What do University Staff Really do During the College Vacations?

Albena Kehayova is PR coordinator at the American University in Bulgaria. She says:

If I had to describe with one word the summer in Blagoevgrad, where the American University in Bulgaria is situated, that would definitely be hot. Temperatures are running up to 40°C (104°F) and the atmosphere is far from being leisurely!

This summer the world’s biggest math competition for university students took place at AUBG, while the English Language Institute hosted two summer camps for nearly 200 students. So, if any of the staff members dreamed of buying a cup of coffee in the morning without waiting in a line – mission impossible!

Added to all this, the already-hot atmosphere became even more heated during discussions about how the new recruitment materials (which we prepare each summer) should look… Cue air-con turned up to max!

What’s next? On 19 August the university will welcome its new students … so the story goes on and on and on…

Anne Hanik is a study abroad adviser at the University of Augsburg in Germany. She says:

Semester breaks are a time for us to catch up on administrative paperwork, but it also gives us an opportunity to develop new ideas to improve our service for the students in the upcoming semesters.

But of course, it’s not all work and no play around here! Semester breaks are the best time for us to take our own holidays, and to claim back some of the overtime hours we’ve put in during the busiest parts of the year. So you might well see some of us leaving the office at 2pm to spend the afternoon by the lake…

So the general consensus seems to be that the vacation isn’t absolute time off for university staff (which might make you feel better if you’re slogging away at a holiday job or studying) – but, like everyone, they do need a bit of a break.

I must admit, I rather like the idea of academics putting the books aside to go wild in the mountains!