Throughout the year I will be working closely with Programme Representatives, the Postgraduate School Representative in ECA, and the Vice President Education at the Students’ Association, to ensure that students are supported, engaged, and have their voices heard.
As a student I am heading into the third year of my degree programme at the Reid School of Music. Like you, I too have spent time thinking about Hybrid Teaching and its implication over Learning and Teaching as well as the wider student experience.
I am here to support all the undergraduate students from across the five subject areas of ECA. You can reach me at my university email address and over on Twitter where I’ve set up a dedicated account from which I will be posting updates throughout the year.
Community: The ECA still often feels like a segmented cluster of groups that don’t have common platforms for networking and communication. There is now a shared digital space for ECA Reps and Subject Area Reps – but it is centred around representative duties and discussions. The previous UG Rep proposed more solutions such as common events and shared spaces.
Communication: We must continue to streamline the Handbook and keep it up to date – as well as make adjustments to the student support demands which have undoubtedly increased in the past months.
Hidden Course Costs: A review of hidden costs has started with the Students’ Association in the lead, investigating into the issue of extra degree costs that are not disclosed to students upon application or enrolment, and that students feel should be at least partly covered by the School. It is currently unclear how the project is continued due to the complications related to COVID, but negotiations must be had with Juan and the Students’ Association to find a middle ground and to switch the ECA up to the general university-wide review, especially to potentially borrow good practice from other departments.
Black Lives Matter: Holding the School accountable after the ‘hype’ of the BLM ‘trend’ in the beginning of the summer is key. Continue collaborating with the BlckEd movement and with the Students’ Association on that.
Representation structure: Discussions regarding the current state of affairs in terms of the hierarchy of student reps and the flow of information. I propose to create a middle layer of reps between Class Reps and the ECA Rep that would represent programmes and that would be ‘accountable’ to the ECA School Reps to improve the clarity of feedback mechanisms.
Estates project: Again, due to COVID, this has come to a halt, but nevertheless deserves attention, as student representation is needed to make inputs in regards to the planning of the space and student needs.
Edinburgh Futures Institute: Potential avenues for interdisciplinary collaboration there, but primarily the Students’ Association and I have been discussing organising a shop, exhibition, and innovation space for ECA students as a part of the EFI.