Futureworks Student Partners – Who they are and what they do…

“It’s been great to see how the Student Partner Committee has evolved over my time at Futureworks – we’ve seen huge improvements in the way in which students can give their feedback and how often we give opportunities for students to voice their opinions – hopefully there is now a method which suits everybody! There have already been some positive discussions being made within meetings this year from both the way we run our committee to some potential exciting new events, and I can’t wait to see some of these ideas come to fruition throughout the rest of this year and into the next!”

Emily Marshall, Principal Student Partner 2023/2024

What is a Futureworks Student Partner?

Student Partners are the backbone of the Futureworks student community – they help get student feedback to the right ears. It’s the responsibility of the Student Partners to give students opportunities to speak their mind and give feedback on their time at Futureworks and how it could be improved. The feedback collected is then passed to the appropriate channels, whether that be Student Services, Facilities, Programme Leaders, and Heads of School, or even the Senior Management!

The Student Partner body consists of:

Student Partners– most commonly one per class.

Lead Student Partners – one per School. Art & Design, Film, TV & Media and Sound and Music Production

Principal Student Partner– voted for by the student body.

Responsibilities

• Attend Student Partner Training.
• Gather feedback regularly from classmates.
• Attend monthly Student Partner meetings to deliver feedback and engage in discussions with other Student Partners across all three schools.
• Attend termly School Committee meetings with other members of staff such as Tutors, Programme Leaders, Facilities, Student Services and Widening Participation to follow up on your suggestions and feedback and ensure your voices are heard by the relevant members of staff.
• Help represent Futureworks at Open Days and events.
• Help organise social activities for students.
• Be a present and friendly face in the Futureworks Community.

Roles Breakdown

STUDENT PARTNERS

• Each of our 9 courses volunteers a Student Partner for each class. It is their role to collect feedback from their classmates and attend Student Partner meetings, which are held once a month, to deliver this feedback and discuss between all Student Partners across the schools.
• Al Student Partners have the opportunity to attend their School Committee meetings. Each of our three schools hold these meetings once per semester. Student Partners can deliver the feedback given from peers and discuss it with staff. The staff that are usually present in these meetings are: the Head of School, the Programme Leaders for each course, Student Services and Facilities.

LEAD STUDENT PARTNERS

• In the Student Partner body, a representative for each school is elected to become a Lead Student Partner. It is their responsibility to represent their school.
• Alongside attending School Committee meetings, Lead Student Partners also have the opportunity to attend Academic Board meetings to deliver any feed-back and input. The staff usually present in these meetings are Programme Leaders, Heads of Schools, Student Services, the Vice Principal, the Principal and external independent members from other institutions.

PRINCIPAL STUDENT PARTNER

• The Principal Student Partner is voted for by the students at Futureworks from a list of volunteer candidates.
• It is their responsibility to organise the Student Partner body as a whole. They will schedule meeting times, set the agenda, and chair the discussions during these meetings, alongside the other responsibilities listed previously.
• In addition to this, they can also attend the Industry Advisory Group meetings. In attendance at these meetings are professionals from outside companies who ensure that the practices at Futureworks are relevant to the current industry standards. The Principal Student Partner is invited to discuss or add input in these meetings.

What changes have been enacted so far….

• Implemented gender neutral toilets at our Riverside building.
• Implemented dual monitors in all Art & Design classrooms and upstairs at Media City.
• Helped in the process of the Student Lounge refurbishment.
• Added StoppTopps drink lid protectors in all bathrooms.
• Decorated Floor 2 with School of Art &Design student work.
• Set up a Fire TV stick in the Student Lounge with subscriptions to Netflix, Crunchyroll, Disney+, BBC iPlayer, ITVX and All .4
• Hosted an internal final-year film festival with an awards evening.
• Acoustic redesign and redecoration of the Toft studio on Floor 3.
• Extended opening times until 2am at busy periods in the year.
• Introduced cross-course feedback sessions in the School of Art &Design.
• Upgraded the Wi-Fi across Floors 2 & 3 over Continuing Development Week.
• Set up the Futureworks Skills Forum on Discord where all students and tutors can post opportunities for other students.
• Purchased an XL Mocap suit to add to the already available sizes (S, M, L and now XL) and installed a privacy curtain.
• Set up the School of Film, Television &Media social events calendar which includes nights out, a 48-hour film challenge, audio visual meetup and more.
• Introduced events in Enrolment Week to enable new and returning students to mix in a relaxed environment
• Implemented free sanitary products.
• Added new activities during Continuing Development Week that all students from any course can attend; such as Life Drawing, Avid & ZBrush crash courses, guest speakers &more!

Here’s a few words from previous Student Partners…

“The Student Partner role is an extremely valuable asset to Futureworks, where I’ve developed my skills in communication, teamwork, a n d problem solving. The experience is highly rewarding and is key for improving the student and social experience.”

Macy Lomas, Principal Student Partner 2022-2023

“Being a student partner has given me the opportunity to make a positive impact on my education and see changes that I and others have wanted made. I have greatly valued my time helping my friends and improving our experience and community.

Edward Monger, Lead Student Partner for Art & Design 2022-2023

“Being a Student Partner helped give me a sense of belonging at Futureworks, and on top of being a great way to bolster your self-esteem and social skills, it feels incredibly rewarding to see the ideas we put forward be realised in real time. All in all – go for it!”

Joe Weatherby, Student Partner 2022-2023