreaking work of the Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre (IDRIC).

New Collaborative of Research-Focused Universities Launches to Give Voice to Critical Research and Innovation Drivers
A new national collaborative, ResearchPlus, comprising the University of Sussex and nine other leading research-focused universities, has been launched to strengthen the collective voice and impact of institutions driving the UK’s research and innovation agenda. The University of Sussex is a founding member of ResearchPlus, with Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Sasha Roseneil serving as Co-Chair; she emphasised that the initiative will give greater visibility to research-focused universities and enhance the strength of the UK’s research and innovation base.

• The Impact of Volunteer Work. Written by Tugce Erten. 

• World Sandwich Day. Monday 3 November 12pm to 3pm in Eat Central. 

• Students' Union Sports Challenge week (Monday 3 November to Friday 7 November) Challenge Week is a week-long fundraising campaign for sports clubs to raise money for essential kit and equipment. The clubs take part in several challenges in the hope of raising funds. 

• Language Cafe. Tuesday 4 November (and every Tuesday during term-time) 7.00pm to 8.30pm in Dine Central. 
  

• A mixtape for Stom. Shown as part of the Cinecity film festival. An intimate documentary portrait of the late Japanese experimental filmmaker Stom Sogo (1975 to 2012). Thursday 13 November at 6pm at the Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts. 

We are home to the Sussex Centre for Research on Kindness. We were the first university to have a research centre devoted to the study of being kind.   

What would you like to see?

Experience Sussex! is here to help you make the most of your time as a student. Let us know what you would like to see more of by emailing: internalcomms@sussex.ac.uk.