The Connector Programme is a way for students at Sussex to inspire and actively make change at the University. Through paid roles, these students work with the wider student community and staff to find strategies and implement ideas that will enhance student life in different ways.
In the School of Media, Arts and Humanities (MAH), we have three central Connectors and a Student Advisory Board (SAB) made up of 12 Connectors. In SAB we have four students working on curriculum, four working on communications and four working on wellbeing.
I lead on student community within the School, so working with the Connectors has been a huge part of my role over the last year. Working with students is incredibly important, and I have been so impressed with their creativity and innovation. I never would have thought of a student-led podcast!
Read on to learn more about some of the projects our Connectors are working on.
On the Record with MAH
This is a student-created podcast that launched on 8 March with a special podcast about International Women’s Day. We wanted to create a platform for students to create and connect with the student community in MAH. We also wanted to break down some of the barriers between staff and students – we’re humans too!
My episode of ‘Road Trip Records’ was released on 17 March 2021 – you can listen to it here. I talk about my role and identify four songs that represent some of the most important people in my life (my partner, my best friend and my parents) and a song that encapsulates lockdown for me.
@MAH.students
This is an Instagram page run by the Connectors. This is how we communicate with lots of our students about the events and fantastic work produced in the School.
Regular social events (currently taking place online)
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MAH Café: once a fortnight, we meet on Zoom and create breakout rooms with labelled discussion points. We’ve had 30 students attend before and are hoping to expand this to staff
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Academic Skills sessions: once a month, an Academic Skills Advisor (current PhD researcher) will host a session. The last one was focused on time management and was attended by 25 students
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Careers events: research suggested that students were more likely to attend careers events, so we’ve booked a careers advisor to give a session once a month. Our next event is focussed on navigating the Career Hub platform.
Discord
Students have set up a Discord server for students in the School. It has the function of “levelling up” with more engagement and provides a platform for chat and event promotion.
Marking criteria
Students have been working to identify specific issues, such as language used in assessment criteria. By doing research and speaking to students, they have created a brief for a school-wide marking criterion. Future projects will include testing the new criteria and redesigning assessments to ensure that they are accessible for all.
Accessibility
The Connectors have been successfully collecting feedback on Canvas templates and creating a format for readings and meeting invitations. This has linked into work around how to get information to students. We have seen positive results from using Canvas announcements.
Festival of Ideas
Taking place in June, this is a School-wide festival celebrating the fantastic work that has been done and the importance of the arts. We'll be sharing more information about it soon. Our Connectors are already busy setting up exciting podcast episodes as part of this.
If you're a student or staff member who would like to find out more about our Connector projects, please contact Elaine Saunders.