Meet the Accommodation Manager

Accommodation Services Manager Emirose Cottington is a vital point of contact for students at Green Templeton. In this interview, first published in the 2024 issue of Observatory magazine, she tells us about her role, exciting new plans for accommodation in college, and life outside work.

Today’s interview: Emirose Cottington

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I am from the Philippines, and I have been in the UK for 15 years. Many years ago, I somehow landed a job in Dubai, and I lived in the Middle East for over seven years, and that’s where I met my husband. I live in Berkshire with him and my son, who is at secondary school. I commute by train and enjoy the exercise I get walking to and from the station.

What led you to Green Templeton?

It has been a long and serendipitous road that got me here. Before I worked at college, I’d never worked in Oxford, never worked in a university and never worked in accommodation. It’s somewhat of a mystery to me how I did end up in college, but I’m so glad I did because I love my job. I started my career in the hotel industry and I’ve had a number of customer service jobs, which has become really useful in this role.

How do you interact with students?

There are a lot of emails going back and forth! You hear from some students a lot more than others, which is completely understandable. Coming from overseas myself, I can understand anxieties about moving somewhere new, not knowing how things work. Should they bring pots and pans? Bedding? And can they drink the tap water? Our next project is to work on our webpages – I don’t think there is such thing as too much information.

What are your main responsibilities and challenges?

Accommodation is not rocket science. You have one room, you fill it. It sounds really simple, but the work goes into making sure that the room is not just habitable but also welcoming and ready for students to move into. We try to make our rooms and spaces feel like a home for our graduate community. If we’re doing our job right, students can focus on their studies and enjoy the Oxford experience and not have to worry about their accommodation.

You’ve been involved in a number of major renovation projects. Could you say a bit about those?

When I arrived at college, work was needed across our estate. More investment is always needed, but we have been putting a lot of work into upgrading the accommodation with the available resources.

We’ve included sustainability as a very important factor, making everything more energy efficient. For example, at Rewley Abbey Court and in our Observatory Street houses. Lockdown actually worked for us in that sense, because we had so many empty rooms, empty houses, and we were able to do a lot of the work during that time. We’re in a much better position now, but there’s still a lot to do.

The college has secured planning permission for three villas on the Woodstock Road site. How will that improve the offering?

I think what students are looking for has changed: more people now want to have an ensuite and more people want to be close to the college. They know this allows them to get support easily, and people who live on site are more engaged with the college. For both reasons, I think these new villas will make a massive difference to the students and to the college.

What’s the best thing about your job?

When we get it right! It’s when students tell us that having their accommodation helped with their time in Oxford, or that it helped them through a tough time, or allowed them to focus on their studies. We joke that we only hear from students when things are going wrong, but then I have to remind myself that it’s great that I never hear from maybe 90% of students. That means there’s nothing wrong with their accommodation and that they’re happy and they are just going about life as a student at Oxford.

How do you relax outside work?

I used to check emails in the evenings and weekends, but now I am trying to be better at switching off. I love to visit new places, including in the UK. I’m always surprised when Brits tell me they’ve never been to Scotland or the Lake District. There are so many beautiful places in the UK that I still want to visit. But I also want to visit other countries. Besides travelling, I like to read and I can also be a binge watcher when I get going.

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