Teesside University Advance

About this award

Loan an Apple iPad with Office 365 and a compatible keyboard, plus £100 credit each academic year to buy books and other learning resources.

Device

If you are a part-time student in classes alongside full-time students or direct into Year 3, you are eligible to borrow an iPad and keyboard on a semester-by-semester basis throughout your studies. This gives you access to the same device and toolkit as a full-time student throughout your time here.

Direct entrants on to Year 3 are eligible for £100 credit to purchase learning resources from the Advance online portal, subject to eligibility criteria. Please refer to the terms and conditions for full details.

Toolkit

The iPad is enhanced by our Future Facing Learning toolkit, which includes a collection of software apps. The toolkit is used inside and outside the classroom to support you in preparing for professional life.

Microsoft Office 365 is at the heart of the toolkit – particularly Microsoft Teams which is a collaborative working space that allows you to develop skills that will benefit your career – teamwork, project management, digital literacy.

Some of the apps, such as Socrative and Padlet, are specifically designed to help you actively engage in the learning experience, allowing you to provide feedback and ask questions in an online environment.

You also have access to MyTU, the Teesside University student portal which provides vital information on your studies - email, calendar, campus map, PC finder, library loans, print credit - and our virtual learning environment, Blackboard, for your course materials. All apps within the toolkit can also be used on other devices both on and off campus

Enhanced learning

Our academic staff have taken part in our Future Facing Learning digital development programme – supporting them to embed the toolkit within their learning and teaching. Here’s how this will benefit you:

• lecturers are developing eBooks for you to use to guide you through the methodology you need to succeed
• if you study forensic photography, you can connect through Microsoft Teams, filling in a crime scene report and sharing notes while also being able to digitally go through the floor plans of the crime scene rooms you are examining
• as a radiography student you use the iPad in simulation labs, bringing real patients into the teaching world so that you can pinpoint any body parts that you need to better understand
• in some classes, you can save the lecturer’s PowerPoint onto your iPad and move through it at your own speed while still being part of the class
• the University is rolling out lecture-capture technology which can be also accessed through Blackboard.

Inclusivity

The Apple iPad has customisable features to benefit all users. This includes the ability to change the display settings and customise how you can interact with your Apple iPad. The Microsoft Word app can read aloud your documents and allows you to easily change text size and page colour to suit your reading needs.

Training

We provide you plenty of support, if you need it, so that you can make the most of your iPad and learning toolkit. We offer training sessions during your induction, drop-in sessions, a dedicated help desk and online resources. We are keen for you to make the most of the technology available to enhance your learning.

Support

Microsoft has supported the development of the Future Facing Learning programme – many of our academics have been awarded Microsoft Innovative Educator and Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert status. This formal accreditation means that they are recognised as part of an international community of educators who are developing innovative practice in using Microsoft technologies in education.

Adobe Creative Cloud

Students studying onsite at our Middlesbrough or Darlington campuses, benefit from access to the full suite of Adobe Creative Cloud apps and services to use across all your devices – along with training and support – so you can produce, collaborate and share your work from anywhere, anytime. Teesside University is Europe’s first Adobe Creative Campus, recognising the importance of building digital literacy capabilities across all curriculum areas and courses as part of our Future Facing Learning initiative.
More about our Adobe Creative Campus

Eligibility

To be eligible for Teesside University Advance, you can be either a home or international student and must:

• enrol on Year 0 or Year 1, or Year 2 as a direct entrant, of a full-time undergraduate degree
• enrol on a course leading to an award of at least 360 credits, delivered at our Middlesbrough or Darlington Campus

The University reserves the right to extend or withdraw the scheme at its discretion. It’s not available to students studying:

• at one of the University’s collaborative partner institutions
• a higher degree apprenticeship
• a health funded course
• a postgraduate course

How to apply

You don't need to apply – you are given your Advance package on campus when you enrol on your course.

Advance Scheme (Student iPads and Online Bookstore) Terms and Conditions 2025-26
Advance Scheme (Student iPads) Terms and Conditions 2024-25
Advance Scheme Loan Student iPads Terms and Conditions

Terms and conditions archive