REACT Project Launched!

Tuesday 03-11-2015 - 18:01
Harry articles

Hi, my name is Harry Sampson and I’m your friendly neighbourhood Communications Officer. Today we’ll be talking about the fantastic REACT Project.

Do you know what student engagement is? Chances are most of you will mention something along the lines of “engagement involving students”, but in reality the term is much more than that. It encompasses the degree of attention, curiosity and passion that students show towards achieving a high level of motivation, learning and progress during their time at university.

This extra engagement is becoming an essential for students searching for a strong competitive advantage in the real world of getting a great job. With rising numbers of people obtaining a university education, employers are looking for something that separates you from the crowd. This can be in the form of becoming a society chair, volunteering regularly or promoting excellent communication with the student body (*hint, hint*).

To the eagle-eyed amongst you, it should now be painfully obvious that education providers and related bodies love student engagement and try to do all they can to assist its development. However, that is where the trouble appears: how do you promote student engagement, especially for hard-to-reach groups?

This is where the REACT Collaborative Development Programme comes in!

REACT is a project designed to comprehensively investigate the impact of various engagement methods on the student experience over a period of two years. Its purpose is to identify and share best practices for advancing student engagement nationally. They hope to achieve this through in-depth case studies and the development of open source resources that focus on highlighting the tools, strategies and frameworks that different institutions can learn from.

It became a reality through the combination of three core institutions; the University of Exeter, London Metropolitan University and our own University of Winchester. This number will grow to include a further ten volunteer institutions that will allow for even more opportunities for research into the mysterious realm of student engagement.

At the launch of the project on Monday yours truly was in attendance along with many fellow SU Officers, lecturers and members of the University’s staff; including our very own Tom Lowe, former Vice-President Education. Liz Stuart, a Deputy Vice-Chancellor, took to the stage to thank the REACT team for their dedication and to wish them well for the next two years of the project, even describing the project itself as a “sector-changing product”. Others also there complimented the high calibre of the project’s organisation and their focus on “going behind the scenes” to discover more about student engagement.

Beyond my usual pleas for students to jump in the diverse pool of various University and SU goings-on, I would say checking out the REACT Project and keeping updated on its activities and research is a very good idea!

Details below:

  • Website: www.studentengagement.ac.uk
  • Twitter: @REACT_SE
  • Email: react@winchester.ac.uk

Related Tags :

REACT, student, engagement, Tom Lowe,

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