Change makers come together at Student Conference

Personal development, work experience, careers guidance, mental health support and classroom learning were the key topics Walsall College students discussed with its senior management and support services teams at a Student Voice Conference.

‘Make a Change’ was the theme of the conference designed to induct students into their roles, feel empowered when representing their peers and understand more about the college’s vision and values.  80 student reps from across the college’s course areas participated in training and feedback sessions.

They also heard from guest speaker, Anthony Adam of Careers Biz who provided insights into the role of a rep.

Konrad Klimczyk, student rep for HND Computing and College Student Governor was an attendee.  He said: “It’s so important that students have opportunities to air their views about their learning experiences, whether it’s in a big conference setting like this or a one to one conversation with a teacher.”

He continued: “I can see both sides through my roles as rep and Governor, in terms of what students need to help them achieve and the kinds of challenges further education is experiencing at the moment.  It means I get to share the bigger picture with students while giving the senior team here an insider view of what students think and feel.

“Hopefully this makes a difference to what we achieve and improve on at the college this year.”

Fatima Zoubeir who studies health and social care was also pleased to be at the conference.

She said: “I learned new things about the college today and understand more about how things run.  I know other students will find this useful too.

“Through the feedback we shared, I think students are positive about what happens in college but we would like more information and ideas about enjoying student life and achieving our learning goals.  Support for things like mental health, finance and social activities on campus are important to us so I hope we can help make more of these things happen.”

The Student Voice Launch Conference will be followed by regular rep meetings throughout 2023 and an additional event in the summer term.