Wonkhe presents

The Secret Life of Students 2023

Being real, getting real

This event is more than 1 year old
14 March 2023, London

Shaw Theatre, Pullman London St Pancras Hotel

Get Directions

The Secret Life of Students 2023 is here. This page includes everything you need to to plan your day at Wonkhe’s event all about the student experience.

Default title

Wonkhe presents

The Secret Life of Students 2023

Being real, getting real

This event is more than 1 year old
14 March 2023, London

Shaw Theatre, Pullman London St Pancras Hotel

Get Directions

The Secret Life of Students 2023 is here. This page includes everything you need to to plan your day at Wonkhe’s event all about the student experience.

Default title

Programme for the day

8.30am Registration opens in the theatre foyer 

Tea and coffee will be available in the Nobel Suite

9.30am Introduction: time to get real

Wonkhe’s associate editor Jim Dickinson introduces our latest research in to the student experience in the auditorium.

9.50am Belonging in a cost of living crisis

The stats are dire and the initiatives have come thick and fast – but what sort of impact is the cost of living crisis having on the student learning experience? Do efforts to enable students to succeed in these circumstances normalise a thin and stretched student experience? 

Mady Baugh, President, Newcastle University Students’ Union, Amy Creighton, Democracy and Campaigns Development Coordinator, University of York students’ union, Andrew Wilson, Student and Disability Officer, University of Derby students’ union – chaired by Debbie McVitty, Wonkhe’s editor.

10:20am John Blake, Director for Fair Access and Participation, Office for Students in conversation

Wonkhe’s editor in chief Mark Leach will host a wide ranging conversation with John Blake about his agenda for student success, including time for an audience Q&A.

11.20am Break – Nobel Suite

11.40am The real risks to equality of opportunity

Tacking equality gaps in higher education remains a huge concern – particularly when some initiatives and efforts seem to fall foul of government guidance and preference. In this session we’ll bust some myths and seek to understand what really works when it comes to narrowing the gaps.

John Blake, Director for Fair Access and Participation, Office for Students, Omar Khan, Director, Centre for Transforming Access and Student Outcomes in HE (TASO), Sally Burtonshaw, Associate Director, Public First, John McKendrick, Commissioner for Fair Access in Scotland – chaired by Wonkhe’s editor Debbie McVitty.

12.20pm How to (re)calibrate the needle of trust

Post-Covid, there’s been lots of debate about the extent to which safety-net shifts in trusting students should be rolled back in the name of academic standards, as well as discussion about assessment methods that both appear to narrow awarding gaps and exacerbate allegations of cheating. How viable is it in 2023 to maintain the idea that every student should achieve a standard at the same pace? Where is the line between cheating and collaboration? And what could new AI tools mean for teaching, learning and assessment?

Tracey Horton, Head of Student Lifecycle, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Elizabeth Nixon, Associate Professor in Marketing, Nottingham University Business School, Phil Newton, Director of Learning and Teaching, Swansea University Medical School – chaired by Mike Ratcliffe, former academic registrar.

1.00pm Lunch (provided) – Nobel Suite

Or you stick around in the auditorium to watch a live recording of our weekly podcast The Wonkhe Show with Team Wonkhe & guests. 

1.50pm Cracking the code

So your department has a difficult NSS score on assessment fairness, and the Dean wants you to turn things around – fast. Or a flag goes up on your engagement analytic dashboard – what now? In a field teeming with data, finding out what is going on with the people behind the numbers can make the difference. In this session we’ll consider the role of the qualitative in turning data to action – and share new insight from our new student survey platform Belong on what students are really thinking. 

Charles Knight, Assistant Director, Knowledge and Innovation, Advance HE, Nicola Watchman-Smith, Deputy Director Student Learning, Teesside University – chaired by Wonkhe’s associate editor Sunday Blake.

2.30pm Why are students so left wing?

The political leanings of students have been central to the free speech debate that has played out in recent years – but is it nature, or nurture? Some would argue that the past decade has seen a huge expansion in higher education participation, opening up opportunity to more students than ever. Others would argue that politics is increasingly skewed away from students and young people’s economic interests. What’s really going on – and what should universities, SUs or governments do about it?

Eric Kaufmann, Professor of Politics at Birkbeck College, University of London, Elizabeth Simon, Postdoctoral researcher in British politics, Queen Mary University of London – chaired by Wonkhe’s associate editor Jim Dickinson.

3.15pm Break – Nobel Suite

3.45pm Secrets of the student experience

Increasingly universities are expected to have a handle on “difficult” aspects of the students’ experience: alcohol and drugs, sexual harassment, and sex work. In this session, we will think through the various frames available for managing behaviours and the implications for students, university policy, and the competencies of university staff. 

Nic Beech Vice Chancellor, Middlesex University and chair of the UUK drugs taskforce, Amy Norton, Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Office for Students – chaired by Wonkhe’s associate editor Sunday Blake.

4.30pm How to become a perfect student

Before they can succeed, we have lots of ideas about what a “good” student ought to know and be able to do – but are those ideas universal across generations, subjects and student characteristics? And how confident are students, their universities and their SUs that they’re meeting those ideals? We’ll share new polling and debate the issue with others involved in student “becoming”.

Michelle Morgan, Student experience transitions specialist & Dean of Students, University of East London, Tiffany Chiu, Senior Teaching Fellow in Educational Development, Imperial College London, Billy Wong, Associate Professor in Widening Participation and Deputy Programme Director PG Research Studies at the Institute of Education, University of Reading – chaired by Wonkhe SUs community & policy officer Livia Scott.

5.15pm Close

Drinks reception to launch Belong, the student insight platform at The Somers Town Coffee House, from 5.30 pm until late.

All slides and resources will be made available shortly the end of the event.

Programme subject to change.

The Secret Life of Students takes place at the Shaw Theatre, next to the Pullman London St Pancras Hotel – Map: 100-110 Euston Rd, London NW1 2AJ. All registered delegates have received full joining instructions including further venue details, if you have not, please email events@wonkhe.com.

Tickets

The event has now sold out.

You can join a waiting list here.

Speakers

  • John Blake

    Director for Fair Access & Participation, Office for Students

    John’s role is to ensure universities and colleges are doing all they can to support learners from all backgrounds, especially the most disadvantaged, to access and succeed in higher education. John is an executive member of the OfS board.

  • John McKendrick

    Commissioner for Fair Access for Scotland

    John McKendrick is Commissioner for Fair Access for Scotland. John is Professor of Social Justice at Glasgow Caledonian University, where he co-directs the Scottish Poverty and Inequality Research Unit.

  • Omar Khan

    Director, Centre for Transforming Access and Student Outcomes in HE (TASO)

    Omar Khan is Director of the Centre for Transforming Access and Students Outcomes in Higher Education (TASO). Omar joined TASO from race equality think tank the Runnymede Trust, where he had been Director since 2014. Prior to this, Omar was Head of Policy at the Runnymede Trust and led its financial inclusion programme. Omar holds … Continued

  • Sally Burtonshaw

    Associate Director, Public First

    Sally is an Associate Director in Public First’s Education Practice where she leads work on post-18 education policy. Previously, Sally was Head of Policy at London Higher where she led the Policy Team, representing over fifty London HEIs across a range of policy issues. Previously, Sally has worked on access and participation policy at fair … Continued

  • Michelle Morgan

    Student experience transitions specialist & Dean of Students, University of East London

    Michelle is a HE student transition and experience specialist and practitioner. She develops initiatives based on pragmatic and practical research to improve the experience of students and staff. The impact of her work is to enable students to succeed to the best of their ability in a high quality HE environment that challenges and supports … Continued

  • Sunday Blake

    Associate Editor, Wonkhe

    Sunday Blake is President at Exeter Guild of Students

  • Nic Beech

    Vice chancellor, Middlesex University
  • Amy Norton

    Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Office for Students

    Amy Norton is Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Office for Students,

  • Charles Knight

    Assistant Director, Knowledge and Innovation, Advance HE

    Charles Knight is Assistant Director, Knowledge and Innovation at Advance HE

  • Jim Dickinson

    Associate Editor, Wonkhe

    Jim is an Associate Editor at Wonkhe and takes a particular interest in the student experience, university governance, and regulation – and leads our work with students’ unions. His career background is in support for student leadership. He has held senior roles at the National Union of Students – where he led on SU development, … Continued

  • Elizabeth Nixon

    Associate Professor in Marketing, Nottingham University Business School

    Elizabeth Nixon is Associate Professor in Marketing at Nottingham University Business School.

  • Eric Kaufmann

    Professor of Politics at Birkbeck, University of London

    Eric Kaufmann is Professor of Politics at Birkbeck, University of London.

  • Debbie McVitty

    Editor, Wonkhe

    Debbie McVitty, Editor, Wonkhe

  • Nicola Watchman Smith

    Deputy Director Student Learning, Teesside University

    Dr Nicola Watchman Smith (PhD, PFHEA) is Deputy Director of Student Learning at Teesside University, and previously Head of the Teaching Excellence Awards at Advance HE. At Advance HE Nicola oversaw the CATE and National Teaching Fellowship (NTF) schemes and their Apprenticeships service, informing approaches to professional recognition in UK-based higher education. She sits on … Continued

  • Phil Newton

    Director of Learning and Teaching, Swansea University Medical School

    Phil Newton is the Director of Learning and Teaching for the Swansea University Medical School.

  • Tracey Horton

    Head of Student Lifecycle, Cardiff Metropolitan University

    Tracey Horton is Head of Student Lifecycle at Cardiff Metropolitan University.

  • Mike Ratcliffe

    Former Academic Registrar

    Mike Ratcliffe was the Academic Registrar at Nottingham Trent University. Mike is a career academic administrator, who’s also held senior posts at Winchester and Oxford Brookes universities. Having become unnaturally interested in universities in themselves, he is particularly fascinated with their history and philosophy and has been doing postgraduate study at the UCL Institute of … Continued

  • Elizabeth Simon

    Postdoctoral researcher in British politics, Queen Mary University of London

    Elizabeth is a Postdoctoral Researcher in British Politics at Queen Mary University of London

  • Livia Scott

    Community and Policy Officer, Wonkhe

    Livia Scott is Wonkhe SUs’ Community and Policy Officer. A history student who has completed both an undergraduate and postgraduate degree, Livia served as the full time elected Education Officer at Newcastle University Students’ Union in 2021/22. A former peer mentor, at Newcastle Livia led on work to promote the student interest as we emerged … Continued

  • Billy Wong

    Associate Professor in Widening Participation and Deputy Programme Director PG Research Studies at the Institute of Education, University of Reading

    Billy Wong is Associate Professor in Widening Participation and Deputy Programme Director PG Research Studies at the Institute of Education, University of Reading.

  • Tiffany Chiu

    Senior Teaching Fellow in Educational Development, Imperial College London

    Tiffany Chiu is a Senior Teaching Fellow in Educational Development at Imperial College London.

  • Andrew Wilson

    Student and Disability Officer, University of Derby students' union

    Andrew is a Student and Disability Officer at University of Derby students’ union

  • Mark Leach

    Founder & Editor in Chief, Wonkhe and former Labour adviser

    Mark Leach is the founder, Editor in Chief and CEO of Wonkhe. Mark worked in policy, politics and public affairs in and around UK higher education and founded Wonkhe in 2011 while working as a jobbing policy wonk in the sector. The first part of his career took him to the National Union of Students, … Continued

  • Mady Baugh

    President, Newcastle University Students' Union

    Mady Baugh is President at Newcastle University Students’ Union

  • Amy Creighton

    Democracy and Campaigns Development Coordinator, University of York students' union

    Amy is Democracy and Campaigns Development Coordinator at University of York Students’ Union.

Tickets

The event has now sold out.

You can join a waiting list here.