NEED
IMPLICATIONS
FUTURE
SKILLS
EXPLORE
KNOW
FOCUS
STUDENTS DISCUSS
KNOWLEDE
IMPROVING
INVESTIGATING
STUDY
ENGAGE INVOLVE
SHAPE APPROACH
IMPACT SHARE
DEVELOP
INDIVIDUAL
HAPPENING
CHANGE
INCLUDE
LEAD COMMUNITY IDEAS THINK CREATE DEPARTMENT
SUGGESTIONS
ALTERNATIVES
WIDER
Annual Report 2013/2014 Education Quality and Enhancement
OVERVIEW
Students as Change Agents: Report Overview 2013/14 was an exciting year for Students as Change Agents, seeing the highest number of projects run since the scheme started in 2008. The most popular topic for projects was employability, with 12 projects being run in this area, followed by eight projects on informing module choices, and six on peer support (see fig A). Overall 2013/14 saw a total of 57 Students as Change Agents projects run across the University in total, with participants from almost every College (see fig B).
1 2 3
Figure A: Most popular project topics 2013/14
Figure C: Number of Change Agents project per year
Employability Module choices Peer Support The Business School The College of Life and Environmental Sciences 1 The College of Engineering, Maths and 2 Physical Sciences 3 The Students’ Green Unit 4 The College of Humanities 5 The College of Social Sciences and 6 International Studies
Figure B: Projects by College
2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14
THE TEAM
LIZ DUNNE
Head of Student Engagement and Skills
WILL PAGE
Student Engagement Officer
MAGDA CASSIDY Student Engagement Assistant
With thanks to College staff; Jake Hibberd, Gemma Stiling, Sabina Syzdlo, Claire Young, Alex Ratcliffe, Emily Barrett and Joe Haigh.
ABOUT CHANGE AGENTS What is Change Agents? Students as Change Agents is an ambitious scheme that enables students to take an active role in improving their experience of university, making their time here at Exeter even better. Working in partnership with The Students’ Guild, FXU, The Students’ Green Unit, and with support from The Annual Fund, Students as Change Agents engages students as leaders of positive change, regardless of their discipline or year of study. Students are invited to identify areas they want to improve, research the solution and put their ideas into action.
How it began: The ‘Students as Change Agents’ project came about through a variety of activities. Staff from Exeter had attended a Higher Education Academy (HEA) workshop entitled ‘Students as Agents for Change’ in which both staff and students were invited to share perspectives on aspects of assessment and feedback. It immediately became obvious that the University could take the idea of change agents further, and so, with the support of the HEA, Exeter ran a similar session specifically tailored to our context. The students invited to attend were all Chairs of Student Staff Liaison Committees (SSLCs), and each represented their individual subject area, along with an equal number of academics and education enhancement staff. The session demonstrated how eager students were to engage with issues, and overall, staff and students reported considerably improved understandings and some changes in opinion. This idea was continued for another year, but seemed to miss an opportunity to actively engage students in leading change. Although student and staff voices had been listened to, there was no obvious pathway for action to promote change when the discussion had ended. It was from there that the project moved towards what we recognise as ‘Students as Change Agents’ today. The project has proved to be an exceptional method of including students as active participants in shaping their higher education experience.
The benefits: The most obvious benefit for students is the improvement that they drive itself; this might be something tangible like new technology in a lecture theatre, or an accessible
guide to academic writing, or something more abstract, such as a new procedure or way of doing something. However, being a Change Agent is about more than that; students develop their research, project management and communication skills, making them much more attractive to prospective employers. Change Agents also get the satisfaction of knowing they’ve successfully created and left behind a legacy for future students to benefit from and be inspired by.
How to get involved: • Students decide on a topic and a question that is of interest to them, before approaching their College co-ordinator or their discipline’s Student-Staff Liason Committee (SSLC) in order to discuss their project idea. The topic may well relate to discussions that are already happening in their SSLC or ideas coming from elsewhere. • Next, students are encouraged to discuss their ideas with other students, or with a member of their SSLC. Before embarking on a project, project leaders need to complete a short application form, so they are advised to consider what they would like to achieve. • It’s important to remember that the project should aim to improve learning and teaching within the discipline. Previous students have chosen topics such as assessment and feedback, seminar experiences, podcasts and employability; past projects can be a good source of ideas, the details of which can be found in the archive on the Students as Change Agents website.
Praise for Students as Change Agents: “The idea of ‘Students as Change Agents’ is really exciting. It genuinely is a great way for students and staff to work in true partnership to make learning better for all students. This is top of the University’s agenda for learning.” Professor Janice Kay, Senior DVC, University of Exeter “I believe the succesful universities of the future will be the ones which give students a true voice, empowering them to embrace and lead positive changes, starting with the University itself. This is why the ‘Students as Change Agents’ project is not just good for the University, but critical.” James Hutchinson, Chief Executive, University of Exeter Students’ Guild “At Exeter you have the chance to do so much more than simply going to lectures and writing essays - you can shape and improve the experience for yourself and your fellow students. Being an agent for change empowers you to find improvements in everything the University does and to see your changes implemented, and the voice of every student is heard and acted upon.” Academic Affairs, University of Exeter Students’ Guild
THE EDUCATION STRATEGY AND
The Education Strategy is an approach at The University of Exeter which supports our efforts to grow as an ambitious, international, strongly inter-disciplinary university with research at it’s core. By defining our plans for future excellence, the strategy ensures that we continue to provide education of the highest quality, inspired by world-leading research, on our three campuses, and with partners across the world. At the heart of the strategy is a supportive partnership between staff and students, which is brought to life through schemes such as Students as Change Agents. The Students as Change Agents scheme contributes to each of the Education Strategy’s Values, most notably the values of community, collaboration, challenge and impact, in addition to supporting several of the key strategic aims, including: Aim 1: Talented, active, engaged students Aim 2: Excellent employment experiences and capabilities Aim 6: Multi-disciplinary learning for global challenges To enable our graduates to lead positive change, both within the University and in the wider community, our students develop a range of attributes to put into practice during their time at university and throughout their lives. All our students are inspired by intellectual challenge to acquire expertise within and beyond their chosen academic field, accumulating the attributes both in their studies and through extra-curricular activities. One of the most valuable opportunities to support students in developing these attributes is Change Agents.
An imaginative, critical thinker & problem solver
“The ability to think critically, analyse, and challenge, is the essence of what makes Exeter students valuable citizens, attractive graduate employees and investable entrepreneurs.” Change Agents are required to think critically and analytically in order to solve the issue their project is focusing on and implement a positive change. Through creating handbooks, videos, websites, summer schools and lecture events, students have found a number of creative solutions through Change Agents, and have developed their skills as problem solvers.
D CHANGE AGENTS A creative & enterprising team player
“Exeter graduates will possess the creativity and drive to inspire change, with an ability to work collaboratively with the widest range of people, whatever their chosen professions.” Students as Change Agents projects require participants to work in teams in order to lead and implement effective change. Students develop their teamwork skills through delegating, negotiating, and learning how to play to the strengths of the team members while giving each student an individual voice.
An engaged leader able to effect change
“All Exeter students will graduate with experience of leading and effecting change, empowering them to make a responsible and sustainable difference as a future leader, whatever the context.” Project leaders develop their leadership skills and gain valuable experience of implementing change. Many students take on crucial roles and responsibilities in Change Agents projects, allowing them to cultivate skills such as time management, prioritisation and working on their own initiative, before leaving the University and competing for graduate employment.
A confident, resilient & adaptable individual
“Exeter graduates will be equipped to be effective and influential in any context, with the integrity, attitude, mental resourcefulness and knowledge to succeed, regardless of personal circumstance.” From running a Peer Support programme, to embarking on research expeditions, Change Agents projects help students to develop their confidence, resilience and adaptability, as change is impossible without learning how to adapt, and remaining resilient in the face of challenges and obstacles.
An active & committed global citizen
“Our graduates will leave Exeter with a commitment to actively engage in society, an awareness of sustainability issues, an understanding of the cultures and views of others in the world, and a desire to further the common good.” Many Change Agents projects have taken on contemporary, global issues, including waste reduction, sustainability and energy and water consumption. These projects have not only allowed the project leads to contribute as active, global citizens, they have also had a notable influence on the students and staff across the University, by increasing awareness of these issues and providing, or raising awareness of more sustainable options available on campus.
THE BUSINESS SCHOOL
Projects in UEBS: Gemma Stiling (Quality Assurance and Enhancement Officer) provided support to all students involved in Change Agents projects in The Business School. There was a total of two student-led projects run; The Series for Economic Exploration and The Politics, Philosophy and Economics Summer School. In addition, Professor David Boughey led a number of projects which engaged students as co-creators of education, examining, collating information and considering the importance of issues such as group work.
Case Study 1: SEE Talks
The Series for Economic Exploration, or ‘SEE Talks’ was a student-led project developed by Economics student Imogen Lawlor. Run by a team of six keen student economists from a wide variety of disciplines, the project sought to inspire students from across the University to take interest in macro-economic issues by inviting industry experts to the University to deliver stimulating and accessible talks, generating topical, cross-disciplinary discussion. With support from Professor Sandy Williams, the Associate Dean of Education for the Business School, the SEE Talks introduced three to five of high-profile speakers per term, providing varied perspectives, interlinking many disciplines studied at the University and applying them to current events.
The project explored the following research questions: To explore how Economics is relevant to other disciplines and in the real world – stimulating discussion & debate among students in preparation for their careers. To consider how well current affairs are discussed across the disciplines at Exeter, and to discover if a wider engagement with economic, political and social affairs would broaden career choices in other colleges. To discover how much demand there is in the student population for wider participation and involvement with economic issues, especially in regards to interview preparation for competitive industries from varied disciplines.
The team behind SEE Talks perceived a need for students to gain an informed understanding of the increasingly conflicted opinions surrounding economic issues, to ensure that graduates of the University of Exeter are equipped for the changing economy and employment environment. The realisation that a more well-rounded approach to understanding the economy was required fuelled the project’s aim; to encourage students to participate in cross-disciplinary discussion and engagement with the economy. Seeking to bring independent ideas and innovation to the University, many of the speakers invited to the SEE Talks provided opinions that differ somewhat to that of the majority, promoting independent thinking among the students in attendance. This provides an excellent example of the ways in which Students as Change Agents projects can assist in cultivating the student attributes detailed by the Education Strategy; engaging the attendees as imaginative critical thinkers and problem solvers, creative and enterprising team players and active and committed global citizens. Funded by the Annual Fund/Exeter Alumni Fund, the SEE Talks were free to attend and were open to all students. The team also worked in partnership with BESOC, EXFIS and DebSoc to ensure the events provided a comprehensive student experience.
The featured speakers were:
Dr James Nixon, Chief Economist of TheCityUK “The Economics of Britain’s EU membership and the future of the Euro area” 27th February 2014
Carol Bagnald, Head of Commerical Banking, HSBC London “The Rise of the Female Economy; the commercial case for change?” 20th March 2014
Evan Davis, Economist and BBC Presenter “Why is London so dominant in the UK?” 30th April 2014
The impact of SEE Talks was incredibly impressive, with over 500 students attending the lecture series. The project’s outputs included:
3 lecture talks with high profile speakers A website News story on The University’s Business School website A survey of attendees in support of the project’s research Lectures recorded and available on the website Information pamphlets Networking opportunities The project is continuing this year; the first lecture on the Morality of Capitalism had over 250 attendees (in partnership with The Undergraduate) and was filmed by XTV Imogen, the project’s Chair said: “Running a project which spans departments and disciplines was a particularly daunting prospect. It would have been impossible without the guidance of Change Agents to help SEE Talks navigate the University. Now in its second year, and starting to attract a local audience, SEE has grown even further and we look forward to expanding and working with wider groups at the University to bring a better student experience.” She added:
“Change Agents has helped me to develop skills in communication, leadership and managing stakeholders which undoubtedly helped me to secure my graduate job. If I hadn’t undertaken the challenge of SEE, and hadn’t had the guidance and advice of Change Agents I would not have had the skills I needed on my internship to demonstrate my potential.”
Case Study 2: PPE Summer School
Over the past few years, the Higher Education landscape has been changing; even the highest performing students in the UK can no longer assume that they will attend university, and those who do are met with tough decisions as to which institution to go and what to study. Nevertheless, it seems university places are more hotly competed and highly sought-after than ever, and with the uncertainty of graduate employment adding further pressure to their choices, Year 12 students across the country are facing a number of difficult decisions, resulting in many students feeling less inclined to apply for newer subjects such as PPE (Politics, Philosophy and Economics). Tom Goodsir, a Flexible Combined Honours student studying PPE, contacted The University of Exeter Business School with a suggestion to tackle this problem, proposing a PPE Summer School for Year 12 students to give prospective students a flavour of reading PPE and an insight into university life. Tom hoped the project would provide prospective students with an insight into methods, styles and subjects they may not have had the opportunity to encounter previously in their education, exposing them not only to interesting new content, but also to university style teaching and learning. The project also offered participants the chance to experience what it’s like being a student at Exeter, with the Summer School’s residential aspect adding opportunities to socialise, meet current students and get to experience Exeter’s campus first hand. To ensure the smooth running of the project Tom engaged Juliette Stephenson as the staff lead, in addition to recruiting five Student Ambassadors to assist in the delivery of the academic programme, which he planned entirely on his own. The project was an inter-disciplinary event and involved crosscollege outreach, receiving support from Hayley Kendall and Kate Filimon as a Widening Participation and Outreach Activity. The Summer School was attended by 34 sixth form students from both local and national schools, most of whom were considering studying either the combined PPE programme, or any one of the three disciplines. Some attendees, however, were not considering the taking the subjects at degree level, but wanted to gain experience of Exeter and of university style learning. Students were not required to have any prior knowledge of the subjects. The teaching programme included lectures and seminars from top researchers, giving students an introduction to university style teaching and learning.
The theme for the Summer School was ‘Inequality in the 21st Century’, and over the three days students engaged with current and topical issues such as social mobility, gender inequality, climate change and global development through political, economic and philosophical approaches. In addition to the lecture programme, the students undertook an independent group project, with the focal point of the week being the delivery of group presentations on the final day. The students also had the opportunity to stay overnight in university accommodation free of charge, providing the students with the opportunity to socialise, interact with current undergraduates, and experience university facilities. The impact of the Summer School was very positive; the feedback from students, teachers and parents indicating that the Summer School enthused and encouraged the young people to consider the benefits of Higher Education, and opened their eyes to the study of PPE-related subjects in particular. Comments from students and staff included:
“Learnt more than I ever have in such a short space of time.” “To be honest, I hadn’t thought of doing PPE before, however now I realise it is something to consider.” “I will recommend it to all my sixth form students; I have had an amazing time thank you.” “It was a superb experience in every way for the students. They came back really enthused about every aspect of the course and Exeter.’”
Students at the Summer School were able to use a ‘graffiti’ wall during the week, which allowed them to write up comments as the sessions progressed, in addition to participating in a survey at the end of the project. The survey indicated that just over one third of students were more likely to apply for a PPE course as a result of the Summer School; it is worth noting at this point that most of the students invited to the PPE Summer School were already sure of selecting PPE as their first choice. Further to this, most of the students in attendance were from disadvantaged schools in Devon, aiming to inspire those who were considered most-able, but least-likely to attend a research-led university such as Exeter. Additional outputs of the project include an online article about the Summer School on the University’s Business School website, and plans to run the event again in June 2015. Tom Goodsir, the student who ran the project, said: “To be involved in the PPE Summer School was a fantastic opportunity for me, it allowed me to develop such a diverse skill set in organising the summer school, along with the chance to be involved in developing a curriculum and to be able to give something back to Exeter. Most of all, it was extremely rewarding to see a lecture theatre full of genuinely engaged and enthused sixth formers.”
THE COLLEGE OF LIFE AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
Projects in CLES: There were 11 Students as Change Agents projects run in The College of Life and Environmental Sciences. Students recieved support from Sabina Syzdlo and Claire Young. The broad range of project outputs included module fairs, magazines, Facebook groups and research expeditions, exploring a number of issues, from communication to employability, and from conservation to gender equality.
Case Study 3: Psychology Module Fair In Psychology, student satisfaction is incredibly high; the discipline does consistently well in national league tables, currently ranking in the top 8 in the UK, and boasts an impressive 93% student satisfaction rate with the quality of teaching in the National Student Survey 2014. It became apparent, however, that some students felt that they weren’t receiving enough accurate and insightful information regarding their module choices for final year. It was therefore that Leanne Ong, Meghan Honeysett and Matt Hobbs, three final year students from Psychology, volunteered to organise and lead a Psychology Module Fair, to provide second year Psychology students with the opportunity to receive information about their modules first-hand. The students felt passionately about providing students with the chance to ask questions directly, and receive honest, impartial advice from students who had taken the modules in previous years, in order to ensure that the students made informed choices about their modules for the following year. Impressively, 28 final year students volunteered to run the various stands at the fair, indicating that the idea of a module fair was something the students felt very strongly about. The team also managed to successfully recruit two members of staff to assist with the running of the fair; the Psychology Students as Change Agents coordinator and a staff lead from within the College. The Module Fair had a direct impact on the second year students selecting their modules; the advice provided to them through the module fair meant that students gained a clear insight into their choices, and found module selection less difficult. This improved overall module satisfaction, meaning students were much less likely to want to change their decision mid-module; something that can be very complicated and time consuming for staff. Furthermore, the Module Fair meant that students were able to direct their questions to other students, preventing staff from receiving a large influx of emails from students asking questions during the busy period of module selection. In addition to this, the Module Fair allowed students to become better prepared for their modules, meaning staff spent less time explaining basic information to students; devoting their time to providing the best possible quality of teaching instead. The module fair saw around 100 students in attendance, and Dr Cris Burgess, the Director of Education for Psychology, also made an appearance. Although the process for module selection is unchanged, this additional opportunity for students is now to be scheduled as a regular event, timed to precede online module selection.
Case Study 4: Ornithology Conference Third year Biosciences students took part in a research conference to present their research in a professional setting. With the assistance of Dr Lucy Hawkes, the 14 students who led the project created an event attracting over 200 student participants, presenting their research on a diverse range of subjects; from Cornish porpoises, to the behaviour of seabirds. Plenary speakers were also included in the event’s programme.
Case Study 5: Biosciences Peer Coaching In Penryn, second year Biosciences students were provided with the opportunity to participate as mentors in the department’s Peer Support scheme. Inspired by their own positive experiences of peer mentoring during their first year, 50 students volunteered to take part as group facilitators, running their own peer support sessions for the new cohort. The sessions were incredibly well attended by the first years, with 135 students (85% of first year) participating, indicating the positive impact of peer support and the students’ mutual positive responses to the support offered. Each peer leader ran weekly peer sessions for the entirety of the first term, generating 550 hours of student volunteering. The project’s impact was outstanding; each first year mentee received 11 hours of support from their second year peers; the mentors gained valuable, employability enhancing experience; and staff contact hours were allocated to providing more specific support, as first years had a more immediate point of contact to receive guidance on matters such as library use and accessing additional materials online. The project was so well received, that it is being extended to the Geography department this academic year. The project also generated funding from the Higher Education Academy (£14,671) and the Exeter Annual Fund (£6,100). Additional outputs include a documentary video, produced by the students, designed to further raise awareness of the programme’s success.
Case Study 6: Psychology Peer Assisted Learning Psychology’s Peer Mentoring programme was established by students in 2011, and had been running very successfully until the original Project Coordinators graduated the University, leaving the project without a leader. Eager to keep the programme running, Leanne Ong, a third year Psychology and Sports Science student who had been involved in the project as a mentor the previous year, volunteered to take over as Project Coordinator, recruiting 15 other students from second and third year as mentors and Louise Pendry as the staff lead. With Louise’s help, Leanne set up a Peer Mentoring training session for the mentors, ensuring that the mentors understood the reason for Peer Assisted Learning and what was expected of them. The team then delivered weekly peer groups for 150 first year students within the compulsory Biological Psychology module. While the peer programme was not a requirement for the first years, the sessions were included in the first year timetable and were well attended, directly benefitting the whole cohort in addition to saving staff time. The project’s outputs included weekly feedback reports completed by the mentees, which assisted Leanne in compiling a report at the end of the year, indicating the project’s impact and the benefits of participating. Leanne was eager to raise the profile of the fantastic opportunities provided by peer mentoring across the University, both for mentors and mentees; compiling the report was one of the ways she approached promoting the scheme. The feedback forms and the report also helped to monitor the number of students in attendance at each session, contributing to the Peer Attributes research project lead by Education Quality and Enhancement, which has received funding from The Association for Learning Development in Higher Education for the academic year 2014/15.
Case Study 7: Geography Employability Handbook The University of Exeter is undoubtedly an excellent provider of employability support for students; from the advice offered by Career Zone, to the opportunities to develop your employability through Student Staff Liaison Committees and Grand Challenges. Geography in particular excels in encouraging students in this area. Its Employability Group, which has been running for several years, provides undergraduate students with information about employer events, career fairs, job opportunities and Geography specific sessions run by Career Zone. However, with such a breadth of opportunities to get involved with across the University, it can become tricky for students, particularly first years, to know where to look for clear and concise information about these prospects. Sensing this uncertainty among her peers, second year Geography student Annabelle Clarke led a project to bring together the vast range of information from a number of sources across the University, and the opportunities offered Geography Employability Group, into one, easily accessible place. The idea of an Employability Handbook specific to Geography was born, and over the summer vacation Annabelle designed, created and produced a Geography Employability Guide for all undergraduate students. The Handbook offers students advice on ‘how to get the most out of your BA or BSc Geography degree and time at the University of Exeter’, with contributions from Geography’s Careers Consultant, David Pritchard; advice on intern/volunteer/work experience/part-time opportunities; interview tips; and summaries of past Geography Employability events. The Handbook also signposts students to the Employability Group’s Facebook page, in addition to promoting opportunities such as The Exeter Award and Student Ambassador Scheme. Copies were included in all first-year welcome packs, and a .pdf copy is available to download via ELE.
Anabelle said: “Creating the guide enabled me to cultivate my design, creativity, research and communication skills into one tangible product for other students to use and learn about geography employability in a fun and concise format. As a student at the University of Exeter myself, it gave me the opportunity to get involved and use my experiences to help the next wave of undergraduates. Completing the guide was definitely challenging as there was a lot of information to process and refine, but the outcome was an achievement and well worth it! She added: “Sometimes the bombardment of employability information aimed at students can be overwhelming so we (the Geography Employability Group) decided it would be a great idea to refine everything that was available and relate it specifically to BA and BSc Geography students. I hope that students will find the guide a useful start point for their successful employability futures!”
Second year Geography student Zoe Sturgess, an active member of the Geography Employability group, said: “I believe the Handbook is a great initiative to help students start thinking early about their future employability and career options. It is never too early to start! The book provides them with a wide variety of advice and tips that will help point students in the right direction for kick-starting their careers. I am very pleased with the outcome of the handbook and satisfied that we are providing students with the advice they need”. The Geography Employability Handbook is available to download via the core module pages on ELE.
Case Study 8: EcoClub Following the success of Tremough campus’ BioBlitz, which was started by the College of Life and Environmental Sciences in 2012, third year Zoology student Hannah Fitzjohn was eager to encourage more local children to take interest in biodiversity and conservation. Speaking with Student Engagement, Widening Participation and Internationalisation Coordinators Claire Young and Stephanie Wheeler, Hannah suggested setting up a weekly visit to a local primary school to encourage the school to consider its practices and policies concerning environmental management, and to inspire a greater awareness of the environment in its pupils. Hannah recruited fellow student Jasmin Ashworth as a Project Assistant, and a number of students who had indicated their interest in the project as session assistants and volunteers. Proposing the opportunity to St Francis Primary School, who were very welcoming of the idea, Hannah set up a weekly EcoClub for the pupils. Commencing in January 2014, 2-3 students visited the school for an hour each week, providing alternative and interactive opportunities for the pupils to actively engage with environmental issues directly affecting them. The students delivered 10 sessions in total, and plan to resume the club next academic year. Claire Young assisted the low cost project in gaining funding from the University, improving the University’s Widening Participation and Outreach, and having direct impact on the primary school pupils. Following the sessions they delivered on marine conservation, the students plan to organise a beach clean-up for the EcoClub in the next academic year, in addition to leading the children in creating their own agenda for their school regarding issues such as conservation and recycling. Hannah said: “I massively enjoy working with the children and seeing them so excited learning about their local biodiversity, and how to conserve it”.
Case Study 9: Life Magazine Student-led nature magazine, Life, was founded by Biosciences student, Roz Evans, in 2013. Roz felt strongly about the need to communicate science effectively and to raise awareness of important issues in a creative way, and thus began the project as an endeavour to unite the top artistic and scientific talents from across the University. Roz explained: “We didn’t have a platform at the campus where we could explore this, so we decided to create it by combining all of our passions for nature, science, writing and photography.” Now in its second year, the team behind the magazine has expanded to include three editors, two photo editors, two layout designers and four assistants. From researching the latest scientific developments to sourcing images, the project has provided the students involved with an opportunity to diversify their skills and try their hand at developing new ones, increasing their employability and engagement with the industry. Additionally, the team behind Life Magazine is made up of students from both Exeter and Falmouth, strengthening connections between the campuses and providing students with opportunities to network with students they otherwise wouldn’t have had contact with. The magazine also has a careers section to encourage other students to think about employability, a section promoting Athena SWAN celebrating great female scientists, and news and research from the campuses and across the world. The magazine has over 50 subscribed students through FXU, and is available online and at the Tremough Shop. Go to http://lifesciences.exeter.ac.uk/outreach/cornwall/ lifemag/ to download previous issues.
Case Study 10: SHS Facebook Page Toby Megeney, a first year SHS (Sport and Health Sciences) student, was eager to improve communication between students in the department. After setting up an independent unofficial Facebook community for his peers and seeing the positive impact that this made, Toby was keen to expand the page further and raise its profile among students, and so got in contact with Zoe Saynor, an Associate Lecturer from the department, to assist with the project’s development. The Facebook page was created in December 2013, and was advertised to all first year students in a compulsory lecture, where they were encouraged to ‘like’ the page on their phones or devices during their break, which resulted in students cheering as they saw their names displayed in Facebook notifications on the lecture screen. Using this method, among others, the page accumulated approximately 340 likes by the end of the academic year, from undergraduates, postgraduates, alumni and prospective students who wanted to gain an insight into the department through the regular sharing of news and activities. In order to ensure the content of the page was consistently interesting and informative, the page was checked on a daily basis, posting interesting resources, articles, or links regularly. In addition to this, members of staff wishing to inform students of something were invited to contact either Toby or Zoe with information for them to share, allowing the page to be used as a central resource by all. The project additionally aimed to improve engagement between students and staff, as it had been acknowledged that students were often overloaded with emails in their university inboxes, and therefore often missed information that would have been of interest to them. Alison Hume and Richard Winsley assisted with accumulating this content from within the department, encouraging the department to continue to develop through harnessing the importance and usefulness of social media. The impact of the Facebook page has been consistently positive; using Facebook as a method to alert students about interesting opportunities appears to be a preferable and more accessible method of contact, and the speed with which one can ‘post’ undoubtedly reduces staff time sending out cohort-wide emails. The page also strengthens contact with alumni, and makes it easier for current and prospective students to stay connected with the department. The project has also helped to recruit students for research projects, and has led to the development of a Sport and Health Sciences committee. The Facebook page can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/University-of-Exeter-Sport-andHealth-Sciences/481716228610016?ref=hl
Case Study 11: Biosciences Journal Club Four students in Penryn initiated a Biosciences Journal Club; with the support of one member of staff, the club gained 15 student participants, and has since been adopted by the FXU as a society.
Case Study 12: Women in Science A group of Biosciences students in Penryn wanted to raise awareness of the Athena SWAN initiative at the Cornwall Campus. In recognition of their commitment to gender equality for all members of staff and students, The College of Life and Environmental Sciences in Penryn were awarded a Bronze Athena SWAN Department award. However, the students were eager to further promote the initiative’s goal; to attract, retain and promote female students and members of staff through the College. It was for this reason that they pioneered the Women in Science project, which aimed to explore how to engage the student population with Athena SWAN through the creation of a five minute video about the initiative, distributed via YouTube, the department’s website, and various social media websites. The process of creating the video allowed those involved to develop and diversify their skills, experimenting with stopmotion animation, film-making, video editing and interview techniques, to name a few. The video had a direct impact on all Biosciences students, providing them with information about Athena SWAN in a new and engaging way through distribution via social media, in addition to raising awareness of the College’s dedication to promoting women in science. Tilda Dunn, one of the students involved in the project, said: “I was so pleased with how well the film was received by staff and students. I think a lot of people not only became more aware of the presence of Athena SWAN in the department through it, but also began to recognise and understand the importance and necessity of encouraging women in science. From a personal perspective, making the film really opened my eyes to the need of women in this field and encouraged me to pursue a career in further research. I hope that may have had the same effect on other students too.” Head of Department David Hosken, added: “The video made by our students was superb. It touched on all the important elements of Athena SWAN and why the programme is so important to us all. It has also raised awareness, amongst staff and students, of the equality problems which STEMM subjects face, and has done this not just in Cornwall but across the University as a whole. All in all, a resounding success across the board and a wonderful reminder of the excellence of our student body.” Watch the Athena SWAN at: http://lifesciences.exeter.ac.uk/athenaswan/cornwall/
Case Study 13: Student Research Expeditions FXpeditions society was created three years ago by a group of students who felt passionately about the positive impact of scientific research in of local communities and beyond. The students sought to conduct valuable research in areas of the world that were most in need, with many of the expeditions promoting sustainability and the use of natural resources. Over the past three years, FXpeditions has received £25,000 funding in total; from the Halpin Charitable Trust, the University of Exeter Annual Fund, in addition to receiving £82,000 for the Heart of Borneo project and Samloem expedition. The society has a number of sponsors, including WWF and the Royal Geographical Society. With Ben Toulson, Martin Holland and Tim van Berkel leading the society during the academic year 2013/14, FXpeditions took on multiple expeditions for the first time, allowing more students than ever before to participate in the research, causing an even greater effect in the global community. The opportunities were open to all students, not just those in the sciences, as having gender balanced teams from multiple disciplines across all years of study was something the society felt very strongly about. Propelled by the success of the society’s award-winning Heart of Borneo expedition in 2010, the students were able to travel to Cambodia and Madagascar, working with local people to gain knowledge and understanding of the environment, and performing talks and workshops with local schools to promote sustainable living. The society offered a multitude of avenues to be involved in the projects’ positive impact too; FXpeditions’ strong media presence and extended planning period engaged around 50 students across Exeter and Falmouth, meaning more students than ever before were able to directly benefit from the society’s positive impact. In addition to providing field-based learning, students were able to participate in CV enhancing opportunities, providing plenty to discuss in future job interviews, gained experience in handling real world challenges and problem solving, and had the chance to develop project planning, PR, social media, design and marketing skills. The society’s impact on the local and in-country communities they worked with was incredible; locally, the expeditions appealed to a wide range of audiences, and the teams often delivered talks and workshops at local Cornish schools and to scout/cub groups. Through the project’s use of social media, FXpeditions work has been able to reach audiences much further afield. The project has also been able to create and provide employment in the countries the team have used, drawing upon local resources and the knowledge and experiences of the people. The project has also been able to impact on the University community; enhancing the University’s reputation, creating a legacy for future students to tackle projects even more challenging and exciting than those completed so far, and improving the University’s international links. The society’s success last year will see the introduction of expedition training sessions in the next academic year. There is also a new Expedition Advisory Board, predominantly made up of academics from CLES and student members of the FXU Expedition Society Committee. This Board judges and approves applications for new FXpeditions, as well as funding applications. Each approved FXpedition will have at least one Board member assigned to them as an advisor to help them plan their research.
THE COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, MATHS AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES
Projects in CEMPS: In total, nine Students as Change Agents projects were run in The College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences. Student Experience and Employability Officer, Jake Hibberd, provided students with support throughout the planning, creation and implementation stages of their projects. Projects explored the value of research, assessment and module evaluation, through Peer Learning, Module Fairs and reviews.
Case Study 14: Computer Science Module Fair Third year Computer Science student Louis Tsiattalou was eager to develop his discipline’s module selection process, in imitation of the successful Module Fair set up previously being demonstrated by Mathematics, among various other departments across the University. Approaching Anthony Galton and recruiting him as staff lead, Louis also caught the attention of his subject chair and three SSLC representatives with his project, who all felt the project would be a useful development and further assisted its development. Louis began the Computer Science Module Fair for second year and continuing third year students in coordination with the Maths module fair. The fair lasted for 90 minutes, and allowed students to drop in as they liked depending on the type of information they were hoping to receive, which made the opportunity extremely accessible to the students; around 50% of both cohorts attended the fair, an impressive indication of the need for such an activity. The fair also created an opportunity to grasp information from the Computer Science students regarding what sort of information and support they felt they needed; Louis collected data and questionnaires from all the attendees, providing some with the opportunity for an informal interview to explore their ideas further. The event was also attended by 10 members of staff, who were able to speak to students in a similar way, having a mutually beneficial impact on both parties. Approximately 40 A3 colour posters were created (2 per module) providing information about the module for students and staff, so the students could gage whether the module was right for them before approaching the relevant member of staff to ask further questions. Introducing module fairs saves both student and staff time, and should also mean that less students change modules midterm. This saves administrative staff time, university money and reduces the number of requests submitted to College Education and Student Services. The success of the project has been noted by the College, and will now be continued annually with support from the College. Furthermore, the College plans to eventually roll out the concept to all disciplines.
Case Study 15: Medical Imaging Peer Assisted Teaching A small team of final year students from Medical Imaging ran a series of five workshops to provide Peer Support to first year Medical Imaging students. The workshops focused on clinical placements, and aimed to provide relevant information and advice for the first year students based on their own experiences of the placements. All academic staff within the department were asked to encourage students to attend the sessions, in order to maximise the potential impact of the sessions. The students involved in the programme hoped to influence students from other disciplines to set up their own Peer Support schemes.
Case Study 16: CSM MACE Review William Gore, a third year student and the Subject Chair for the Camborne School of Mines (CSM) hoped to contribute the feedback of his fellow students to the central review of The Module And Course Evaluation (MACE) review, which took place last academic year. After collecting verbal feedback from his peers for the Student Staff Liaison Committee (SSLC) on which he sat, William produced a written report summarising the students’ opinions and suggestions about MACE. With support from Jake Hibberd, this report was used at departmental and SSLC meetings, and was forwarded to any relevant parties involved in MACE. The report highlighted a number of possible contributing factors to the lack of student participation in MACE from CSM. The positioning of the survey just prior to exams, in addition to being released at the completion point of the module when students feel like their feedback is no longer of benefit to them, was something many students felt strongly about. The general response suggested that MACE was a reactive, rather than proactive system, with only the most committed and driven, or worst-affected students completing the process, therefore giving an inaccurate and often unfair representation of the module as a whole. The changes suggested in the report included the possibility of mid-term review style surveys, and the added functionality for module-specific and content-specific comments, in order to improve the student satisfaction, not only in the module, but also throughout the feedback process and in the NSS. The report contributed to the central review of MACE which took place at the end of the academic year, resulting in the system’s redesign.
Case Study 17: Engineering Module Fair Jessica Fordom and Joshua Mills, both third year Engineering students, set up a Module Fair for 3rd year MEng students exploring the research question, ‘how helpful are module fairs in helping students to make a better choice about their future modules as they progress to the next stage of study?’ Each volunteering 5 hours, and with 12 hours of time contributed by the project’s staff lead, Khurram Wadee, the one hour module fair was promoted via email and online communication, reaching all students within Stage 3 of Engineering (approximately 82 students). The fair was attended by 50 of these students, as well as by 20 members of academic staff. Seizing the opportunity to not only inform students about their choices but to receive feedback from them from on whether they found the event useful, Jessica and Joshua collected data and questionnaires from the students. The module fair successfully helped to save staff time answering emails from students about their choices, as students were better informed about what each module entailed. This in turn saved university money, and administrative staff time handling student requests to change modules mid-term, as the module fair supported students in making more informed decisions.
Case Study 18: Engineering Uncovered
Engineering Uncovered was a two hour event run by students, for students, hosting lectures from Professor Gino Hrkac, Professor Paul Reynolds and Dr Khurram Wadee, and saw 100 students and several members of staff from Engineering in attendance. The event was created by Engineering students Heather Bolt and James Tearle, who hoped to use the event to promote and celebrate research-led teaching within the department. After the event, the lectures were uploaded to YouTube and the electronics slide images were distributed by social media and displayed on the plasma screens in the Harrison building. The event aimed to increase Engineering students’ engagement with Research Uncovered, taking place just before voting closed, after which two members of staff from Engineering were nominated to present their research in the final lecture series of Research Uncovered. 18% of the overall votes cast were for Engineering, a close second after Physics. The event’s success and impressive number of attendees means the event is likely to be repeated in future years, and other disciplines within the college are exploring the possibility of running similar events. The event may also be used in future in coordination with RKT to disseminate College research, and generate interest with research bodies, employers, etc. All in all, the event was a successful initiative, supporting the University’s Education Strategy aim to promote ‘research-inspired, inquiry-led learning and discovery’. Engineering Uncovered allowed students to gain a wider interest about the range of research taking place throughout the department, and thus assisted them with their future module choices.
Case Study 19: Maths Assessment and Feedback
Third year Mathematics and Computer Science student Louis Tsiattalou was keen to explore the possibilities for improving students’ assessment and feedback within Mathematics and Computer Science modules. Louis was eager to collect some data on the opinion of students around the matter, particularly regarding what matters most to them when receiving feedback. In order to make this project possible, Louis engaged Anthony Galton and Trevor Bailey, Associate Dean for Education, as the staff leads. With their support, Louis created a focus group made up of around 10 students to discuss the topics of assessment and feedback, and produced a 300 word report summarising the students’ feedback and opinions and a list of possible ways forward. One of the recommendations which came through the report was the possibility of setting a minimum coursework weighting cap to be applied within Mathematics and Computer Science. This suggestion, among all others in the report, was used and emphasised through various College and departmental meetings. Louis’ findings indicated that, if coursework were to be streamlined in this way, students could save up to 2.5% of their scheduled contact time for each 15 credit module, which could then be ‘recycled’ and used to further prepare for fewer, larger assessments, therefore saving and ‘recycling’ up to 3.75 hours per student, for each 15 credits they complete. Louis calculated that this could mean around 12,338 hours of student time could, in theory, be saved and re-used to prepare more effectively for other assessments. For staff, Louis’ report suggested that coursework marking and processing time could also be reduced. If marking fewer large pieces, rather than marking lots of small pieces, marking time could be reduced by 3 minutes per student on each module, saving staff up to 165 hours of marking time in total. The report also indicated that streamlining assessments could also save both University and students’ money by reducing printing costs. The report also suggested that better guidance on assessment and feedback would benefit both staff and students, and help to improve NSS scores in Assessment and Feedback and eventually, students’ overall grades. Since Louis produced the report, the Maths department have introduced a minimum weighting of 10% on coursework.
Case Study 20: Maths Online Learning Materials Fourth year Mathematics and Computer Science student Ollie Bond wanted to explore how module resources and materials on ELE could be improved and extended to provide additional support for complex topics and lectures. Engaging Anthony Galton as the project’s staff lead, Ollie sought to better engage students and staff with ELE by creating extra lecture notes and learning materials and publishing them to the site. Ollie ensured that there were notes available for every lecture across two Mathematics and Computer Science modules, in addition to publishing notes for six other modules created by students the previous academic year. The lectures were then published via social media, posting links to the ELE resources in a Facebook group of 471 members, generating 30 new likes, and 35 comments. The improved progression and achievement of students last year is perhaps reflective of a better understanding of the course content through the improvements made to the ELE resources. The subject’s NSS scores were also improved. The improvement of module materials could have assisted in saving students’ time locating, purchasing and collecting extra texts, which were made redundant by the resources available on ELE; if one tenth of students across both modules saved 15 of time, this saves students a total of 7.5 hours. The resources have also prevented the academics teaching the module from having to create further learning materials, which could take up to 1 hour per lecture to create, saving the academic around 20-25 hours. Similarly, If one tenth of students across both modules were able to use the notes rather than purchase or loan additional texts (average £15), then this would save them approximately £435.
Case Study 21: Maths Module Fair Third year Mathematics and Computer Science student Louis Tsiattalou was eager to develop the module selection process in Mathematics. Approaching Anthony Galton and recruiting him as the staff lead, Louis’ project also caught the attention of his subject chair and three SSLC representatives, who all felt a module fair would be a useful addition to the module selection process, and further assisted its development. The Mathematics Module Fair was created for 2nd year and continuing 3rd year students; a 90 minute drop in session to which students were invited to attend, allowing them to ask questions to other students and staff to explore their future module choices in more depth. This opportunity was extremely accessible and popular with the students; with approximately 100 Mathematics students visiting the fair in total, in addition to 40 members of academic staff. Approximately 100 A3 colour posters were created (2 per module) providing information about the module for students and staff, so the students could gage whether the module was right for them before approaching the relevant member of staff to ask further questions. Introducing module fairs saves both student and staff time; and should also mean that less students change modules midterm, saving administrative staff time, university money and reduces the number of requests submitted to College Education and Student Services. All of the students who attended expressed the benefit of the fair. Module fairs also help to save the University and students money. The Mathematics Module Fair was such a success that Louis led a further Students as Change Agents project to create a fair for Computer Science modules. The College have provided support for module fairs to run in future years across Mathematics and a number of other disciplines. The Mathematics fair will also be extended to all cohorts in future years.
Case Study 22: Medical Imaging Peer Assisted Learning Matt Read, a fourth year Physics student, wanted to explore whether Medical Imaging students would benefit from receiving peer mentoring from Physics students, in order to assist their understanding of the software and facilities used within their course.Recruiting Jake Hibberd as the project’s staff lead, and six other Physics students to act as mentors, Matt led a Peer Assisted Learning Programme across the two disciplines. This was in the format of weekly drop-in sessions and workshops, enabling Medical Imaging students to receive guidance from final year Physics students over the software and mathematical parts of their course. The mentors volunteered around 15 hours each across the course of the year in order to deliver the sessions. The sessions were attended by approximately 25 Medical Imaging students, primarily from years one and two. Through the support provided by the mentors, the Medical Imaging students saved approximately three hours of study time each, allowing them to dedicate this time to further development, such as studying for exams. In addition to the improved achievement among the Medical Imaging students, the programme also allowed the Physics students to develop their leadership skills and enhance their employability. The scheme’s success has encouraged Physics students to continue the project for the next year; the mentors will be exploring ways by which to extend and improve the scheme to reach even more students, and continue the momentum of the Medical Imaging students’ engagement with the scheme. The mentors will further promote the opportunity among Medical Imaging student to increase awareness of the scheme, and will provide a greater amount of sessions. In addition to this, the students hope to raise some money to support the scheme as part of Education Quality and Enhancement’s push to grow peer support programmes across all Colleges. Jake Hibberd (Student Experience and Employability Officer) said: “There’s quite a lot of similarities between Physics and Medical Imaging, so it makes sense for these students to work together. One of the key beneficial outputs of this particular peer mentor scheme is that the Medical Imaging students can accesss the student mentors from Physics as and when they wish, rather than on a prescribed basis... It allows them to be co-creators of what they learn and take charge of their own development, but it also allows the Physics students who mentor the Radiographers in return to develop and demonstrate... key transferable skills.”
THE COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES
Projects in HUMS: With the help of Alex Ratcliffe, there was a total of 14 student led projects run in The College of Humanities. Projects explored a broad range of topics, including student appetite for specific skills, employability, conduct and volunteering in the community. Project outputs included module fairs, skills workshops and peer mentoring schemes.
Case Study 23: Archaeology Careers Fair
The Archaeology Careers Fair was run for its fifth consecutive year by third year Archaeology student and Subject Chair Harry Blandford in 2013/14. Taking place in term three, the Careers Fair sought to support students in need of specific careers information, and explore whether or not students want access to this kind of information at this stage in their academic development. Organised by the department’s Student Staff Liaison Committee, the Archaeology Careers Fair saw 60 students attend the informal drop-in style fair. The event’s success was further determined by the presence of students from other disciplines, indicating the project’s potential impact across the University as a whole. By providing students with an understanding of the career options available to them, the Archaeology Careers Fair allowed undergraduate and postgraduate students alike to acquire specific careers advice and knowledge, and develop their employability skills. The event was also attended by Archaeologist Gillian Hovell talking with a student 5 employers and 4 alumni in the field, providing the students with an excellent opportunity to network and gain specific insight into the industry. Rachel Wheeler, Humanities Employability Officer said of the event: “The event was a great opportunity for students to network with people in the field and it was great to see such a good turn-out”. A news story about the fair also featured on the University website, and is available to view at: http://humanities.exeter.ac.uk/archaeology/news/title_216245_en.html
Case Study 24: Archaeology GIS Workshop Harry Blandford, a third year Archaeology student and Subject Chair led a project to run a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Skills Workshop in Term 3. Supported by the discipline’s Student Staff Liaison Committee, the workshop offered students a free opportunity to gain skills in this rapidly developing area. Attended by 30 students, the project benefitted current undergraduate and postgraduate Archaeology students by providing them with an opportunity to acquire GIS skills, in order to improve their employability and develop their skill set in this field.
Case Study 25: Classics Peer Mentoring
Ronnie Henderson, a third year Classics student and President of Classics Society led a project to support Peer Mentoring in Latin and Greek. Building on the subject’s existing scheme, Ronnie hoped to develop the support available among Classicists, engaging Classics students both as participants and tutors. After successfully securing project funding, Ronnie created a Peer Mentoring ELE page as a central hub for information and resources, and was able to purchase 22 new text books to support the project’s aims. In addition to this, each student tutor was able to create handbooks for each of their participating mentees. 4 members of staff and 160 students were involved in the project, which allowed for weekly tutoring sessions in Latin and Greek in support of their studies. The project not only provided students in need of additional support with an accessible and informal method for developing their academic practice, it also allowed the mentors to develop and hone their Latin and Greek through regular practice. This provided them with excellent tutoring skills and experience, and an employability enhancing addition to their CVs.
Case Study 26: Theology Employability Third year Theology student and Subject Chair, Hannah Barr, led a Change Agents project looking at employability prospects for Theology students. Researching the career paths of previous Theology students, Hannah explored the following research questions in order to ascertain the employment possibilities for Theology graduates, and raise awareness of them among her cohort.
What jobs can Theology students go into? Who are Theology Alumni and where do they work? Would they be interested in helping current students? Hannah Barr
Working with Claire Panzeri and Rachel Wheeler, Hannah created a list of Theology graduates and the types of employment they had gone into, to support the development of a networking event for current students, alumni, and employers. Hannah planned to team the event with an additional online resource to provide Theology undergraduates with an insight into what careers their degree could lead them to. The project was passed to the 2014/15 Committee to be further developed.
Case Study 27: The SSLC Ethos Hannah Barr, a third year Theology student and Subject Chair, was interested in looking into the ways students conduct themselves in formal settings, and exploring whether or not the University could provide useful guidance assisting students in these situations. Hannah created The SSLC Ethos, a policy document designed to provide students with a clear and concise understanding of conduct in professional environments, drawing from the College’s Exeter Ethos in order to match the document’s consistency with other College guidelines. The document was aimed specifically at members of the SSLC, and was circulated to all members, before being uploaded to ELE and the Exeter Ethos web page. The document allowed 85 reps across the College to inform the functioning of their roles throughout the year, in hand with the existing TQA Guidelines. It also benefitted the 25 Directors of Education/Administrative staff across the College through the decrease in conduct concerns raised. Hannah was invited to share the document at the College Away Day, potentially widening the document’s impact further. Hannah commented: “The SSLC ethos was an important project because it allowed for interrogation of the function of the SSLC and what it means to be an SSLC rep. The result is that students and staff who sit on SSLCs have a renewed professionalism for their respective roles and this allows the SSLC to be as effective as possible in their communication and action.”
Case Study 28: Classics Tutoring Traditionally, Classics is a subject with little presence in secondary education; usually students don’t come across the discipline until Further Education, by which point they are taking their A Levels and competing for university places. With employability at the forefront of many students’ Higher Education choices, students are less likely to take up a discipline such as Classics, when they have little or no experience of studying it previously. It was therefore that final year Classics student, and Classics Society President, Ronnie Henderson was interested in exploring how the discipline could create Widening Participation opportunities for pupils outside of the University. Working with Queen Elizabeth’s, a local secondary school, Ronnie offered Classics students the chance to teach Classics and Latin to its pupils. This provided them with the chance to enhance their employability and gain teaching experience, while allowing the pupils at Queen Elizabeth to gain valuable insight into the subject. Ten students from Classics participated in the project, each leading classes in Classics and Latin for six weeks, providing the school with weekly tutoring sessions from the students. The sessions were well attended with around 45 pupils from Queen Elizabeth participating in the sessions in total. The project secured funding from Widening Participation, a university body which supports initiatives to engage prospective students who are less likely to attend Higher Education, in order to increase diversity within the University, and encourage students from schools in the South West from lower socio-economic backgrounds to consider university as a feasible and achievable goal. The financial support from Widening Participation allowed the Classics students to travel to Crediton, provided them with the books they needed for the sessions, and also allowed them to create hand-outs for the pupils to support their teaching and aid the pupils’ learning. Ronnie was keen for the sessions to have a great impact on the pupils, in the hope that their work in the school could increase the number of students taking Classics at University level, by providing the students with an insight into the subject that they otherwise would not receive, in accordance with the aims of Widening Participation. Ronnie collected qualitative feedback from the project’s participants in order to conduct a longitudinal analysis of students entering Classics degrees from comprehensive schools, in addition to analysing whether the student tutors engaged in the project pursued a career in teaching after their involvement in the project. On account of its success, the project has since received funding from the Classical Association, The Roman Society and Widening Participation to support their work for another year.
Case Study 29: Drama Module Fair
Heather Pasfield, a second year Drama student and Academic Representative, created a one-off event which invited students to drop-in and discuss their module choices with staff, in order to make informed decisions for the next academic year. Working with Jane Milling, Heather set up a Drama Module Fair, which saw 15 members of staff delivering presentations and information to approximately 70 students from the department, allowing students to ask informal questions and gain clear and relevant information about what their choices were, and identify where their areas of interest might be. The Module Fair potentially saved around ten hours of administrative time in re-allocating modules due to students making more informed selections, and could see students’ comments on the module selection process improving over time in the National Student Survey. The Drama department plans to continue to Module Fair next academic year.
Case Study 30: English Book Swaps Two student representatives in the English Student Staff Liaison Committee led a project to provide a forum for students to swap books with other students. By creating a Facebook page, the SSLC set up the book swap scheme, encouraging students in higher years to pass down core texts and other books they used in previous years to students in the lower years, rather than dispose of them. In addition to this initiative having a positive impact on the environment, it also saved students money and time. On account of the project’s success, the project hopes to expand in future years to work with the Students’ Green Unit and create a book swapping event, providing students the opportunity to converse with one another face to face, in order to determine which books related to which module.
Case Study 31: English Lectures Anna Romanska, a first year English student and Academic Representative, was eager to provide Level 1 students the opportunity to attend lectures that might be of interest to them that weren’t part of their core modules. Working with Pascale Aebischer, Anna created a comprehensive timetable of all English lectures which are open to any interested students, which she made available on ELE. Supported by the Student Staff Liaison Committee, Anna ensured that the available seats in English lectures were made available for students to book to attend lectures of interest to them. The initiative supports the University’s key principle of the co-creation of education by allowing students to demonstrate an active engagement in literature and research outside of their specific modules, providing them with an opportunity to acquire additional knowledge. Anna Romanska, the project’s student lead, added: “I’ve really enjoyed my work as a Change Agent… I feel that we’ve done a great job this year and we’ve got a lot of plans for next year on how to improve student life and the student experience… It’s very important to have ideas that will boost the University student life; ideas that will benefit you and will make your experience more efficient and more enjoyable”
Case Study 32: English Care Homes Reading Project
The English Care Homes Reading Project was led by Peter Tse, a second year English student, to encourage his peers to apply their skills gained from their course in order to help the local community. Having been on the project’s committee in the academic year 2012/2013, Peter became the project leader and formed a new committee of six students to organise a lead the project, in addition to engaging over 100 students across a variety of disciplines and stages as volunteers. The students arranged weekly trips visiting a number of Care Homes in the local area. The students brought books to read each week, and created their own poetry booklets to share with residents in the homes. The project hoped to strengthen links between the students and the local community, promote understanding and find common ground through their mutual appreciation for stories and poems; recognizing that positive intergenerational relationships are key to a healthy community. Peter hoped that through regular visits the project could make a difference in the daily lives of those living in residential care, in particular those suffering with dementia. One of the project’s notable developments last year was its expansion to include volunteering opportunities at local Primary Schools, providing the volunteers with a variety of methods and areas in which to make a difference and allowing the impact of their work to affect more people in a positive way. The project also allowed the committee to work with Dr Jo Harris, who founded the project three years previously. In addition, the project’s outputs included the successful acquisition of funding from The Annual Fund, which allowed the College to recruit a paid Student Research Intern to support the development and administration of the project. A website was also created, which helped raise awareness of the project, gaining media attention from BBC Breakfast, BBC Spotlight (South West) and Care Talk Magazine in the hope of encouraging other students across the country to make a change within their local communities. The pupils at the primary schools and residents of the care homes visited benefitted enormously from the project; from the learning support, to the shared reading experience provided by the volunteers. The students also participated in an incredible opportunity to make a positive difference through their passion for literature and through the practical application of their degree; gaining transferable skills and enhancing their CVs with experience working within the local community and with vulnerable groups. The Care Homes Reading project website is available at: http://readingproject.exeter.ac.uk/
Case Study 33: Film Practical Skills First year Film Studies Academic Representative David Holt secured over £1,200 from the Annual Fund and the ADE Discretionary fund to support his initiative for a practical film making skills workshop event. The project, designed to encourage crossdisciplinary engagement, saw 17 students from across a number of programmes and levels of study come together to create three films and a documentary. The event took place across two days and was supported by two postgraduate students and a staff member. The postgraduate students gained valuable tutoring and mentoring skills and experience from delivering the workshops and the staff member provided students with the necessary skills and equipment to produce their films; from initial storyboarding to editing. The students completed their films in less than 48 hours, demonstrating the use and application of the skills they developed during the workshop. The workshop also provided the participants with the opportunity to network with local businesses in the Film Industry, giving them an insight into the world of work and enhancing their future employability. Overall, the project was a great success; David was invited to speak about the workshop at the College Away Day, and it was also shortlisted for Student-led Project of the Year at the Students’ Guild Award, and won Best Change Agents Project at the Humanities Student Staff Liaison Committee Awards in 2014. The documentary, which was created by the students involved in the project, focused on the project as its subject matter; raising awareness of the opportunity among the student body and prospective undergraduates. The project allowed students access to opportunities and equipment that they would otherwise not be able to experience without making a considerable financial commitment, either on equipment or signing up to a society; so both serious film makers and those with just a keen interest were able to gage whether filmmaking is something they would like to pursue further. The project’s news story, featured on the Humanities news website, is available at the following link: http://humanities.exeter.ac.uk/news/college/title_389816_en.html
Case Study 34: History Module Fair Andrew Eckert, a second year History student and subject chair, wanted to ensure that students were getting relevant and useful information regarding their module choices. Working closely with Simon Barr, Andrew created a History Module Fair attended by around 60 students from within the discipline. The fair allowed students to drop in throughout the afternoon and speak to staff about the modules available in order to make informed module selections. The impact of the fair extended to the 60 students in attendance and beyond, as it is likely the information provided at the fair was disseminated throughout the entirety of the cohort via word of mouth. The Module Fair also benefited staff within the department. Around fifteen History professors created and delivered presentations and hand-outs regarding their modules at the fair, with the aim to save time answering emails, as well as saving administrative staff time in re-allocating modules due to students making ill-informed decisions. The project also has the potential to improve National Student Survey scores regarding the module selection process. The project was deemed very successful, and is scheduled to continue next year.
Case Study 35: History Postgraduate Progression Second year History Subject Chair, Andrew Eckert, wanted to analyse how well-informed students were about postgraduate study in History, and how best information about pathways to postgraduate study could be communicated to students. Andrew used qualitative data from student comments in the National Student Survey regarding making informed decisions about postgraduate study, and quantitative data from the department around the number of students progressing to further study for research. From this, Andrew decided to create and deliver an informative one-off event, in order to encourage those interested in studying for an MA in History to learn more about the options available to them in an accessible format. The event took place in Term 3 of 2014; a presentation was created for the purpose of the event to summarise the options for postgraduate study, and two postgraduate students gave talks in order to provide the students in attendance with impartial and up-to-date advice about what the course can offer, and the benefits of postgraduate study. The Director of Education was also in attendance to speak to the interested students. The event provided opportunities for networking, in addition to benefitting students and all departmental staff, by providing a clear source of information regarding postgraduate study in the department. The presentation slides were uploaded to ELE to increase the project’s impact among students, and it is hoped the project will continue next year in partnership with the History society.
Case Study 36: Theology Buddy Scheme
Hannah Barr, a third year Theology student and Subject Chair, ran a Theology Buddy Scheme to support the integration of first year students into the discipline. With the support of the discipline’s Student Staff Liaison Committee, the project paired new first year students with third years in the discipline to ease their transition into university life. The project helped third year students to develop their mentoring, listening and communication skills, while the first year buddies gained an understanding of the department and how to resolve issues within a supported structure. This potentially saved staff contact hours providing first year students with basic support, which would have been reallocated to providing specific academic support. Hannah Barr and Emily-Rose Rolfe
Emily-Rose Rolfe, one of the third year Theology buddies added: “I definitely gained confidence within the department having a buddy… it makes you feel like you’re not just a number; it makes you feel like you’re much more a person.” The project is set to be continued for 2014/15, and the Theology SSLC have also been advising other department’s SSLCs on how to best operate a buddy scheme, which should see more arise in the future. For more information about the Theology Buddy Scheme, watch the video at: https://youtu.be/HweR1gnbJR8
THE COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
Projects in SSIS: The College of Social Sciences and International Studies saw a total of six Students as Change Agents projects being run, supported by Emily Barrett and Joe Haigh. Projects examined topics such as IT skills, social media, assessment and feedback and postgraduate communication. The e-BART project was run in partnership with The Students’ Green Unit, creating a collaborative relationship between the students and staff in SSIS and the Green Unit.
Case Study 37: Law Podcasts A number of students in Law had indicated that certain core concepts were more difficult to grasp through traditional lecture style learning alone. In response to the concerns raised, the Subject Chairs, Joy Lee and Linda MbuguaNwusu, led a project to explore the possibility of alternative learning tools to assist students in understanding the concepts considered the most difficult to grasp. After discussing the project with Greta Bosch, the students were interested to explore whether podcasts could be a useful tool in clarifying these concepts. Joy and Linda created a survey to collect data on which areas of the subject were considered the most difficult to comprehend, by both students and staff, in order to assess whether or not podcasts could be a useful addition to lectures. From this data, the podcasts were created for students’ use, assisting with both the initial stages of understanding the complex information during students’ study time, and in re-visiting the meaning of these concepts during revision.
Case Study 38: Social Media Alexandra Mochalova, the postgraduate representative for International Relations, led a project examining the effectiveness of using email as the primary method for contacting students. Alexandra was keen to explore how the University could expand its communication with students to encompass a more student-friendly tool, such as social media; thus the project sought to analyse whether there was a student demand for social media to be used as a method of disseminating information, either in addition to or as a replacement for the traditional whole cohort email. Recruiting Alex Prichard to support the project, Alexandra created a Facebook page for the discipline, posting information and regular updates about key events, news and research. The group also acted as a Peer Support space, allowing students to post course-related questions to be answered by other students in the group. The group’s popularity has indicated that social media provided students with a useful enhancement to studying, and allowed important information to be shared and communicated in a more efficient and effective way.
Case Study 39: Assessment and Feedback Hebatullah Issa, the Postgraduate Rep for the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, started a project looking at assessment and feedback to ascertain whether students wanted more consistent quantitative and qualitative feedback for assessed work. Working with John Cooper and Sajjad Rizvi, Hebatullah collected evidence to support the project using feedback from different modules across the Institute, and the grade classes achieved by the module participants. Hebatullah planned to produce a simple assessment and feedback guide for students and staff based upon her research findings. The project was picked up by Joe Haigh, a Graduate Business Partner working in student engagement, who worked with one of the IAIS Subject Chairs to discuss the project in relation to dissertation guidance, and as a result of the project, a short dissertation guide to assessment and feedback was created.
Case Study 40: eBART
Following the introduction of eBart to the University as an initiative to reduce excessive printing for the submission of essays, Law SSLC Chairs Joy Lee and Linda Mbugua-Nwosu led a project with the Students’ Green Unit to support and promote the new system among students. With support from James Smith of The Students’ Guild, and Emma Hutchings, Education Co-ordinator of the Students’ Green Unit, the pair produced a short, student friendly video to explain how to use the system, which was distributed via the eBart explain Facebook page, and the University website. The project encouraged students to recognise the environmental benefits of using less paper, and succeeded in making eBart more prominent on the My Exeter Homepage. With the support of the e-BART Explained project, e-BART is estimated to have saved students over £40,000 in printing costs. The video is available to view at: https://youtu.be/aUA2cPemcSk
Case Study 41: IT Workshop May Kyaw Oo, a student from the Graduate School of Education, led a project exploring the perceptions of English language teachers towards the use of technology in the classroom. The requirement for IT training for TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) students became apparent through the SSLC, which encouraged May to explore the issue in more depth. Analysing student demand for opportunities to develop their IT skills, May decided to plan and develop a series of IT Workshops aimed at students on the Master of Education TESOL course. May began by creating a Padlet wall for the TESOL students to share ideas concerning topics for the workshops. This generated a variety of responses, ranging from the suggestion of a step-by-step guide to using PowerPoint, to learning more specialised skills such as editing video and audio recordings. From these suggestions, May planned and delivered 10 workshops, with assistance from Elisabeth Dunne and Charlotte Anderson from Academic Services. The IT workshops were incredibly successful, each session saw around 20 attendees, and the workshops were attended by around 40 students overall. Each two-hour session focused on a particular program or web resource with specific relevance and use for teachers, and took the students through a step-by-step process on how best to use the program in order to enhance learning. The workshop participants were asked to complete questionnaires upon completing each session, and 15 of these students were interviewed by May in order to collect further data surrounding attitudes towards technology in the classroom. Each lesson plan was documented to allow the project to continue in future years.
Case Study 42: SSLC Postgraduate ELE Last year, the postgraduate SSLC received suggestions from students in SSIS that information from the SSLC meetings could be better circulated to postgraduate students, particularly long distance learners. Eager to investigate the possibilities for improving the dissemination of this information, Eyan Sham, the Postgraduate SSLC Chair, led a project to ensure that news and updates from the SSLC meetings were made accessible to all students, particularly those who study from home. Exploring the student demand for accessible information in more detail, Eyan suggested that the SSLC could share the SSLC information via ELE, allowing students to access the information they required online, regardless of their location. In response to this discussion at an SSLC meeting, Eyan created the Postgraduate SSLC ELE page. Designed for the use of all postgraduate students in SSIS, the page provided them with a discussion forum, regular updates and copies of SSLC meeting minutes, and downloadable resources such as the Assessment Strategy. While the resource didn’t receive as much student participation as hoped, creating a hub for information has the potential to save both student and staff time sending and responding to email queries about the SSLC. Although the project was not fully realised, it provides an insight into the type of projects students deliver; and while all projects require great ideas and student effort, not all projects are finalised as anticipated. The ELE page is available to view at http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=4311
THE STUDENTS’ GREEN UNIT
Projects in SGU: The Students’ Green Unit (part of The Students’ Guild) supported 15 student-led projects focusing on contempoary global issues, including sustainability, water consumption, carbon management and food waste. The Students’ Green Unit provided students with invaluable support throughout the duration of these projects, offering training, funding and guidance in their area of interest through specifically trained staff mentors. The Green Unit are proud to be a part of the NUS Students’ Green Fund (funded by HEFCE).
Case Study 43: EcoExeter The Carbon Management Plan is a document that every university requires, and yet very few students read and engage with. EcoExeter’s student lead, Nick Howe, decided that more needed to be done to raise students’ awareness of the initiative, and so worked with the Sustainability Team and the Energy Manager from the University to restructure and rebrand the Carbon Management Plan in order to appeal to students. Nick hoped to further educate students – in particular those who are currently disengaged with sustainability issues – and inform them, not only that the University has a carbon management plan and what it is, but also that the University has goals to reduce its carbon over the coming years, and how students can help to save energy to help towards that goal of a 43% reduction by 2020. To do so, Nick set up three focus groups which were held over the period of three consecutive days. A total of 18 students attended the groups, and each received payment for their time. In addition, Nick produced five A3 posters with information about The Carbon Management Plan, which were used as a demonstration tool during the focus groups. Copies of the current carbon management plan were also utilised during the focus groups, as were copies from other universities as a comparison. The information collected from these focus groups was collated in order to contribute to framing the new carbon management plan, in particular the area relating to communicating information with students.
Case Study 44: Food Waste Behaviour The Food Waste Behaviour project was led by Yoston Montoya-Garcia, an actively engaged member of the Students’ Green Unit. Aiming to pinpoint what and how student food waste behaviours can be changed, Yoston created an incentivized survey in order to provide an insight into the food waster behaviour of students at the University. Yoston also investigated into the specific attitudes and behaviours, relating to food waste, of Exeter students, and used this data to decipher what students groups’ food waste behaviour could be targeted for improvements. Yoston collaborated with various academics; Professor Chris Thornton, Professor Michael Winter, Dr Robert Fish, Professor Sarah Gurr, Dr Matt Lobley and Dr Ann Rabinovich, to ensure the survey encompassed a high quality methodology. The survey was then distributed in March as both physical and online questionnaires. The survey received an impressive 129 unique student responses, following which Yoston produced an academic report exploring student food waste behaviour at the University of Exeter, which has since been used as a baseline for future waste behaviour project and was distributed to the relevant University staff. The project’s findings were also presented during the Students’ Green Unit annual showcase, which was attended by over 200 students and members of staff.
Case Study 45: EnergyWise Ellie Pilcher, project-leader of Energy Wise, felt strongly about students’ awareness of their energy consumption, particularly those in first year halls of residences on campus. Ellie felt that students in university halls often do not see their energy consumption in real time since the energy bills are included in their rent, and so created Energy Wise in order to provide tips and advice to first year students in halls on how to be more energy efficient. Energy Wise had a launch event at the beginning of March on campus which was attended by approximately 60 students. The event aimed to promote the project and to engage students with the idea of energy efficiency. The stall drew lots of attention from fellow students and Ellie enjoyed sharing her knowledge of energy efficiency to other students. Ellie also ran an energy saving workshop for undergraduates in halls of residences. In addition two Energy Wise’s events, Ellie pioneered Energy Wise’s pilot scheme of installing energy meters in three student flats to measure student energy consumption, in order to determine whether allowing students to see their consumption in real terms through a smart meter influences their behaviour. Ellie worked closely with the students in the metered flats in order to discuss her aims of the project and also their consumption. Furthermore, the members of staff working in the halls where the meters were installed relayed the consumption of the metered flats to other students, in the hope of changing behaviour at a much larger scale. Ellie ensured that Energy Wise and its aims were as relatable and accessible to students as possible by creating a fun, student-friendly guide to saving energy which she distributed online. Overall, Energy Wise increased students’ awareness of energy saving measures, which, over time will reduce the students’ energy consumption both on and off campus. This will save the students and the University money, and will help to reduce their impact on the environment. Energy Wise was also featured on the NUS Green Fund website, which can be viewed at: http://studentsgreenfund.unioncloud.org/articles/ partnering-student-activism-with-academic-expertise.
Case Study 46: ExBags Rebecca Osmaston and Lizzie Lewis sought to reduce plastic consumption on campus by encouraging students to swap plastic bags with their reusable and environmentally friendly ‘Ex Bags’. The project hoped to raise awareness of the environmental impacts of plastic consumption, primarily through the introduction of the reusable bags, which were designed by Rebecca and Lizzie, and were sourced from an environmentally friendly company, in keeping with promoting sustainable consumption. In order to ensure the effectiveness of the campaign, Rebecca and Lizzie felt strongly that the bags shouldn’t be gender specific, and so worked closely with The Guild and FXU to ensure the designs would be popular among all students. In conjunction with the Students’ Green Unit Showcase, Ex Bags set up a stall to trial the bags and managed to sell 42 bags within the first two hours. The stall was visited by approximately 150 students in total during the trial sale, and due to their popularity, the project successfully gained the support of the The Students’ Guild Shop, where the bags are now on sale. All the profits made by the bags go to an environmental charity which aims to reduce plastic pollution in the natural environment.
An example of one of the Ex Bags products
Case Study 47: Food Waste Pile-Up President of EnviroSoc Nick Howe hoped to raise awareness of how much food waste takes place on campus. Working with the Students’ Green Unit, Nick wanted to create a visual representation to show students and staff at the University the big impact food waste can have, and so he developed the ‘Food Waste Pile-Up’ project. Focusing on raising awareness of food waste in catered halls of residence at the University of Exeter, the project began with an audit of how much waste took place in the average week in catered halls. Using tinned items, the data was used to create a visual display of exactly how much food was being wasted, in the hope that the visual comparison would shock students and staff into reducing their waste by 30%. This is in coordination with the Students’ Green Unit goals to ‘bring academic and professional service staff together with students in practically addressing the grand sustainability challenges of the day’, and ‘demonstrably and positively change students’ attitudes, behaviours and motivations in relation to sustainability’. The pile-up event took place on 10th March in the University Forum building on Streatham campus. Using non-perishable items to represent the 1022.3kg of ‘tray waste’ (not production waste) that happened per week, the tins were piled up across four tables, with materials from the Love Food Hate Waste campaign on hand to illustrate the national problems around food waste, and the negative impacts this has on the environment. All food items were donated to a local Foodbank after the event, further acknowledging the alternative options regarding the disposal of unwanted food. There was a representative from the Exeter Foodbank present on the day, and many students expressed an interest in volunteering for them, which pushed forward further discussions about how food wastage exists alongside food poverty within the surrounding area. Alongside this, Nick used the day to talk to students about how they can personally reduce food waste; providing students with recipe cards, and storage and freezing instructions. The Food Waste Pile-Up engaged 600 students, and almost 100 members of staff. The event was repeated later on in the year to increase awareness of the problem and the possible solutions, and having worked closely with Julie Tong from Campus Services, who was in attendance for the event on 10th March, Nick worked further with Campus Services to create the Food Waste Working Group; a student-led focus group exploring possible action plans to reduce food waste over a period of six months. This extension of the project has the potential to save the University money as well as supporting sustainability. Many students gave feedback on the project to the Green Unit, which they will use to support future projects. As a result of the project, the Green Unit are collaborating with UPP as they trial a food waste composting system at Birks Grange Village. The project also resulted in a change of University Hall food policy, where students can now return to the food counter multiple times, rather than being limited to one plate, to reduce food waste.
Case Study 48: Face 2 Face with Climate Change David Mansell-Moullin, a graduate on the One Planet MBA, led a project with the Students’ Guild’s Students’ Green Unit which took a creative approach to raising awareness around climate change. Combining David’s skills and expertise from his MAs in Geography and Photography, and his work as a sustainability and environmental consultant, The Face 2 Face with Climate Change project is a photographic exhibition in the University of Exeter’s Forum, featuring a series of striking black and white photographs of climate scientists from the Exeter region, bringing people ‘Face 2 Face’ with those at the forefront of tackling climate change. David felt motivated to begin the project upon discovering how actively involved Exeter’s scientists are with leading climate change research and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He explained: “Exeter is now a global hub for climate change thinking… During my first week on the University of Exeter’s One Planet MBA course I heard that Exeter has the highest number of IPCC authors working on the 5th Assessment Report of any city in the world. I was amazed by this fact and that so few people, either in Devon or further afield, are aware that Exeter has this depth of climate change research and knowledge. This led to the question ‘How could this be communicated in an interesting and engaging way’? Drawing on my artistic, photographic and sustainability background the idea for the Face 2 Face with Climate Change exhibition was born.” The project received funding from the Students’ Green Unit, a department based within the Students’ Guild and FXU, who are able to provide support and mentoring through the Green Fund - a partnership of 26 student unions funded by HEFCE and supported by the National Union of Students. The Students’ Green Unit enables students to lead the change by creating their own innovative projects on the theme of sustainability. David believed that it was vital that the research of the IPCC reports was shared in a creative and engaging way as climate change is a challenge we all face. His idea for a visual representation of the work of the IPCC scientists was recognized by the Students’ Green Unit as an exciting opportunity for a project. Featuring twelve of the leading Exeter IPCC authors, the final photographs were subtly overlain with texts from the IPCC reports, visually demonstrating the ideas that each scientist has dedicated their working lives to generating. These are the raw form of the very ideas that come to shape the public’s perception of climate change.
The Face 2 Face exhibition was planned to coincide with the launch of the IPCC Synthesis Report on 31 October 2014. It was showcased for 6 weeks in Autumn 2014 and will be displayed in various locations in the South-West over the coming year.
David commented: “The Face 2 Face with Climate Change project was my first major photographic exhibition in the UK and will be a valuable body of work to include on my website and CV… On a personal level, the project led to many fascinating encounters and conversations with the climate change experts that are based in Exeter. It also provided a means to become more directly involved in University activities, primarily through the Students’ Guild’s Students’ Green Unit, and to offer something back to the University whilst I was studying on the MBA. In terms of raising awareness of climate change and the work of the IPCC, the interest the project generated has exceeded my expectations. Not only was I granted a prime place to exhibit the work for 6 weeks in the University Forum, but the project will also be displayed at the Met Office in Exeter, the Sidmouth Climate Festival, and has been shown on a number of web-based platforms.” The project’s outputs are numerous; in addition to David’s work being seen by a wide audience of students and climate change researchers, the project has gained attention from the local press and community. The project also provided David with fantastic opportunities for networking; Face 2 Face allowed David to meet and talk with a range of climate change experts, and forge excellent working relationships with staff working in the Students’ Green Unit and the Arts & Culture department. While the project has been a fantastic career step for David, the project’s impact among students and researchers lies at the heart of its success; David’s photographs were distributed on A5 postcards at the IPCC conference in May, bringing the project to the 500 academics, scientists and local community in attendance. The project has also received some exciting media attention, available to view at the following links: http://www.exeterguild.org/greenunit/face2face http://www.artsandcultureexeter.co.uk/event/696/face2face-with-climate-change http://www.exeter.ac.uk/news/featurednews/title_416273_en.html http://projects.exeter.ac.uk/igov/face-2-face-with-climate-change/ http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/Westcountry-s-dynamic-dozen-face-climate-change/story24514565-detail/story.html?00
Case Study 49: Going Wildwards
Hannah Watson was the student lead for Going Wildwards last academic year; a project engaging students, staff and members of the Exeter community with their nonhuman cohabitants on campus, in addition to providing new ways of understanding and traversing the campus. Recruiting 45 student volunteers, 12 local biodiversity expert volunteers, and 31 participants from outside the student body, Hannah delivered a number of activities throughout the project designed to reconnect the project participants with nature. Hannah worked closely with Dr Inmaculada Adarves-Yorno to explore how the ways in which the effect of the project on the behaviour of the participants could be measured, in addition to ensuring Going Wildwards’ meaningful engagement with nature. Hannah frequently liaised with a number of partners who supported Going Wildwards in delivering biodiversity events; such as the RSPB, Devon Wildlife Trust, Devon Biodiversity Records Centre and Exeter Bat Group. The events included; Ditch Digging and Wildflower Planting, Dormouse Boxing, Pond Dipping, Bat Detecting, Going Skywards, Bug Hotel Naming, Badger Vaccination and a showcase presentation, which saw 200 students and staff coming together to review the success of the events. https://twitter.com/GoingWildwards https://www.facebook.com/goingwildwards http://www.exeterguild.org/greenunit/goingwildwards/
Case Study 50: Think Outside the Bottle In association with the Students’ Green Unit, which is part of The Students’ Guild, Tom Jeffery, Nina Gillespie, Florence Culleton and Elizabeth Greagg led a campaign to raise awareness among students of the impacts of plastic bottle use. The project, which was called ‘Think Outside the Bottle’, sought to produce a piece of research documenting students’ knowledge of the environmental and health impacts of plastic bottles, students’ opinions on reusable water bottles, and students’ awareness and thoughts on free water fountains on campus. The research supported the marketing and production of a reusable water bottle for students to purchase, to discourage students from frequently purchasing and discarding plastic bottles, and to encourage students to consider a reusable bottle as a more sustainable option. In total, the students contributed approximately 60 hours of voluntary work to support the project’s success. Working closely with Dr Stuart Barr, the team created a survey collating students’ opinions and knowledge via SurveyMonkey, attracting over 170 responses from students at the University. From the data collected through this survey, the students produced an information booklet describing the benefits of non-plastic water bottles, and a list of where students could find water fountains on Streatham campus. These booklets were distributed with the reusable bottles which they sold on a stall in the forum during the Students’ Green Unit showcase in May. The students sold an impressive amount of the bottles, directly benefitting many students and members of staff, reducing the impact of plastic bottles on their health, and potentially saving them time searching for water fountains on campus. The bottles also had a financial impact on the students and staff who bought the bottles. At £5 per bottle, compared to the average price of a bottle of water in the The Students’ Guild Shop and Market Place which is around 57p, if someone bought bottled water every day, they would exceed the cost of a reusable bottle in just over a week.
Case Study 51: Slow Food Charli Saunders, Shane Vaughan and Rishi Chawla from Slow Food Society worked with the Student’s Green Unit (part of The Students’ Guild) to deliver free cooking classes to encourage students to consider their food’s provenance, and the potential ethical and environmental impacts of the choices they make when cooking. By highlighting the ease with which we can incorporate sustainability elements into cooking practices, the classes sought to enable students to make more decisions, in accordance with the Green Unit’s key goals to; ‘demonstrably and positively change students’ attitudes, behaviours and motivations in relation to sustainability’ and ‘provide students with applied skills and experiences in sustainability, supporting future employment and employability.’ The project was fortunate enough to receive funding, enabling the handson cooking classes to commence in January 2014. Each class focusing on a different area of food ethics, from the environmental impacts of production to the responsibilities we have as consumers, in order to raise awareness of as many of these issues among students as possible. In order to do this, each class had a different theme – from ‘Meat Free Mondays’, to using Fairtrade products – each theme planned to coincide with pre-existing campaigns being supported by the University, such as Fairtrade Fortnight. With this in mind, each class began with a brief discussion of the topic and a Q and A session. The project leaders were also keen to ensure that sustainability was depicted in practical terms, incorporating practical tips about how to store, freeze and reheat food in each session in order to create a practical awareness among the participants of ways to reduce wastage and save energy. In addition to promoting change in the students’ behaviours, the organisers ensured that all their products were locally sourced to support local economies and producers, predominantly sourcing their cooking ingredients at the local Real Food Store. This has developed the students’ and the Green Unit’s relationships with local community partners, who were invited to speak at the finale event. The project leaders also developed a relationship with the chef supervisors at the University restaurant, The Terrace. In total, five events were run, which saw 55 students in attendance. These students were able to see the benefits of changing their behaviour, which hopefully will affect their future impact, and possibly the wider student population, with the project’s Facebook page accumulating almost 200 likes over the course of the classes. During the classes, the attendees completed surveys created by the project leaders in order to gain an insight into their cooking habits. The surveys demonstrated that the students in attendance thought the classes were incredibly useful, and that there was a need for more training of this variety. The Green Unit will use this data to inform future projects. It’s possible that the cooking classes also saved the students involved money, choosing cooking in favour of costly ready meals. The project leaders have also been in contact with a Slow Food organisation based in London and are exploring possible events in association with them in the future.
Case Study 52: Style Cycle Style Cycle was a Students’ Green Unit project led by members of Be The Change society, in order to raise awareness of the impact of clothing production on the environment among students. The project leaders, Flo Taylor, Georgia Potton and Zainab Ali-Khan recruited four students to assist with the development of a clothes swapping app, building on the prior success of the Green Unit’s clothes-swapping events. The app was designed to make sustainability relevant to students who may not have previously engaged with these issues, using social media and fashion to encourage people to think about resource use, while demonstrating that making a positive change in the area of the South West is relatively easy and beneficial to the individual. The app sought to encourage students to consider alternative options when shopping for clothes, presenting clothes swapping as an alternative to buying new and sending unwanted items to landfill, by allowing students to upload their garments to the site to be swapped with other students. The project worked alongside the Green Unit’s key goals to; ‘change students’ attitudes, behaviours and motivations in relation to sustainability’, ‘provide students with applied skills and experiences in sustainability, supporting future employment and employability’, and ‘to bring academic and professional service staff together with students in practically addressing the grand sustainability challenges of the day’. The project created the opportunity for four aspiring student app developers to gain experience making an app, providing them with real life work experience and employability enhancing skills. Forging a partnership with Computer Science Society, who enabled the development of the app, the project supported networking and multi-disciplinary collaboration between a variety of students with differing skill sets. The project leaders were also eager to create a link between Style Cycle and Grand Challenges, working with Dr Ian Cook who provided the team with a test audience of 43 students during the development of the app from his fashion-themed Grand Challenges event. Keen to ensure the app reached as many students as possible, The Students’ Guild’s ‘entrepreneur in residence’, Kim Martinez advised the team on how to market the app, supporting them in setting up a Facebook page which reached approximately 2,200 students. Style Cycle ran two events to launch and promote the app, which saw 50 students in attendance. It is hoped that these events will have a long-term impact on students’ attitudes towards consumption. For every clothes swap, students saw a pop-up window informing them of the resources they have saved by swapping rather than buying, for example, by swapping a cotton t-shirt students would save 2,720 litres of water. In addition to reducing their impact on the environment, the project also saved students money. The app was produced on the Android platform, but unfortunately due to technical issues the app didn’t go beyond the pilot stage. Nonetheless, the Style Cycle project helped to raise awareness of sustainable fashion choices among the student body. Visit https://twitter.com/exstylecycle for more information Find the project on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ExeterStyleCycle
Case Study 53: Sustainability Skill Share Sustainability Skill Share was led by Matthew Barnes as a Students’ Green Unit project. The project supported the delivery of a workshop to educate students on the topic of seed planting, composting and making a positive sustainable impact, by altering individual behaviour and actions. Fun and interactive, the class was designed to engage students who were already knowledgeable about such issues, in addition to those with little or no prior knowledge of the workshop subject areas. By making students aware that altering their behaviour at a domestic level can have a positive impact at the University, nationally, and even on an international scale, Sustainability Skill Share strongly synchronised with the Students’ Green Unit ethos. The Sustainability Skill Share workshop was attended by 10 students, who were each given a handout providing information on seed sharing, composting food scraps and small scale gardening. The workshop was delivered by guest speakers, the “Seedy Sisters”, a local group who encourage growing fruit, flowers and vegetables from seeds, and then saving seeds to swap with other keen plant growers. The “Seedy Sisters” provided the students with seeds, soil and plastic to up-cycle for seed planting. Students were taught how to grow own their vegetables/herbs, and how to replant a lettuce to grow more. The workshop provided the students with the knowledge and potential to save money, in addition to making a positive change to their behaviour with regards to sustainability, by demonstrating the simplicity with which small scale actions can have a positive impact on a much larger scale. Since the delivery of the workshop, a similar initiative has been set up by Exeter Green Fingers, which hopes to continue Matthew’s work to support sustainable student living.
Case Study 54: Exmas Veg
The Exemas Veg project, led by Zara and Liam Clarke last year, provided students with the opportunity to grow their own vegetables on campus. The project leaders organised workshops on how to grow fresh produce; from making pot plants out of newspapers and educating students on the benefits of locally grown food, to the students planting their own crops. Working closely with the Exeter Community Garden, Zara and Liam delivered three sessions, which were attended by around 20 students. Using the garden to grow a number of vegetables; including carrots, potatoes, squash and onions, the project demonstrated to the participants the ease with which one can produce fruit and vegetables, and how student action can make a positive different to the local community and environment. The project was immensely successful, and was featured in Waitrose’s My Weekend magazine, helping to further raise awareness of food sustainability issues and the actions that can be taken to counteract these problems. Exemas Veg helped to support the University in reducing its carbon footprint through reducing students’ and staff usage of imported food, which saves carbon from food miles and packaging. The vegetable plants also helped to absorb CO2. The produce of the planting sessions were donated to local homeless charity St. Petrock’s, enabling local, less-fortunate people to have fresh vegetables for their Christmas meal, contributing the University’s social responsibility commitments. Many of the student participants felt inspired by the project, and it is hoped that they will continue to use the Community Garden to grow their own herbs in the future.
Case Study 55: UniSave Following the success of their Grand Challenges project, Lucy Battersby and Katie Hall worked with the Students’ Green Unit, which is part of The Students’ Guild, to create UniSave; a project aiming to encourage students in halls of residence on the campus to consider the environmental impact of their water usage. The pair became motivated to lead change upon discovering some statistics in their research for Grand Challenges. Lucy explained: “The average Exeter Uni student uses [about 204 litres of water] a day… we compared it to national figures [150 litres per day], so already we were seeing quite a big difference from Exeter compared to the average citizen… The UN said the average global citizen should be using [50 litres]… to fulfil a normal person’s needs, so just looking at those three figures there we thought… there’s something not right here” Leading a media campaign designed to educate students on how best to save water, Lucy and Katie created a Twitter account and Facebook page for the campaign, in order to promote the UniSave YouTube video, which has attracted almost 2,500 views. The pair also distributed 50 A5 leaflets sharing water saving tips to students at the Students’ Green Unit Showcase in May. To assess the project’s impact, UniSave asked students to complete surveys to gain an insight into the way in which students view and use water. The project’s long term goal is to see a significant reduction in the water consumption in student accommodation, having a financial benefit for the University, but also an environmental impact. UniSave also hopes to encourage first year students to use water more sparingly, which will save them money on water bills when they move on to student accommodation off campus. To monitor the effect of the YouTube video and the campaign on students behaviour, Andy Seaman, the University’s Energy Manager will be taking monthly energy readings in halls to see if the halls targeted have made a positive change. Lucy Battersby and Katie Hall
The UniSave YouTube video is available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pkAT4YFvVQ
Case Study 56: The One Planet Sustainability Challenge
The One Planet Sustainability Challenge was developed by students on the One Planet MBA course in early 2013, and, spurred on by the previous year’s overwhelming success, was continued for a second year by the new cohort of OPMBA students in 2014. The Challenge sought to bring a new generation of business leaders together to develop innovative and sustainable business solutions, through an international two-day MBA competition. The project was led by a team of six OPMBA students; with Matt Dearlove as Project Manager, Alexis Silva-Garbade handling Partners and Sponsors, Shuting Xu managing Participants Relations, Sandy Buban working on the Event Logistics, John Wride leading the Marketing and PR, and Jazz Singh-Khaira as the Topic Advisor, focusing on funding. One of the project’s key developments for 2013-14 was securing a new partnership with the Students’ Green Unit, allowing wider participation and further impetus on the impact and legacy of the event. Matt, the Project Manager for the One Planet Sustainability Challenge, commented: [We] “had a wealth of resources at the University; from the Geography department, [to the] Green Unit… It’s unbelievable how many people there are and the resources available from the University.” The event was held on the 12th and 13th of June 2014, and featured guest speakers from leading organisations with a strategic interest in recycling and waste management, in addition to providing a panel discussion, a networking dinner and the challenge presentations. The project placed much emphasis on International Relations, inviting organisations and MBA students from all over the world to participate, creating an opportunity for students from across the globe to connect with each other and with inspirational leaders working to create a more sustainable and socially responsible world. The event was attended by 30 students and 12 members of staff; from university academics, to Business Representatives, and provided a fantastic opportunity for the participants to network and potentially shape their careers. As a result of the project, Coca-Cola Enterprises and Interface adopted the waste and recycling management strategies proposed by the students participating in the challenge, which is an incredible success. The voluntary hours contributed by the project’s student leaders helped to raise money for a charity called ‘Support International’, saved approximately 300 hours of university staff time, and assisted the project in maintaining an active social media presence through the use of Facebook and Twitter. Matt added that: [The One Planet Sustainability Challenge] “really highlighted the key issues we face globally today… [and] allowed students to work in a controlled environment, as a team… [which] helped people learn from each other… It was not dominated from one person doing all the work, everyone was involved, everyone who was involved was very passionate, which was great to see.”
Case Study 57: Intelligent Lighting With the University having an overall carbon reduction target of 43% by 2020, the Intelligent Lighting project sought to help towards this target through the installation of lighting controls (e.g. absence detectors) on campus, upgrading old lighting with low energy efficiency. Led by Charan Uppal and James Whitmarsh, the Intelligent Lighting project sought to reduce the University’s overall carbon consumption. Charan and James worked closely with Andy Seaman (the University’s Energy Manager) to obtain data from various university buildings. They worked together to find out information regarding what lighting systems lend themselves best to the project, and made the decision to arrange for four new LED lighting systems to be installed into the SABB Office in Devonshire House. The project had a fantastic impact on the SABB officers who worked in the room where the lights were fitted, and were directly affected by the changes on a daily basis, and furthermore, will make a financial saving for the University over time. The project also had a direct impact on one of the project’s leaders, a Masters student from Engineering, who was able to use the project to gain first-hand experience working alongside electricians and liaising with the Estate Development Team, supporting the Green Unit’s key aim to ‘provide students with applied skills and experiences in sustainability, supporting future employment and employability.’ Charan, one of the project leaders, said of the project: “It was a great opportunity to meet people carrying out other projects... the project has made me better at turning off lights when I leave a room... [and] I’ve started to consider the issues which other projects are tackling.”
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