Ask Your University End of Year Recap

This year, your SU has organised 3 ‘Ask Your University’ events in collaboration with the University. The aim has been to create spaces in which students can, in a face-to-face context, discuss the issues that matter to them the most with senior University decision-makers.

Ask Your University has been a space for both students and staff to learn from each other, to take on board each other’s perspectives and to co-produce ideas and solutions together!

Richard Ward is Learning and Teaching Development Manager in the Faculty of Engineering, and attended the final event. Talking about his experience of the event he says that “I find constructive in-depth discussions with students very rewarding, although they are not a regular feature in my present day-job. I spent a good part of the Ask Your University session talking to a student about their experiences on their degree programme. I felt that we took some significant steps towards identifying options that the student might explore to help tackle their concerns.”

Wanting to ensure that the event reflected the issues that students wanted to discuss the most, they got to vote on which issues were discussed. For the first event in October, the topics chosen were: mental health and wellbeing, Brexit, and the TEF. The TEF came up again in February, accompanied by student rent and study space.

For the final event of the year the focus was on exam period — as students were going through it at the time.

Creating spaces for all students to actively engage with University decisions and stances and positively influence them is an ambition we’re happy to be working towards. Look out for sessions in the new academic year!