This month I got the opportunity to speak with 3 politicians/political influencers which are linked to our university in some way. The MP and Minister of State for Universities, Chris Skidmore, MP of Welwyn Hatfield, Grant Shapps, and the Chancellor of Uni of Hertfordshire Lord Salisbury. Had great conversations with all of them, I brought up issues around tackling student loneliness, I spoke out for the reintroduction of Maintenance grants and the benefits of students having access to a personalized learning experience. Despite my disagreements with the Conservative party I felt that these conversations were mutually useful and was glad to see that they all shared a passion for education and student experience. Pictures bellow 🙂
I also co-led the College Lane “The Secret Life of a PhD” network event which was great! I am glad that those who attended enjoyed it and learnt a lot about the opportunity of doing a PhD.
I got involved in discussions within the university around the idea of how the university can create an online platform which tracks your engagement/learning journey – they call it “Data For Learning”. We discussed what should be included – attendance, or library books borrowed, or assignment grades, or even as far as being in societies/sport teams. It reminded me of my manifesto point “3) Transparency! From the start of you course; know exactly how many lecturers/seminars you must attend to pass AND how your degree grade is classified (explained in simple terms)” - although the ideas do not directly mirror one another they do echo. I believe it is important that students have a clear way of understanding their learning progress and where they are in achieving their desired grade – so I am glad this type of information is being made accessible for students, and really pleased to be a part of that conversation 🙂
And I turned 23! 😀
Zaina
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