Friday 09-12-2016 - 12:30

Student Activities Participation and Impact Project

Please click HERE to take part in our short survey. You’ll automatically be entered into a prize draw to win one of four £25 shopping vouchers.

As some of you may know already, one of my objectives this year is to do some research into extra-curricular activities participation at Durham University. By this, I mean looking into how many students take part in opportunities outside of their academic studies, and looking at what kind of activities these are (i.e. sports teams, hobbies, volunteering). The aim of the project is to highlight the fantastic work that students do outside of their academic lives at Durham, and also to find out if we can be doing more to enable more students to become involved.

NUS conducted a recent piece of research aiming to understand how students participate in Students’ Unions overall, including understanding participation in extra-curricular activities. They surveyed around 6,500 students from various institutions across the UK and found that 55% took part in a club or society and 44% volunteered. I am interested in seeing what this picture looks like at Durham University specifically.  

In order to investigate this we are running an exciting two stage research project. Research will be conducted via two surveys during the academic year, with all of the findings combined in one overall report. The first survey (the one in this article) aims to build a picture of student group participation at Durham, by finding out what percentage of students are involved in extra-curricular groups and what these groups are. The second survey will then look at the impact that student groups have on the community and on the students who are involved in them. I was involved in student groups throughout my time as a student at Durham and they were a massive part of my student experience. In them I found my closest friends and made some of the best memories of my University life. I would really recommend getting involved in student groups; not least to diversify your student experience and to learn valuable skills outside of your studies. However, I recognise that this may not always be easy to do.

The findings from this piece of research will inform the work the Students’ Union does regarding student group participation, and likewise for any other student organisations involved in this project. There will be an impact report created at the end of the project, which will highlight the amazing achievements of students outside of academia and also make recommendations to enable more students to be involved.  

Being part of a student group is a huge part of many students’ lives and some give up most of their free time to help run the groups that you love. If your University experience has been shaped in any way by involvement in student activities, then we would love to hear from you. Equally, if you have never been involved in a student group your input would really valuable. If there is more that we could be doing to help you become involved – we want to hear from you!

Please click HERE to take part in our short survey. [You’ll also be entered into a prize draw to win one of four £25 shopping vouchers.]