Ignite the Spark: Inspiring Student Engagement and Motivation

The call will open here the week commencing Monday 20th January 2025.

We will shortly be opening the call for Abstracts, for the 15th Learning at City Conference (Now the Learning at City, St George’s Conference), which will place on Thursday 3rd July 2025 at City St George’s, University of London – Clerkenwell campus. The conference will provide an opportunity to engage in discussion and debate with colleagues about engaging and motivating students.

Student engagement and motivation is central to ensuring our institutions remain student-centred but also involving students in decisions about their education. Whilst institutions have used a range of approaches to collect student feedback such as surveys, focus groups and student-staff liaison committees the feedback focuses on what students think is positive but also what changes might be needed. It does not often ask students about what motivates and engages them to learn nor do we always include them in research and development to enhance this aspect. Students as partners schemes are one approach to providing students with an opportunity to be able to share their views on engagement and be involved in making change.

Lowe (2023) refers to students continuing to change the way they learn, use resources and engage with each other and staff who provide and support their education. The importance of recognising this and involving “students as being mutual producers of knowledge” (Lowe 2023:289) and “fully participating as partners in making changes in our universities” (Lowe 2023:289) is essential to future engagement of students in their education.

You can submit an abstract to share your practice and learning in relation to student engagement and motivation. Share what has worked, what might not have gone so well, and, any solutions you have.

References

Lowe T (2023) (Ed) Advancing Student Engagement in Higher Education. Reflection, Critique and Challenge London Routledge Taylor & Francis group