Tuesday 26-03-2024 - 16:34

Pedram Bani Asadi, SU Co-President ULaw, Foreword - Through my work at the SU Co-President Union Development over the past year and a half to advocate for student voice on a national level, our SU has built relationships with national bodies – such as the NUS (National Union of Students), members of parliament, local politicians and UKCISA (UK Council for International Student Affairs). One of our students and SU Leader was able to secure the position of panellist for a recently concluded APPG (All-Party Parliamentary Group Meeting) in Westminster discussing the topics of cultivating skills, employability and preparing students for the future. Oluwasola writes about his experience below.

Oluwasola Adesulu - I attended the APPG on Students as a panellist to provide insight into a project I lead at the Student Union – the InspireX Student Project. Further to this, my presence as a panellist was also to promote the role Higher Education Institutions do play in the development of student skills and achieving favorable educational outcomes for the country. With the growing spotlight on alternative ways to skills development such as apprenticeships and the likes, there has been a growing conversation about the capability of HEIs to deliver the necessary educational outcomes for students who choose HE and in doing so, deliver with value for money for all stakeholders involved. My position on the panel was this: despite the various issues that might be facing the HE sector at the moment, HEIs still play an important role in delivering needed educational outcomes, especially for younger students who choose the path of HE on their various educational journeys. I suggested that we need to see more of a collaborative relationship between Educators and Student Voice advocates in co-designing methods and approaches that produces the expected high academic results [achievements] that the sector has been known to champion for time immemorial. My focus was on interest-based activities on campus and the platform they provide to allow for useful and measured skill development outcomes.

InspireX is a student union project with the aim of exploring the function of Student Societies in providing avenues for actively developing practical students’ skills. The goal is to complement the learning students have in the classroom and capitalize on the natural motivation students have for social interaction and building groups around interest-based activities.

We are interacting with senior stakeholders from the University to build-in input from educators as to what will constitute a feasible plan with academic goals and employability taken into consideration. We are hoping at the end of students interacting with societies at the University of Law, they will have gained very practical skills that are measured, which will easily be transferable and useful in various working environments. To find out more about this project please visit: https://studentsunion.law.ac.uk/inspirex [Best viewed on desktop at the moment. Mobile friendly version pending upload]

The APPG was put together by the NUS (National Union of Students) and this was the second time I was attending a forum on students in Parliament. I got there early, and I was a little bit nervous as a panellist. I had time to go through my notes and get mentally prepared. Minutes went by, and eventually, I was joined by colleagues from the University of Law London and Birmingham campuses. The two SU co-presidents were present as well. We met various NUS representatives in the room including the VP Liberation & Equality – Nehaal Bajwa. We did not have Chole Field (VP Higher Education) in the room, but I was able to catch a glimpse of her walking down the hallway outside the room just before I went in – I did not say hi, I was trying to focus on remembering all of my points (sorry Chloe).

The panel was made up of 5 panellists and we were joined by Lord Willetts – member of the House of Lords as Chair. He stood in the stead of Paul Blomfield MP who we were all expecting, but Paul had a voting session on the house floor at the time. All of the panellists were given an opportunity to speak on the issue at hand. I was the 4^th to speak. “The future of learning, skills development and the future of education for our young people in the country, remains in Higher Education” this was how I had started. Immediately after delivering all my points, I was wondering if anyone could make sense of what I had said and I was worried if my points could be understood. I was relieved quickly and became overjoyed when Lord Willetts – the chair, said to me shortly afterwards “As a former Universities Minister, I understand what you are saying.” I felt accomplished.

There was an opportunity for other students in the room from various educational backgrounds to speak on the topic at hand as well. We saw the conversation from these students go towards Artificial Intelligence, Online Learning and Virtual Reality, Apprenticeships and T-Levels, curriculum design and flexibility – it was wide ranging. Paul Blomfield MP eventually joined us in the middle of the discussion, but he couldn’t stay till the end. Overall, it was a great experience. At the end of the day, I was incredibly proud that I was able to go to parliament and stand up for the Higher Education sector boldly with some of the most senior policy makers in Westminster – especially at a time when there has been constant negative coverage of the HE sector in the UK from all sides. It needed a voice, and I hope I have been able to contribute positively to the narrative. Echoing the sentiments of Professor Nick Jennings in his very brilliant open letter to the sector: “We can’t assume that everyone knows the breadth and depth of the impact universities have on communities, economies, and lives around the world. The onus is on us to change the narrative.”

Many thanks to the NUS, our Co-Presidents: Pedram Bani Asadi and Huma Hasan; Susana Kyei, James Pierson, all the other panellists: Bernie Savage, Simon Phipp, Annabel May, Eddie Playfair; and ultimately the University of Law and ULaw Students’ Union.

I am looking forward to getting a permanent role within HE soon and continue to do excellent work on behalf of students and the sector as a whole. Please do reach out to me via LinkedIn: Oluwasola O’Adesulu

The God be the Glory