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Wonkhe SUs · The 2026 webinar box set

More than your degree

The value and policy surrounding student activities and opportunities.

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We trace how student activities have shifted from rites of passage to employability and back towards social value, what the data tells us about their link to confidence, friendship and belonging, and the barriers of time and money. We work through the Safe Adventures report and trustee responsibility for activity safety, the student-led versus SU-led question, and how to get students in and keep them there.

What we cover

  • A short history – from Victorian activism to 1990s employability and today's focus on social value.
  • The scale – 86 SUs with over 88,000 student volunteers, dwarfing many national charities.
  • Access barriers – physical, financial, human and cultural, and what makes opportunities more accessible.
  • How activities are changing – time poverty, cost of living, and whether volunteering still has a place.
  • The value of opportunities – strong associations with career confidence, friendship and a sense of community.
  • What's stopping students – work hours, money and lack of friends, and the link to OfS Risk 7.
  • Safe Adventures – the sector-wide safety review after a student died on a trip, the gaps it found, and trustee responsibility.
  • Student-led or SU-led? – the trade-offs between volunteer energy and the SU's knowledge and networks.
  • A bit of both – making involvement developmental and genuine, without everyone needing to be a committee member.
  • Things to think about – recruit, retain and reward, and linking participation to outcomes without being purely utilitarian.

Things to read

← The 2026 webinar box set