Universities traditionally engage with students by listening to the ‘student voice’: asking students for their perspectives via surveys or course evaluations. There is a growing body of work that suggests we should be looking beyond the notion of ‘simply listening’ to the student voice (Matthews, 2017). Student/staff partnerships or students as partners, as often referred to in the literature moves beyond seeing student perspectives simply as a source of data (Mercer-Mapstone and Marie, 2019).

Partnership refers to a relationship where each partner “is actively engaged in – and stands to benefit from – the process of learning and working together” (Healey, Flint and Harrington, 2014:7).  The outcomes of partnerships can be unpredictable (Matthews, 2017) and therefore challenging to implement as a way of thinking and working in higher education but the added value of bringing student and staff perspectives together to enhance practice (Mercer-Mapstone and Marie, 2019), experiences and drive positive change should outweigh any risk.

The workshop will introduce the Hull Student/Staff Partnership Scheme (SSPS), which launched in April 2019, supporting students and staff to work together on either pre-determined or approved project proposals.  The project-based model employed allows both local and more strategic focus and has been informed by relevant literature and dialogue with experts in the field.

The workshop will share the highs and lows of striving towards the vision, ‘to create a transparent, inclusive and authentic culture of working together that allows students and staff to shape and develop a transformative learning, teaching, and student experience’.

The workshop will also present an opportunity for attendees to discuss the benefits and challenges to partnership working, share ideas as well as contribute to the further development of the SSPS, which works for Hull.

Healey, M., Flint, A. and Harrington, K. (2014)  Engagement Through Partnership: Students as Partners in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education. York: HE Academy.  Retrieved from, https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/engagement-through-partnership-students-partners-learning-and-teaching-higher-education.

Matthews, K.E. (2017)  Five Propositions for Genuine Students as Partners Practice.  International Journal for Students as Partners. 1(2), 1-9.

Mercer-Mapstone, L., and Marie, J. (2019). Practical Guide: Scaling up student-staff partnerships in higher education. Institute for Academic Development: University of Edinburgh.