The focus over the next few months will have members attending sessions, taking part in focus groups and participation in surveys to ensure the student voice is fully represented across the region.
Studiosity
Catherine O’Donnell, Research and Impact Manager, presented the Studiosity platform to the Student Panel. Studiosity offers peer-to-peer learning support to students outside regular office hours.
Students can ask for writing and referencing feedback on specific assignments from their peers all around the world or get one to one support from another Ulster University student.
As part of this we are currently also recruiting final years at UU that get connected with first year students from the same programmes.
Panellists were enthusiastic about the support this scheme offers to the first years.
Although some of the panellists had already used the writing and referencing support, none of the members had heard about the mentoring side of Studiosity.
The Student Panellists offered the following feedback and suggestions for the Studiosity project:
- As the writing and referencing feedback comes from students outside Ulster University it isn’t always as useful, as professors at different universities sometimes have different preferences
- The writing feedback helps to know if your assignment makes sense and if there are any structural issues
- Students receive a lot of emails, so it’s important to advertise in different places and using different methods such as sharing information via the course representatives and course directors
Riverside Theatre
The Riverside Theatre Manager Roseanne Sturgeon and UUSU VP for the Coleraine campus Curtis Donan stopped by the Student Panel to discuss the repositioning of the Riverside theatre.
Sturgeon and Donan are working on an exciting new programme committee including students that will be able to coproduce the themes of the activities taking place at the theatre.
This initiative is being pioneered in Coleraine, but will later be expanded to other campuses as well.
Students will not only get the opportunity to have an impact on Riverside’s activity calendar, but they will also get the chance to receive experience working for a theatre in a paid role.
Anyone who is interested in joining the programme committee can contact Roseanne Sturgeon via email.
Panellists were very excited about the idea that students will get the opportunity to weigh in on the activity calendar and that they will be able to organise student lead and created productions of a real theatre.
The following suggestions were brought up for future activities by Panellists:
- Showcase local talents for gigs such as students who participated in The Voice
- Activities around mindfulness and meditation
- Letting drama students use the theatre for their performances
- Explore transport options across our campuses to allow students from other campuses to participate in activities at the Riverside Theatre
Jordanstown Campus Activation
As Jordanstown campus is still being used by students for Semester 2, the campus is being reactivated by Student Experience Business Support Officer Sarah Grehan.
Grehan came to the Student Panel to ask the Panellists what kind of activities students would like to see on their campus. Panellists offered the following feedback:
- Students don’t want the last Semester of teaching on Jordanstown campus to go by unnoticed. Activities such as quiz nights, pyjama parties, ABBA tribute night, treasure hunt and other activities organised by the UUSU would be welcomed
- Societies could organise activities that are open to any students, which would also allow students to get a first taste of clubs they haven’t previously attended