Student journey

Do you have a Nightline service on your campus? Are you a student who wants the support of people who understand what you are going through, or perhaps want to get involved and support your peer through their difficulties. No one should be ashamed of struggling and there are plenty of organisations that are there to offer support, such as the Samaritans, Studentminds, CALM and the student run association, Nightline. In this blog Sarah Rodway-Swanson talks about Nightline, the service they provide and explains how you can get involved. We all have mental health, it is important that we look after it just as much as we care of the rest of ourselves.

Value for students is a hot topic. In this blog Eric Stoller discusses how enhancing a student’s experience can add value to their investment as a paying customer.

Do you want to get more from your university experience than just your degree? Are you someone who wants to help in the community, but feels a student life won't offer the time to get involved? In this blog Joe Crook from the University of East London, talks about volunteering, student life and explains how it can all fit into a busy student lifestyle.

Earlier this year Ben Stone, university student, introduced the Student Coin, sharing his experience as a university student, demonstrating that there are opportunities outside of a course that could assist career progression and personal achievements. In this blog Ben explains where the business is now, shares their app teaser and introduces their Initial Coin Offering (ICO).

How easy do you find university? Are you living a different life at university than you do when you visit home, because you don't feel your family will understand who you are? Many people feel they can't be truly honest with their families, out of fear they won't be accepted due to societal norms and ignorance. Members of the LGBT+ community may often be in this position, living a lie to those they love through fear of being rejected by friends and family. In this blog, Luc shares their university experience as a nonbinary transgender student.

As a mature student, are you concerned that time before rejoining university was now maybe a waste or that possibly you’re going to be disadvantaged by it? Dr Douglas Hamilton shares his mature student experiences and shows students, of all ages, what can be achieved by creating your own luck and grabbing opportunities that come your way.

At Nottingham Trent University (NTU), we are seeking to increase engagement and retention through student peer mentoring and the delivery of a new Welcome Workshop. This workshop, has been co-created and co-facilitated by our student mentors, is designed to instil a sense of belonging and student agency in all undergraduate first-years starting in September 2018.

Earlier this year Efficiency Exchange published a blog by Ellie Dunstone, a student at the University of Cambridge who is involved with the CATS student society there. In this blog, James Adams, the founder of CATS, shares his personal journey of how CATS developed. Like we saw with Ben Stone, founder of Student Coin, James saw an opportunity to create more value in his university life, not just for him, but others too. CATS benefits students physically through raising awareness of signs and symptoms or cancer aswell as providing valuable skills that can enhance the employability of their volunteers.

Higher education offers many opportunities for students which can create more value in their university experience. Benjamin Stone, university business entrepreneurship student and founder of Student Coin, took advantage of one of his projects and created the Student Coin. In this blog, Ben shares their Blockchain journey so far.

Student safety should be a priority for all universities, but with 39% of universities not providing sexual misconduct training for staff, and only 29% of universities with a mental health and well-being strategy, this demonstrates there is need for improvement. Lucy Winrow from ProtectED discusses student safety and understanding 'what works', driving change in national standards in the HE sector and safeguarding the student experience