UCB hears all with The Listening Project

UCB students, lecturers and support staff gathered in droves to take part in The Listening Project, a day-long student conference devoted to improving every element of life at the University.

All student representatives and 100 randomly selected students from across further education, higher education and apprenticeship courses came together to voice their opinions on life at college or university. With frank, open discussions covering everything from preferred teaching styles to the kinds of additional support available, no stone was left unturned.  

Following an introduction by UCB’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor Alex Lofthouse, international athlete and successful lawyer Julz Adineran started proceedings with a key-note speech about the importance of ambition, resilience to adversity and drive for student success.   

After Julz’ words of wisdom, a quick-fire student voice panel debate, which saw Vice-Chancellor Ray Linforth and a selection of other staff members in the hotseat, presented an opportunity to provide candid responses to points raised by students. For those less confident in front of a crowd, graffiti wall and ‘letter to my lecturer’ activities ensured every student had their opinions heard.

A deeper look at the motivations, study patterns and learning styles of the ‘typical’ UCB student also gave staff an opportunity to assess how their own teaching methods could better adapt to millennial student habits.

“This event was all about emphasising the value of students’ voices at UCB,” said the University’s Director of Teaching and Learning, Amy Hollier.

“We received some fantastic feedback from students, which not only can we direct into improvements at UCB now, we can also use to make next year’s project even more of a success.”

Responses collated from students on the day will also be gathered together and presented to all staff at UCB’s Annual Summer Conference by the Directorate for Teaching and Learning Enhancement.