Presentation made by one of my CEDE colleagues 24th June 2013

1. Student-led, employer-
focused, extra-curricular activity
Dr Glynis Perkin – Loughborough University
Fiona Lamb – Loughborough University
Alison Ahearn – Imperial College London

2. Overview
• Student-led Activity – what it involves
• Student-led Symposia – how it works
• National Student-led Symposia – still evolving
• Student Presentations – international audience
• ‘Practice Transfer Custodians’ – student-led activities
adopted by seven universities

3. Student-led, Employer-focused Activity
Extra-
curricular
activity
Student-
led, empl
oyer
focused
activity
Student-led, employer-
focused activity is
started and run by
students themselves

4. Benefits of Student-led Activity
Development of employability skills that enable students
to stand out from the crowd:
• Interaction with employers
• Communication
• Project management
• Team working
• Fundraising
• Finance management

5. Setting-up Student-led Activity
• In 2010 Loughborough University set up student-
led activity with HE STEM funding
• Imperial College London has well-developed and
extensive student–led activities
• Loughborough staff and students were helped by
Imperial staff and students
• Good working relationships developed

6. Getting Started
• Contacted employers and members of
Professional Bodies – asked for support and ideas
• Students e-mailed and invited to a meeting
• Ideas discussed and students asked to apply for
start up funding - a template for bids was
provided
• Meeting to select successful bids – four chosen

7. Examples of New Student-led
Activities
Loughborough - EcoFuture an energy
saving challenge
Loughborough - Mars Aerobot
an interactive display for the
National Space Centre

8. Examples of New Student-led
Activities
Loughborough - JCB Digger
model for young school children
(later activity)
Loughborough - Engineers Without
Borders – work with older school
children
Loughborough - CEIT –
Chemical Engineering
Industrial Trips

9. Examples of Established Student-led
Activity
Imperial College
London – housing and
sanitation in El
Salvador
Imperial College London –
Robogals -introducing young
women to engineering and
technology

10. Student-led Symposia
Further HE STEM funding obtained for two student-led
symposia to showcase the activities:
• One at Imperial College London and one at Loughborough University
Symposia Committee:
• Students undertaking activities who wanted to be on the organising
committee were invited to submit a written expression of interest
• Committees formed and given funding
• Running an event checklist given to each committee
Staff are delegates (not organisers)

11. Student-led Symposia
Organised by students:
• Programme
• Delegate packs
• Name badges
• Promotional materials
• Catering preferences
• Registration
• Invited speakers
• Directions to the event…
The students had a ‘just in time’ approach

12. Symposia
Loughborough
University – June
2011
Imperial College
London – March
2011
Video produced by Loughborough students is available on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jakbi3KrM_4

13. Loughborough Symposium
Committee

14. An Example of Additional Benefits
• EcoFuture communicated with a senior member
of staff at an energy provider company
• Member is an invited speaker at the symposium
• EcoFuture obtain funding of £500 from this
company
• They use this funding to set up a wind turbine
activity

15. Latest Symposium
• May 2013 at Loughborough
• Students ran a workshop on preparing funding bids
• Keynote speech on motivation and sustainability
• Question and answer panel session
• Full programme available at: http://www.student-
ledprojects.com/#/about/4569781687

16. National Student-led Symposium
• Idea developed from the first two symposia
• Event held at Imperial College London in
November 2011
• Loughborough and Imperial students met
students from Brunel
• Still evolving and relationships developing with
various student societies

17. First National Student-led
Symposium Poster

18. Student Presentations
• Loughborough and Imperial students with staff
co-authored a paper presented at the first HEA
STEM conference in April 2012
• Loughborough and Imperial Students participated
in delivery of a workshop at the EE2012
conference
• Loughborough and Imperial Students presented a
poster at the EE2012 conference

19. Poster of Activities

20. Practice Transfer Custodians
Awarded HE STEM ‘Practice Transfer Custodian’ funding
– other universities are able to bid for funding and help
to adopt the activities
• 7 universities adopt the practice of student-led activities
• Event organised and attended by staff and students from
the 7 ‘adopter’ universities
• Set up a national e-mail list for student-led activities
• Produced a guide - ‘Development & Implementation of
student-led projects: a checklist’
• Workshops developed for staff interested in setting up
student-led activity (attended by staff from over 30 HEI’s)

21. Development of a checklist to help
set up Student-led projects

22. Finally
Thank you to Bauman Moscow State Technical
University for hosting this event