Academic Development Centre

With the reduction in funding to higher education and increase in tuition fees, not only have we lost valuable schemes such as Aimhigher, but it is more important than ever that universities offer something extra to attract students from a wide range of backgrounds. The purpose of this conference was to try to address these issues from the perspective of collaboration between students and staff and to promote the commitment Kingston University has made to this work. It was also a chance to reflect on the great opportunities that the Aimhigher scheme provided and on how best to proceed with the collaborative spirit that the scheme fostered, not only between students and staff, but between institutions.
The day comprised of workshops, skills and poster sessions and talks from exciting speakers such as Brenda Little, the Principal Policy Analyst with the Open University’s Centre for Higher Education Research and Information. Some definite highlights of the day were TJ Esubiyi, President of the Kingston University Student Union, speaking about understanding the student union, and an interactive workshop about Theatre in Education from the University of Worcester. It was certainly exciting to host people from universities as diverse as Manchester, Brighton and St George’s, University of London, among others.