I’m Dr. Christopher R. Matthews; a social scientist and epistemologist who specialises in the use of immersive research to understand ideas, people and society. I'm the author of Doing Immersive Research Vol.1: Using Social Science to Understand the Human World.

I’ve been teaching and researching within higher education since 2008 where I’ve enjoyed working with people who are happy to be challenged and encouraged to think differently about the world.

During my lecturing career I’ve helped thousands of undergraduate and postgraduate students develop from their first nervous day on campus into confident and assured graduates.

While each one of these journeys have required different types and levels of support, there are a number of key lessons that I’ve witnessed all successful students learn. Many of the skills associated with these lessons are not delivered explicitly in degree programmes. This often means students are left to discover and navigate them in an unsystematic fashion.

UniPrep is designed to give an early insight into these skills, quickly setting students up to effectively understand, learn and implement them. My experience tells me that the quicker these skills are learned, the quicker students will flourish at university.

It’s equally true that I’ve also seen a less positive side of students’ abilities to make the transition to university life. It’s not uncommon for aspiring young people to arrive at university full of energy and motivation but to quickly fail to keep up with the workload when left to their own devices.

Some basic guidance on managing workloads, leisure time and life more effectively is critical to helping students avoid potential pitfalls, and embrace the vast array of positive experiences university life has to offer.