The Secret Life of Students 2023

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.