Contents
Presenters
Lisa Liu – Student Partnership Officer, CIDE
Alexandra Bondoc
David Ross – Lecturer in Inclusive Education, CIDE
Paper
Student Partnership schemes at the Tooting Campus facilitate student participation and contribution to academic programmes and professional services’ different initiatives aimed at enhancing student experience and fulfiling the key principles of the Inclusive Education Framework. These schemes ensure the inclusion of student voice, fostering community building and a sense of belonging for students.
Co-design with students is valuable for enhancing students’ on-course experiences and fostering innovation in how we approach education (Omland et al, 2025). This paper will discuss how the different student partnership schemes currently running at the Tooting campus have contributed to engaging students in a diversity of co-creation projects, from their direct contribution to curriculum development to the launch of university-wide initiatives linked to the Inclusive Education Framework. The presentation will focus on three schemes: The Student-Staff Partnership Grants, the Student Advisors scheme (including Equity Champions) and the recently launched Peer Academic Mentoring scheme. These schemes enable students to voice their concerns in spaces designed to receive and amplify them on issues that directly impact them and (co)create an educational environment that nurtures their abilities and emboldens their progress.
Inclusion in this context refers to students being invited to actively contribute their perspectives and experiences, ensuring that a wider range of voices inform educational practice and development. Engagement is seen not only in the number of students involved, but in the depth of their contribution—whether through mentoring peers, advising staff or co-leading strategic initiatives.
This presentation will provide a space to consider the strengths and challenges of these models of partnership and open a dialogue about their role in supporting a vibrant and inclusive educational community.
References
Omland, M., Hontvedt, M., Siddiq, F., Amundrud, A., Hermansen, H., Mathisen, M. A. S., Rudningen, G., & Reiersen, F. (2025). Co-creation in Higher Education: A Conceptual Systematic Review. Higher Education, 1611-1634. Available at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10734-024-01364-1
