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Student Engagement Conference 2024: Fostering a holistic approach to success

This conference will focus on good practice in engaging students, the student voice and student participation in the governance and decision-making processes within HE.

Now in its fourth year, this conference will build on lessons learned and the latest thinking to delve further into what we learn from the data, from students, from staff, from other countries, and other types of institution to improve the student experience. The in-person conference will allow valuable networking and informal sharing alongside the formal conference elements to build together our understanding of student engagement.

Featuring a mix of expert keynotes and panel sessions, the conference will also include interactive workshops from the sector sharing best practice initiatives.

Register your interest in the Student Engagement Conference 2025

Register here

Who should attend?

Those with responsibility for the student academic experience and student engagement more widely, SU teams wishing to widen their student engagement, course leaders seeking to have a more engaged cohort and others focused on the student experience and improving student outcomes.

We welcome student delegates and presenters who can attend the conference at a 50% discounted rate

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Student Engagement Conference Programme 2024

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Student Engagement Conference Abstracts 2024

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Keynote Speaker

Tom Lowe

Tome Lowe
Tom Lowe is a Senior Lecturer in higher education at the University of Portsmouth, where his research includes student engagement in educational developments, embedding employability into the curriculum and supporting student belonging.

Panellist

Josh Freeman

Policy Manager
,
Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI)
Josh Freeman
Josh is Policy Manager at the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI). He was formerly a Maths and Politics Teacher. He recently completed a Masters in Global Governance and Diplomacy from the University of Oxford. At HEPI, his research has covered a number of topics including the cost-of-living crisis, student debating unions and foundation years.

Cheryl Chingosho

Vice President of Welfare
Cheryl Chingosho
Cheryl Chingosho, currently serves as Vice President of Welfare at the University of South Wales Students Union, with a profound commitment to improving the health and well-being of students in Wales.

Simon Varwell

Director of Student Engagement and Representation
,
Highlands and Islands Students’ Association
Simon Varwell Profile Image
Simon Varwell is the Director of Student Engagement and Representation at the Highlands and Islands Students’ Association at UHI (the University of the Highlands and Islands). He has held this post since November 2023, prior to which he spent sixteen years at sparqs, Scotland’s national agency for student engagement, where he led institutional support and staff development activities.

Laura Bold

VP Welfare & Community
,
Bath Spa University
Laura Bold
Laura Bold is the current VP Welfare & Community at Bath Spa SU for the 2023/24 academic year, and was the VP Education for the 2022/23 year. In her team, she works on all things related to the student community - this includes welfare, mental health and wellbeing, equality, diversity and inclusion, housing, and the SU's relationship with the local council and local residents. Laura works closely with the student Networks at Bath Spa, supporting them to make change and ensuring minoritised and marginalised voices are listened to as the SU develops.
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Event Sponsor

evasys

Let the HE experts transform the way your institution conducts student surveys and evaluations.

evasys is the leading provider of student evaluation and insight solutions to the HE sector, with more than 60 partner institutions across the UK and Ireland and over 1,000, worldwide.

evasys provides a holistic, integrated, end-to-end survey process that will revolutionise your approach to collecting student feedback, coupled with implementation and ongoing support from a dedicated UK team.

evasys works exclusively with HE and related institutions within the UK and Ireland, providing a sector-specific focus that is complemented by the four senior managers who have all worked in universities, collectively representing over 60 years’ experience and expertise in the sector.

Widely integrated with other education technology systems such as virtual learning environments (VLEs) and student apps, evasys provides instant and detailed feedback reports for course and module leaders, as well as extensive insights and management information for academic managers.

Fully supported pilots are available to allow institutions to easily understand the benefits of a central, digital system that enhances student engagement/retention and facilitates module and course leader engagement.

Find out more
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Student Voice

Student Voice excels in the nuanced analysis of free-text feedback across a multitude of surveys within the higher education sector. Our platform interprets and categorises responses from course evaluations, module feedback, and institutional assessments, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of the student experience.

Our proficiency in handling unstructured, free-text responses allows institutions to unlock the full potential of open-ended feedback. With advanced machine learning technology, we transform free-text comments into actionable insights, providing a deeper, data-driven understanding of student perspectives.

We are proud to collaborate with leading universities, including the University of Edinburgh, University College London (UCL), and Queen's University Belfast, as well as esteemed sector bodies like AdvanceHE and Jisc. These partnerships are a testament to our commitment to excellence and our ability to deliver meaningful analysis that informs educational strategies and improves student satisfaction.

With Student Voice, institutions can embrace the rich, unstructured data from free-text feedback, turning it into a strategic asset for continuous improvement and educational success.

Find out more
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Explorance

Explorance empowers higher education institutions with next-generation feedback analytics to accelerate the insight-to-action cycle. As a collaborative partner, Explorance aligns with institutions that embrace a feedback culture, where open and courageous conversations are encouraged to drive purpose, impact, and growth.

In an AI-driven world where feedback is a critical tool that can lead to improved decision-making, Explorance stands by the philosophy of "Feedback for the brave.” Committed to amplifying the voices of students, staff, and faculty, Explorance tailors its solutions for institutions to advance vital initiatives through student and employee feedback: Teaching Effectiveness, Learning Excellence, Student Experience, Staff Engagement.

Founded in 2003, Explorance is headquartered in Montreal, Canada. Working with over 750 organizations around the world, including 25% of the QS-Top 100, some of Explorance’s customers include University of Bristol, University of Strathclyde, Durham University, Birkbeck, University of London, University of Westminster, Coventry University, University of Manchester, Cardiff University, and many more.

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Solutionpath

Solutionpath are student engagement specialists, providing a unique way to visualise and interpret student engagement data and inform student success strategies. The StREAM Student Engagement platform turns participation in academic learning into a simple and universal engagement score allowing you to easily pinpoint changes in engagement and when a student may need your support. With an ethical approach to using data, the platform hosts an engagement dashboard visible to both tutors and students. This empowers students to take control of their own learning journey and enables tutors to have more meaningful conversations and a better understanding of what teaching and learning strategies and resources are working. Research at one of our clients, the University of Essex, has shown a 54% reduction in withdrawal rates over the last 4 years for students averaging Very Low engagement at week 6. With StREAM, the University has adopted a broad view of engagement that has allowed them to focus support on those students most at risk of early withdrawal.

The StREAM platform has been designed to enhance the experience for both students and staff, supporting student retention, wellbeing and attainment initiatives. Used by over 25 progressive institutions in the UK, we are the first of its kind to deliver measurable value for our clients.

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The Student Engagement Conference was a fantastic space to network with colleagues, discuss best practice, and learn from great projects, initiatives, and from students themselves about what they want to see from their student experience."

Mack Marshall, Education Officer, Newcastle University Students' Union