The Vice Chancellor and Students’ Union President at Loughborough University have helped to kick-start an innovative welcome campaign for the University’s new students.

As students arrive at Loughborough this week, they’ll be given a printed photo frame and asked to upload a selfie on social media with the hashtag #IAMHERE. They can customise the frame by attaching one of six cartoon mouths.

There will also be giant #WEAREHERE frames at each of the University’s halls of residence and the Students’ Union so groups of friends can take collective photos.

The initiative builds on the University’s successful social media campaign during Clearing in August, when students were encouraged to tweet their #IAMIN selfies.

“Loughborough is well-known for its community feel, so we wanted to have an initiative that makes our freshers feel part of the University right from the outset,” says Rob Whittaker, Loughborough Students’ Union President. “And the giant photo frames on campus will definitely help to generate some light-hearted inter-hall competition, with a prize for the hall with the most selfies!”

Vice Chancellor Professor Robert Allison was more than happy to get involved with the campaign as well.

He says: “We want to let our students know that the staff here at Loughborough are very accessible, so we thought the ‘We Are Here’ message was appropriate for us too – we are here to help them make the very best of their time at the University.”