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Fiona Walsh McDonnell

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Fiona Walsh McDonnell

Fiona Walsh McDonnell is a higher education consultant with Counterculture.

Fiona was previously the Partnerships and Development Director at Student Hubs, supporting the growth and development of Student Hubs’ social action opportunities with UK universities.

You can find Fiona at @Fiona_Walshh on X (formerly known as Twitter).

11 pieces

Newest first, since September 2023

  1. · SUs

    Transforming academic representation goes beyond course reps

    Academic representation needs to become a bigger strategic priority. Fiona Walsh McDonnell shares why remodelling the course rep structure is only one part of the bigger picture for transforming academic representation.

  2. · SUs

    Three questions every SU should ask about society finances

    Rosie Hunnam and Fiona Walsh argue that overly complex society finance processes don’t protect unions – they drain staff capacity, erode trust, and stop students from doing things together

    With Rosie Hunnam

  3. · SUs

    Backing volunteering in an engagement crisis

    With tighter budgets and leaner teams, student volunteering provision by SUs is under threat. Fiona Walsh McDonnell shares how to make the case to protect volunteering provision.

  4. · SUs

    Checking the vital signs of student changemaking

    Making change on campus is tough, and even tougher when students’ unions can’t see what is going wrong. Fiona Walsh McDonnell argues that looking out for these vital signs of changemaking can help.

  5. · SUs

    Three things freshers want to know this autumn term

    Fiona Walsh McDonnell thinks ahead for the new term and answers some of the key questions freshers will have on their minds and what SUs can do to support.

  6. · SUs

    How can SUs get civic-al

    Rosie Hunnam and Fiona Walsh McDonnell explore what civic engagement means for students’ unions and how they can get involved.

    With Rosie Hunnam

  7. · Comment

    The crisis in the youth sector is a big problem for universities

    Fiona Walsh McDonnell explores the crisis unfolding in the youth sector and the impact on access to higher education

  8. · SUs

    Why closing doesn’t mean failing

    Fiona Walsh McDonnell shares her experience on closing activities at Student Hubs and what the higher education sector can learn.

  9. · SUs

    We cannot leave social action activities to chance

    As Student Hubs closes at the end of this month, Fiona Walsh McDonnell reflects on their legacy resources and their history of delivering student social action.

  10. · SUs

    Ensuring students can access our training

    Following the flurry of Welcome Week, it’s that time of year where the training and slide decks are coming back out, and we’re thinking ahead to an exciting year of delivery for students. But there”s an elephant in the r

  11. · Comment

    One Community Forums help student volunteers and universities work in partnership with their communities

    Student Hubs and the UPP Foundation have piloted a new approach to coordinating student community volunteering activity. Fiona Walsh explains