{"id":1757,"date":"2021-05-14T12:00:35","date_gmt":"2021-05-14T11:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/itl\/?p=1757"},"modified":"2026-03-31T10:11:37","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T09:11:37","slug":"student-partner-perspective-expectations-and-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/itl\/2021\/05\/14\/student-partner-perspective-expectations-and-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"Student Partner perspective: expectations and experience"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"AymaAyma\u00a0Masood Khan is a\u00a0Biomedical Sciences student and a\u00a0Student Partner Intern (SPI),\u00a0and has been part of our Online Blended Learning (OBL) cohort this year. Over the 2020\/21 academic year this cohort of\u00a0<\/b>SPIs have worked in partnership with staff<\/b><\/a>, undertaking activities such as reviewing academic content and supporting transcription and subtitling projects across the University.\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I came across this opportunity\u00a0through\u00a0an email\u00a0from\u00a0Peer\u00a0Support\u00a0and\u00a0once\u00a0again\u00a0at a\u00a0PASS\u00a0training\u00a0session.\u00a0A few days after submitting the\u00a0application form, I\u00a0was offered\u00a0an interview.\u00a0However,\u00a0Covid\u00a0dropped in like a bomb.\u00a0The\u00a0University\u00a0shut down, the country went into lockdown within days,\u00a0and\u00a0I was lucky enough to\u00a0catch a flight\u00a0back home before\u00a0the\u00a0travel restrictions were\u00a0put into place.\u00a0The face-to-face interview was\u00a0now\u00a0replaced by a\u00a0video interview,\u00a0only adding to my anxiety. We were asked to submit a 3-minute video answering some open-ended questions and why I would be suitable for the role.\u00a0I recorded myself at least\u00a0a million\u00a0times,\u00a0resaying my lines\u00a0over and over\u00a0until\u00a0I\u00a0was satisfied.\u00a0After a long,\u00a0yet anticipated\u00a0period\u00a0of time,\u00a0I finally heard back.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

We have now completed our review of all the\u00a0applications,\u00a0and after careful selection and consideration,\u00a0we\u00a0regret to inform you\u2026<\/i>\u00a0Ouch!\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you are a\u00a0uni\u00a0student, chances are you have faced rejection at least once\u00a0before\u00a0in your life.\u00a0They may sound different but feel pretty much the same\u00a0\u2013 not\u00a0great.\u00a0My initial instinct was to ignore the email, but\u00a0after 12 hours of trying to get over the disappointment, I finally decided to respond.\u00a0I literally had to look up \u201chow to respond to a rejection email\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thank you for staying in touch! I understand it was a difficult decision and if there is still\u00a0anything\u00a0I could help with remotely,\u00a0I’m more than willing to do it. I am still looking for work experience to build my CV, so do inform me if any opportunities arise. Thank you!<\/i>\u00a0<\/p>\n

I can tell you\u00a0it\u2019s true\u00a0that\u00a0when one door closes,\u00a0many more\u00a0open.\u00a0\u00a0Fast forward three\u00a0months,\u00a0I receive an email about an even better opportunity of a Student Partner Internship for an Online Blended Learning (OBL) cohort.\u00a0 After a live video interview and some HR questions, I was finally offered the role.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Expectation and experience\u00a0<\/strong><\/h5>\n

I remember being super anxious\u00a0and\u00a0excited on my first\u00a0day\u00a0as I\u00a0didn\u2019t know what to\u00a0expect,\u00a0but\u00a0regardless,\u00a0I\u00a0was looking forward to it.\u00a0Since I was a\u00a0Biomedical\u00a0Sciences student, I was assigned to the\u00a0Faculty of\u00a0Biology,\u00a0Medicine and\u00a0Health (FBMH) along with 4 other student partners.\u00a0My\u00a0role\u00a0was\u00a0quite\u00a0diverse,\u00a0and\u00a0I was\u00a0given the opportunity to\u00a0work\u00a0in\u00a0groups\u00a0and individually\u00a0on a range of different projects.\u00a0I collaborated with staff and students to develop, report\u00a0and\u00a0give regular feedback on online learning resources and lectures. I identified\u00a0what I felt to be\u00a0effective ways to deliver engaging lectures and was often challenged to think of new ideas on how to improve their delivery\u00a0and accessibility\u00a0to all students including\u00a0thinking about\u00a0the possible perspectives\u00a0of\u00a0those who are, for example, international or\u00a0disabled. We also worked to\u00a0create an online community with Psychology professor\u00a0Christine Rogers, which included designing\u00a0resources, videos and blogs\u00a0that\u00a0were relevant for students and staff throughout the\u00a0University.\u00a0These were focused on improving the\u00a0efficiency and effectiveness\u00a0of discussion boards and breakout room activities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Furthermore, I participated in several focus groups, where I shared ideas on how to enhance\u00a0the\u00a0student online learning experience with teaching, management and IT staff. I also tested virtual labs and other\u00a0courses\u00a0for accessibility, user-friendliness, and improvements. Working with staff was different than I thought it would be, as they treated us as equals and\u00a0appreciated\u00a0our perspectives. It made me realise the amount of work that goes on\u00a0backstage\u00a0to enhance student experience,\u00a0along with\u00a0the planning professors do before uploading their lectures\u00a0online\u00a0<\/p>\n

Looking back\u00a0and looking forwards<\/b>\u00a0<\/h5>\n

What I enjoyed most was\u00a0creating\u00a0online resources\u00a0and\u00a0blogs<\/a>, which involved voicing student\u00a0opinions on ice breakers, Zoom lectures and\u00a0pastoral\u00a0support.\u00a0Moreover, I enjoyed\u00a0getting to know some of my professors outside of lectures by working alongside them and observing them implement our suggestions into their content delivery\u00a0methods.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Looking back\u00a0at\u00a0my very first feedback\u00a0and comparing it\u00a0to my most recent\u00a0one,\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0realised that it\u00a0has\u00a0improved immensely. Along with becoming more organised and\u00a0responsible,\u00a0I have\u00a0also\u00a0become more confident in sharing my\u00a0perspective\u00a0and ideas by working with a diverse group of people.\u00a0Not only that, but this role gave me something to look forward to during a lonely lockdown, not to mention\u00a0the work itself felt\u00a0so rewarding.\u00a0I had the opportunity to bond with some amazing people over the last few months in an all-online space and work on some unique yet\u00a0intriguing\u00a0projects.\u00a0I\u2019m hoping to continue\u00a0my\u00a0work\u00a0with the\u00a0OBL cohort\u00a0and I\u2019m ready to take on the exciting new challenges this role may hold!\u00a0<\/p>\n

A special thanks to\u00a0Matthew Oakley, Caroline Bowsher\u00a0<\/b>and\u00a0Chloe Salins<\/b>\u00a0for supporting us through this\u00a0wonderful\u00a0journey and\u00a0for\u00a0keeping us motivated!\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If you are interested in learning more about our Student Partner Internships, please see the\u00a0Student Partners Programme pages<\/a>.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Related<\/h1>\n

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Contact Us<\/h4>\n

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+44 (0) 161 306 6000<\/p>\n

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Find Us<\/h4>\n

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The University of Manchester
Oxford Rd
Manchester
M13 9PL
UK<\/a><\/p>\n

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Connect With Us<\/h4>\n

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