We are delighted to launch this brand new scheme in partnership between the University and Students’ Union. It will give students right across the breadth of subjects and levels the opportunity to lead change within their area in order to help make student life the best it can be.
You could look at anything from how we give you feedback on assessed work to how we provide help for your IT needs. We will support as many projects as we can from being just an idea through to becoming reality – we’re really excited about this and we hope you are too!
There is information on this website that should give you some inspiration, help you form your idea and submit it for consideration. If there’s anything that isn’t covered though – just get in touch with our Student Engagement Team: studentengagement@lincoln.ac.uk
Professor Mary Stuart, Vice-Chancellor & Dan Sam, President of the Students’ Union
What could your big idea be?
We asked a bunch of current students what they would change. Here’s what they said:
How it works
We are piloting this scheme by selecting 10 projects to be run by students that improve a particular element of the student experience. Each project will answer a research question and produce an output in response to an area of academic or student life that needs attention.
For example, if the feedback given on assessments isn’t proving helpful for students then a project would be run that looks to identify what students would find helpful and produces top tips for lecturers based on that.
For example, if students would like support for using social media as a way of promoting themselves professionally then there might be a project to find out the specific needs of students and arrange a series of workshops based on that.
So in each case we are looking for a question to be answered and something to be produced based on the answer.
We would like the projects to run in Term 2, so between February and April. They can be shorter or longer – that’s your call – but we will run a launch workshop in Februaryto help you get off to a great start.
Throughout your project our team will support you to run it, as will a relevant member of staff (who we’ll ask you to identify before the project starts).
Benefits for students
As a University and Students’ Union we are committed to working with our students to improve student life. We do this in different ways: sometimes students are consulted and we act on feedback, sometimes students are involved in our projects and sometimes (like this) we really want students to lead the change they think is needed.
By leading projects, students develop a whole range of skills that are of personal benefit and also help to improve their own experience and that of others. Employers are looking for students who can practically manage change, who can lead others and who show a proactive approach to getting involved – this is perfect for demonstrating these things!
This is also perfect activity to include if you’re working towards The Lincoln Award!
Okay, so how do I get involved?
We want to hear from you if you have an idea. If you want to talk it through then come along to one of our drop-in events around campus, email studentengagement@lincoln.ac.uk or call 01522 83 7306.
If you want to submit your idea to be considered as one of the 10 we support in our pilot, you can submit it online by answering 5 key questions:
- What needs changing?
- In order to make this change happen what do you need to find out?
- How would you find out this information?
- What would you produce using this information to help make the change?
- How will this benefit students beyond this year?
We also ask that you seek the support of a relevant member of University staff who can help you out and ensure your project delivers a useful output / outcome.
Please capture this information in the template which you can download by clicking here and email the document to studentengagement@lincoln.ac.uk by Friday 31st January 2014 Friday 14th February 2014 (deadline extended).
Why not tweet about your idea? We’re using the hashtag #lincideas and would love to hear about your ideas!
Our commitment to student engagement.
This scheme is a new development and part of our wider commitment to engaging students as partners in their education. It is jointly driven by the University of Lincoln and the University of Lincoln Students’ Union. Find out more about our work on student engagement at www.lincoln.ac.uk/studentengagement. We took inspiration from the University of Exeter’s Student Change Agents in developing the scheme.
If you would like to help us promote Student Change Projects, the follow materials may be of use to you:
