Five students will join us in the role of Student Fellow, from October 2023 to July 2024. Each student will work on a specific project and there are five projects, as follows:
Decolonising the Curriculum (one student)
We are looking for a Student Fellow to continue our work on Decolonising the Curriculum. Proposed outputs for this project include working with the BILT’s Decolonisation lead, Alvin Birdi, contributing to the University-wide decolonisation newsletter; working with colleagues in the Global Lounge to develop workshops, developing a showcase event sharing practice from across the University of Bristol. This is the fourth year we are running this project, with previous outputs including a podcast series, a zine and an in-depth case study into the Department of Music.
Students applying to this role will have a keen interest in, and ideally some experience of, decolonising, whether it be within the University or beyond. They will need to be confident researchers and willing to engage in current University activities in this area, as well as self-motivated to pursue their own lines of research. They will need to communicate with key stakeholders across the University and potentially share their findings at events.
Research-rich teaching, learning and assessment (two students)
The two students appointed to this project will work together as a small team to deliver the Student Research Journal and the Undergraduate Research Festival. The students working on these projects will deliver both the logistical and creative elements. An important aspect of these roles is engaging and working with the undergraduate student community to secure their involvement and liaising with Schools across the university to raise the profile of both the journal and festival with academics. This is the fifth year we are running this project – previous editions of the journal can be found on our website. Additional to this work, we would hope that Student Fellows would also develop case studies on research-rich teaching and learning taking place in the University.
Students who have experience in project-management, publishing, editing and/or events planning would suit this role well. They will need to oversee a large number of student participants in both the journal and Festival so excellent organisational skills are a must. The role-holders will need to be able to communicative with large groups of students and answer individual queries on a regular basis.
‘Designed for All’ Assessment Activities (one student)
Designed for All Assessment Activities is a new project theme for 2023/24, and a key focus in BILT’s priorities next year. We are looking for a Student Fellow to research and promote best practice in assessment that are ‘designed for all’ and inclusive. This student will create resources about how the principles of inclusivity are embedded within assessment tasks. This might include exploring group assessment (including projects and dissertations as a format for developing team skills) or the impact and opportunities artificial intelligence presents to assessment. A key output for this role will include working with academics to co-create academic guidance on designing assessments. Other potential proposed outputs for this project connected to the academic guidance are case studies on best practice in the University, working with students to gather student voice and identify benefits of design for all, and taking part in events to promote these activities to staff.
Students applying to this project will have a keen interest in assessment practices and be able to produce resources that engage their audience. They will have experience in researching and feel confident presenting their findings at events.
International student experience (one student)
International student experience is a new project theme for 2023/24, and a key focus in BILT’s priorities next year. We are looking for a Student Fellow to research questions such as: how can the University ensure international students thrive in their learning? How does the University design curricula and content, and approaches to teaching and assessment to support everyone? The student undertaking this theme will connect with international students, listening and sharing their experiences to inform practice and create resources for academics to apply in their teaching. The role-holder will work with colleagues undertaking BILT projects in the same theme to develop academic guidance.
Students applying to this role should have experience as an international student (this could include a year abroad or exchange programmes). They should be comfortable reaching out to other students and conducting interviews. They should be able to express research findings clearly and in engaging ways and be comfortable presenting findings at events. They should have an interest in pedagogy and enthusiasm for improving the student experience.