sparqs Conference 2017 - call for proposals is now closed 12 Dec 2016
Please note that the call for proposals is now closed for #sparqs17, our conference taking place on Thursday 23rd March 2017. The title of the conference is Celebrating the impact of the student voice on quality enhancement. We invited proposals for workshops, presentations and poster/display… Read More
Interview with Dr Natalie Watters, University of Glasgow 23 Nov 2016
In this interview we talk to Dr Natalie Watters, who is a lecturer and project manager for the online Masters in Education at the University of Glasgow. While studying for her PhD in Education in 2010-11 she was also an… Read More
Welcome to our new Development Consultant! 14 Nov 2016
We are pleased to announce the appointment of our new Development Consultant, as we welcome Lindsay Isaacs to the sparqs team, on Monday 14th November 2016. Lindsay’s main work areas will include providing support to those involved in our Institutional Associate… Read More
Interview with Sally Varnham, University of Technology Sydney 27 Oct 2016
In this interview we talk to Dr Sally Varnham, a law professor at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), and an Australian Learning and Teaching National Senior Fellow. Sally has been leading a national project looking at student engagement in… Read More
New Apprentice Rep Training now available to book! 18 Oct 2016
We are pleased to announce that sparqs have developed new materials for Apprentices, to enable colleges to train Apprentice reps. The materials are now online and you can book sparqs to come out and deliver these sessions. The training session lasts… Read More
Academic Representation Co-ordinators’ network meeting - 17th November 2016 29 Sep 2016
Still time to apply for the first in our new series of meetings for academic representation co-ordinators, taking place on Thursday 17th November 2016, from 10.30am to 4pm, in our Edinburgh office. This new series builds on our previous, but narrower in scope, network for… Read More
Interview with Cat O'Driscoll, National Student Engagement Programme, Ireland 22 Sep 2016
In this interview we talk to Cat O’Driscoll, Co-ordinator of the new pilot National Student Engagement Programme in Ireland. She has a wide experience of student representation at university, Irish and European levels. We met up with her at our… Read More
Bookings are open for sparqs Course Rep Training 2016-17 26 Aug 2016
We are pleased to announce that bookings are now open for sparqs Course Rep Training during 2016-17 ....for delivery from the first week in October onwards. All the information you need is on our main CRT webpage. Please read the booking guide before arranging your sessions and… Read More
Interview with Chris Daisley, Glasgow Caledonian University Students' Association 25 Aug 2016
In this interview we talk to Chris Daisley, Vice-President for the School of Engineering and Built Environment at Glasgow Caledonian University Students’ Association. Prior to becoming elected, he studied Computer Networking both as an undergraduate and postgraduate student. One of… Read More
Interview with Jane Culpan, Queen Margaret University 25 Jul 2016
In this interview we talk to Jane Culpan, a programme leader at Queen Margaret University. She is going into the second year of a brand new degree, BSc (Hons) Physical Activity, Health and Wellbeing, which she has designed with student… Read More
That's Quality 2016 Events for Universities and Colleges 01 Jul 2016
Both of our annual That's Quality induction events are still open for bookings! The 2-day residential event for universities takes place on 12th and 13th July in Dundee and the 1-day event for colleges takes place on 10th August in… Read More
Interview with Lindsay Henderson, North Highland College 30 Jun 2016
In this interview we talk to Lindsay Henderson, Quality and Learner Engagement Co-ordinator at North Highland College UHI (NHC). Lindsay joined NHC as a secretarial assistant, moving on to work in Quality part-time while studying at NHC towards a Business… Read More
Interview with Paul Chapman, University of Manchester Students' Union 31 May 2016
In this interview we talk to Paul Chapman, Director of Student Support and Involvement at the University of Manchester Students’ Union. Paul currently leads the Students’ Union’s student engagement activity which includes the ‘traditional’ activities such as advice and welfare,… Read More
That's Quality 2016 Colleges is now open for bookings! 30 May 2016
Register now for our annual induction event for college student officers and students’ association staff. The event is taking place on Wednesday 10th August 2016 at the College Development Network offices in Stirling. This training is a valuable part of induction for newly elected… Read More
Launch of sparqs’ practice guide on student engagement in Institution-led Review 04 May 2016
During 2015-16 sparqs has been developing a practice guide for Scotland’s universities on engaging students in Institution-led Review, which was launched on 4th May 2016 at the annual Learning and Teaching Conference of The Robert Gordon University (RGU). It provides materials, case studies and… Read More
That's Quality 2016 Universities is now open for bookings! 29 Apr 2016
Register now for our annual 2-day residential induction event for university student officers with an education remit and students’ association staff. The event is taking place on Tuesday 12th and Wednesday 13th July 2016, at the West Park Conference Centre in… Read More
Interview with Ian Glen, Heriot-Watt University 29 Apr 2016
In this interview we talk to Ian Glen, a Business Analyst in the Student Systems Unit at Heriot-Watt University. He completed an MSc and PhD in Applied Social Research at the University of Stirling. His thesis was an ethnographic study… Read More
That's Quality induction event for college officers - 10th August 2016 26 Apr 2016
Colleges - please save the date for our annual induction event, That's Quality 2016 Colleges will take place on Wednesday 10th August. The event is aimed at new and returning student officers with an education remit and students' association staff. It will provide a valuable… Read More
Interview with Iain Maitland and Mary Young, University of the West of Scotland 31 Mar 2016
In this interview we talk to Iain Maitland and Mary Young, who work in the Students’ Office at the University of the West of Scotland. They are responsible for a range of work relating to student life, including surveys, induction… Read More
CRT Co-ordinators' Network Meeting ~ 26th April 2016 18 Mar 2016
Our latest network events for co-ordinators of Course Rep Training took place on Tuesday 26th April 2016 in Edinburgh, focusing on materials development. The event focused on the range of sparqs materials available, as well as giving participants the opportunity to learn and share from each other’s… Read More
That's Quality induction events for college and university officers - save the dates! 04 Mar 2016
The dates have now been confirmed for our annual induction events for officers.... That’s Quality Universities 2016 will take place on Tuesday 12th and Wednesday 13th of July; and That's Quality Colleges 2016 will take place on Wednesday 10th August. Both… Read More
Student Engagement in quality - our newly revised staff workshop 27 Feb 2016
We have recently revised our "Student engagement in quality“ staff development workshop for institutional staff - available for download and use by instituions, or for delivery by sparqs. The workshop is intended for staff who are involved in supporting the learning experience, such as teaching, support,… Read More
Interview with Ruth Tudor, Open University Students' Association 26 Feb 2016
In this interview we talk to Ruth Tudor, President of the Open University Students’ Association. She left school with eight ‘O’ grades and one Higher, and started working as a dental nurse, gaining qualification in that role and then specialist qualifications. She… Read More
sparqs Annual Report 2014-15 17 Feb 2016
We are pleased to publish our Annual Report for the academic year 2014-15. The report highlights the work of the team throughout the last academic year, from our core business to exciting new projects and partnerships and future work in the planning. There… Read More
College SSE Survey Support Event - 24th February 2016 11 Feb 2016
On Wednesday 24th February 2016 we held a half-day worksthop around how best to engage with the upcoming Student Satisfaction & Engagement Survey. It focused on successful techniques for increasing survey participation as well as how to use the resultant data to create change… Read More
Interview with Libby Curtis, Gray's School of Art, The Robert Gordon University 28 Jan 2016
In this interview we talk to Libby Curtis, who is currently Associate Head of School at Gray’s School of Art, at The Robert Gordon University, a position directly relating to the enhancement of the student experience and strategic operations of… Read More
