Tuesday 09-02-2021 - 09:52

What is the Culture Commission?

As your SU President, I’ve commissioned a report on Durham’s culture from a student perspective. This report will seek to identify positive and negative behaviours and attitudes which are present in Durham’s student culture and offer sustainable, long-term recommendations to deconstruct and change that culture.

You can find out more about the whole project here.

What have we done so far?

Before launching the Culture Commission, I met with academics to discuss how ‘culture’ can be understood and defined. We spoke about the things which are seen to make up culture as well as how culture can be unpicked and investigated. It became evident that there is not a singular Durham student experience and the perception may in fact deviate from the reality. I also reviewed other research which has explored similar issues, to gain a better understanding of the wider context that Durham University exists within.

Also last term, I appointed the ten other Commissioners (you can find out more about them here) and with their support and guidance, led the first phase of the research. This involved hosting three ‘Initial Contribution Sessions’ and launching the anonymous, online feedback form. I’m grateful to everyone who participated in this phase of the research and gave up their time to share their thoughts, opinions and experiences with us. The engagement we saw was overwhelmingly positive and we hope that this continues as the project progresses.

If you’re interested to hear what we found out during the Initial Research Phase, you can read the Interim Report here.

What comes next?

The Commissioners met last week to discuss the findings of the Initial Research Phase and to decide upon the direction of the project for the next few months. This will include another phase of research, which will focus more on the themes identified in the first phase and allow for more in-depth, detailed discussions on Durham’s culture. I’m really excited to have the opportunity to speak to more students and continue finding out about what makes Durham great and what needs to change. Details about how you can get involved with our next research phase will follow, so keep checking my social media and your weekly President's email for more info.

I’ll also be continuing conversations with University staff to ensure that as key stakeholders, they recognise the important role they play in shaping the culture here and that as an institution, the University must also take ownership of this work. So far, I’ve featured the Commission in my President’s Report to Council and have shared our Interim Report with the Vice Chancellor and other key members of the University Executive.

As this project continues, I continue to be overwhelmed by the passion, commitment and care for our community which exists within the student community. Again, I’d like to thank everyone who has been involved with this work so far, and I really look forward to speaking to more of you as our research continues.

In the meantime, if you’d like to get in touch about this work, please email me at su.president@durham.ac.uk.