Student Futures Manifesto

Student Consults and Staff Mentors

Hear from Our Student Consultants and Staff Mentors

Each of our student consultants were interviewed for their specialised theme and showed a passion for bringing improvements to student life, confidence, academic progress, and their social skills. One consultant was recruited for each of the project themes.

The students were shortlisted and appointed by the Students' Union's Vice President Education and Group Deputy Chief Executive, with a University staff member, the Dean of the Lincoln Academy of Learning and Teaching (LALT) also on the appointment panel. The student consultants were supported institutionally through LALT, with recruitment and training being provided by the Students' Union. To assist student consultants in their role, a suite of support and training was established to guide them, emphasising the commitment of the University to work in partnership with the Students' Union, with a focus on enhancing student experiences.

Grace Smith

"Thank you for providing this opportunity, I have gained so many skills and experiences from it and I hope our recommendations come together to improve the student experience!"

What did you learn from being a student consultant?

"I learnt some great interview skills in the hiring process, and then I developed my report writing skills in putting the final piece together, as well as my public engagement skills in terms of gaining feedback. This is only a few things, but the list could go on for a really long time as it is a very enriching experience!

"My staff mentors really helped me see experiences from a view which is not my own and helped me develop my ideas throughout the process. These skills, particularly seeing things from a different viewpoint, will be very beneficial in my next career steps."

Efe Ejowve

"As a student consultant, I gained an understanding of the complexities and nuances involved in higher education, particularly in terms of aligning teaching methods with student expectations."

What did you learn from being a student consultant?

"As a student consultant, I gained an understanding of the complexities and nuances involved in higher education, particularly in terms of aligning teaching methods with student expectations. This experience underscored the significance of working collaboratively with both students and academic faculty to co-create solutions that elevate the quality of the educational experience. Additionally, I learned the importance of effective communication in presenting findings and recommendations to stakeholder.

"Working with my staff mentor, I honed my stakeholder engagement, critical thinking, and presentation skills which are valuable and will contribute to my effectiveness in managing projects, consulting, and managing stakeholders in my career."

It was such a privilege to work with Efe. Her passion for enhancing every student's experience in an inclusive way, irrespective of their background, was truly inspiring. This just emphasises the power of co-creation and reminds us all that students and staff working in genuine partnership yields powerful results for everybody.

Jo Rushworth

Staff Mentor

Joshua Measures

"We had to learn a lot for this role, we needed good communication with staff and colleges, as well as to be able to talk to students and be able to listen while conducting interviews to get to the bottom of their issues."

What did you learn from being a student consultant?

"One of the most important skills was organisation and communication, with bi-weekly meetings and making sure reports were updated. We had to combine two different perspectives along with research we built up over the weeks together to make the report. This has given me a great experience dealing with different people with different ideas — it also helped critical thinking. Lastly, it helped to develop my documentation skills through having to keep notes meetings, storing research from multiple sources, and displaying it in a way so everyone can understand, which is key if I want to tackle bigger projects in life."

Our student consultant provided excellent insight on what we are missing from a careers service, the specific proposals around engagement have been really helpful as some of the recommendations are changes we are already making. It has given the service confidence that these specific changes were the right ones to make.

Harpaul Dhindsa

Student Mentor and Head of Careers and Employability

Seema Miah

"Working as a student consultant helped me further develop my understanding of the University and how the system works both inside and outside the curriculum."

What did you learn from being a student consultant?

"I feel as a student consultant I was able to learn more about the different departments within the University. It was interesting as I was able to witness the unity between all departments and the enthusiasm to wanting to improve the student experience.

"Working as a student consultant helped me further develop my understanding of the University and how the system works both inside and outside the curriculum. As someone who is interested in medical education and university experiences, I feel like this understanding will help me be able to identify any strengths or weaknesses in the future, when I am hopefully working in medical education. I believe this will be a great skill to have so that I can one day make improvements and changes to the medical education system."