Rep Success
"During last semester I brought feedback from my cohort to request a reading week in Level 3 as this was something social work students were not in receipt off compared to other courses. I advocated at both SVC meetings last semester on behalf of my peers as this was an issue consistently raised as a concern with a mature student base concerned about attendance due to childcare issues as the reading week generally falls on school half terms. This would of also added finanical stress for parents who would be forced to pay childcare. Furthermore everyone felt the pressure of 12 weeks with no breaks. With this, our year group were granted a reading week for the first time in the degree."
- Claire Alexander, Level 3 Course Rep, Social Work
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"The recent round of student feedback resulted in several important concerns being raised, and all of them were addressed promptly through close collaboration between the MBA Director, faculty team, and rep. Each issue was acknowledged, acted on, and followed up, which created a positive and reassuring outcome for the students. Safety concerns were escalated immediately and are now being actively discussed with local authorities to ensure safer conditions for students leaving evening classes.
Teaching teams responded quickly to the suggestions around interactive learning, with several modules already incorporating more discussion-based activities. Faculty also addressed the need for improved classroom etiquette and punctuality, and have put clearer expectations in place to minimise disruptions. In addition, lecturers have been more mindful of adding short breaks into longer classes to support student concentration. The positive impact on students has been significant. They felt heard, supported, and taken seriously. Anxiety around safety has been eased by active engagement with authorities.
Classroom experiences have become more engaging and respectful, and overall students now feel more comfortable, more valued, and more confident that their concerns will be handled with care and urgency. The outcome stands as a strong example of constructive communication leading to real, visible change. It has strengthened trust between students and faculty, and created a safer, more supportive learning environment."
- Ashmita Bhatt, Course Rep, Master of Business Administration
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"I am happy with the feedback I and my fellow reps provided in relation to the course to make it better for everyone. My biggest win so far was pushing the idea of a new water refill station to be constructed in the Town Hall meeting, as the one outside the girl's bathroom was not of the best quality. By building this new student's kitchen, it will hopefully push more students to feel comfortable drinking water in the MBC without feeling like they have to go to the Student's Union just to refill it."
- Conor McCann, Course Rep, Level 3 Human Biology
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"I made a open opportunity for my classmates to share the challenges that they are facing on the academics and university life. All students responded genuinely and many opinions and feedbacks came up. It included the confusing time tables and practical group division. International students including myself find it difficult to manage the scattered classes and lab works along with part-time job. I was able to present these problems in SVC meeting and I hope things will be sorted out. I was able to attend the council meetings and I was also elected to be a delegate of the university and to represent the university in the upcoming NUS USI 2025 on 19 and 20 November. I am looking forward to be successful as a school Rep and a student."
- Sreekutty Satheesan, PGT School Rep, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
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"As the Course Representative for the Master of Public Health – Global Health programme, I co-led the Tastes of the World (TOW) project alongside Dr Ving Fai Chan (Racial Equality Champion). The initiative celebrated cultural diversity through food and storytelling, culminating in a published book that features traditional recipes and personal narratives from students and staff across Queen’s University Belfast.
I presented the project to my MPH-GH cohort, designed a Microsoft Form to gauge interest, and collected submissions from both students and academic staff at the Centre for Public Health. I also played a key role in interviewing contributors, gathering their stories and dishes, and co-organising a successful book launch event with Dr Chan. The launch included a panel discussion that I moderated, featuring several contributors who shared reflections on their cultural identities and experiences.
The project was led by myself (Yousef Albaba) and Dr Ving Fai Chan, with support from the Queen’s Annual Fund. Contributors included postgraduate students and academic staff from the Centre for Public Health. Administrative support was provided by the School, and the event welcomed guests from across the university and invited senior attendees.
The TOW project created a platform for students to celebrate and share their cultural heritage in a meaningful way, fostering a strong sense of belonging, pride, and community. It encouraged dialogue across cultural boundaries, enhanced intercultural understanding, and helped students feel seen and valued within the university environment.
For international students in particular, it offered an inclusive space to showcase their identities and build connections through shared experiences. The final publication and public recognition of contributors empowered participants and highlighted the importance of diversity and inclusion in academic spaces."
- Yousef A. A. Albaba, Course Representative, Master of Public Health – Global Health
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"I was been a part of Academic rep summit where I got chance to put forward my ideas of developing the modules and I got opportunity to discuss about the feedbacks given by my fellow mates I found this platform as an great opportunity and was so excited to participate. I am looking forward for such more events to happen and I am glad to be a part of this committee thanks for the opportunity Queens Belfast."
- Narayanan Ambur Raghavendran, Electronics Course Rep
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"As a team in the School of Biological Sciences, we have supported changes in the school to provide students with small everyday changes involving adding hot chocolate to our school pantry, adding extra study space in the atrium of the School building, providing effective feedback channels through groupchats, microsoft forms and word of mouth through course reps. We have also had continuous success in empowering Course reps to raise small module specific issues directly with their Module co-ordinators and through discussion boards on canvas. Small wins like this have improved the feedback loops in our school and harnessed collaborative changes for staff and students regarding events, assessments, class engagement and more. One of the big wins this year is the incoming Assessment survey I have co-created with the Director of Undergraduate Education Lorraine Scott and Course reps. This Survey will gather information from students about what assessment structure they enjoy/do well in, how they feel group projects and presentation style assignments could be better handled and how weightings and how much they enjoy an assignment type vs how much they feel they learn from it. The feedback from this survey will inform the Senior Education Committee in the School of how they could adapt their courses to promote Student Success and Learning, the goal is to have this survey complete by December next academic year so Course directors can impliment changes for the next academic year of modules and courses."
- Nadine Curtis, MHLS Faculty Rep and SBIO School Rep
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"Recently, I got an opportunity to contribute to the development of "Recorded Lectures" Pilot project where 8-9 students from different study levels were included to get a proper feedback for improvement and development. This I think is an importatnt project as it will support from various backgrounds to be active in their acedemics dispite of any ongoing unavailability. I also attended PGR Research Forum held at Riddle Hall, and I was the only PGT student with my friend to attend this forum. This had a very insightful impact on my career regarding the research and employibility skills, it was an amazing programme. I also ran a MS form across the course reps of my school to make sure that they feel heard in their roles and how their roles can be defined in better way for future reps. I have been part of the active discussion of the IT Facilities and Infracstructure of MBC to accomodate all the courses in a proper way."
- Aastha Nimeshkumar Shah, PGT School and Faculty Rep, School of Medicine
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"As the Course Representative for the year 2024-2025, I was able to make significant improvements within my cohort through relaying regular feedback. Through the various SVC meetings and informal discussions with the faculty, I along with my fellow representative Jiya, was able to bring to their notice the challenges international students on placement faced. New problems had risen this year that led to the students incurring additional cost. This was promptly brought to the faculty's attention and was tackled through reimbursements being provided to the students relief. Regular feedback on modules and their engagement was also a key aspect of this year's achievements as this promoted students to attend classes. The introduction of guest lecturers for the psychological adjustments module was a great change that was made from the feedback me and other representatives received. This allowed the class to hear from people who were directly facing challenges associated with chronic conditions and hear their life experiences. Overall, I was pleased to see how the actions I undertook was able to impact and improve the learning environment of our classmates."
- Megha Elsa Thomas, Course Rep PGT Year 1 Clinical Health Psychology
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"Sometimes the impact you create isn't something you immediately see the results of — it’s more about planting seeds that will benefit the next group that comes after you. As a student rep, I really valued that a lot of the ideas, suggestions, and lessons learned from our batch, like the detailed feedback we gave, will help improve the experience for future students. Participating in the Postgraduate Academic Board was especially meaningful, as it allowed us to bring forward the importance of compassionate conversations within academic spaces. Similarly, during Student Voice Committee meetings, I had the opportunity to raise concerns around how career fairs often framed our field — a service-oriented profession — mainly in terms of volunteering, without enough focus on real, paid employment opportunities. I also highlighted how international students, in particular, needed more tailored guidance, something that was often overlooked. It was important to me not just to voice complaints, but to accurately articulate what support was needed and help the provider body respond in practical, effective ways. Being part of these efforts — even knowing that the full benefits might not reach our batch — was something I felt genuinely happy and proud to contribute towards, as it helped pave the way for future cohorts to have a better experience."
- Florence Diana Charles, PG School of Psychology Rep
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