Student Engagement Staff Network

sparqs supports the Student Engagement Staff Network (SESN), a professional network for staff in colleges, universities and students’ associations with roles relating to the co-ordination and development of student engagement in quality.

Strong and effective student engagement is crucial to the student view on learning, and good professional staff support to representation and engagement activity is in turn essential to make this happen.

Such roles generally lie within students' associations (though can often be institutional posts) and typically include responsibilities such as coordinating course and lead rep systems, support to senior students' association education officers, liaison with institutional staff on student engagement in quality, and ensuring effective student engagement in committees, governance and review activities. The Professional standards framework for student engagement is an important tool for understanding and articulating these positions.  We have accompanied it with a series of resources, including an Induction Guide for Academic Representation Co-ordinators.

As lynchpins to student engagement in quality, student engagement staff require substantial knowledge, skills, experience and support. The SESN meetings, founded on the themes of "learn, share, develop", aims to provide that through discussion around key sectoral developments, consultation on new initiatives within sparqs, and opportunities to share and reflect on personal and professional practice in supporting academic representation. We welcome contributions of case studies and discussion topics from student engagement practitioners across the sector.

Suggestions are always welcome for topics for SESN meetings. If you would like to propose anything, please contact Gloria Laurini.

There is a Jiscmail group for SESN which is a forum for discussion of the events and their content as well as for exchange of related work. To join the Jiscmail group, please visit this link.

2023-24 SESN Meetings

  • Wednesday 13th September 2023 - via Zoom, 12.00pm to 2.00pm.
    - see the event page for further details and the materials from the event.  
  • Thursday 5th October 2023 - in-person 'Planning for the year ahead' meeting, jointly with NEON and JAG members - 2.00pm-5.00pm at SKYbar, Doubletree by Hilton, Edinburgh.
    - see the event page for further details and thanks to everyone who joined us and contributed. 
  • Wednesday 29th November 2023 - via Zoom, 10.00am to 1.00pm.
    - see the event page to view the materials from the meeting. 
  • Tuesday 13th February 2024 - via Zoom, 10.00am to 1.00pm.
    - see the event page to view the materials from the meeting.
  • Tuesday 19th March 2024 - via Zoom, 10.00am to 1.00pm.
    - see the event booking page to register to attend. 

There will likely be a final, in-person meeting of the academic year during May 2024, possibly once again a joint meeting with NEON members.  Details TBC. 

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2022-23 SESN Meetings

  • Thursday 29th September 2022 – Strathclyde University SA (Mandela room), 9.30am-4.00pm.
    - see the event page to view the materials from the day.
  • Thursday 1st December 2022 – online, 10.00am-1.00pm.
    - see the event page to view the materials from the day. 
  • Thursday 2nd March 2023 – online, 10.00am-1.00pm.
    - see the event page to view the materials from the day.
  • Thursday 4th May 2023  - joint, in-person, strategic planning meeting with SESN and JAG, 10.30am-3.00pm at Queen Margaret University. 
    - see the event page for further details.
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2021-22 SESN Meetings

We continued to hold these meetings more frequenly during 2021-22, to give members a chance to meet regularly while the impact of the COVID-19 crisis continues. All meetings took place from 10.00am until 1.00pm, continuing on an online basis.

  • Tuesday 14th September 2021
    - see the event page for further details and to view the materials from the meeting. 
  • Thursday 4th November 2021
    - see the event page for further details and to view the materials from the meeting. 
  • Tuesday 7th December 2021
    - see the event page for further details and to view the materials from the meeting.
  • Thursday 27th January 2022
    - see the event page for further details and to view the materials from the meeting. 
  • Thursday 24th February 2022
    - see the event page for further details and to view the materials from the meeting.
  • Thursday 24th March 2022
    - see the event page for further details and to view the materials from the meeting.  

2020-21 SESN Meetings

The network usually meets three times each academic year.  However, it met more frequently (online) during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, in order for us to keep in better contact with network members during the constantly-changing situation. 

  • SESN informal catch-upWednesday 24th June 2020 
    - see the event page for more information and to view the presentation from the session. 
  • SESN informal catch-up - Thursday 1st October 2020
    - see the event page for further details and to view the presentation from the catch-up. 
  • SESN regular network meeting - Wednesday 18th November 2020
    - see the event page for further information and to view the materials from the day. 
  • SESN informal catch-up - Tuesday 15th December 2020
    - see the event page to view the presentation from the session.  
  • SESN regular network meeting - Tuesday 9th February 2021
    - see the event page to view the materials from the meeting. 
  • SESN network meeting - Tuesday 9th March 2021
    - see the event page to view the materials from the meeting. 
  • SESN network meeting - Thursday 15th April 2021
    - see the event page to view the materials from the meeting.
  • SESN network meeting - Thursday 13th May 2021
    - see the event page to view the materials from the meeting. 
  • SESN network meeting - Tuesday 8th June 2021
    - see the event page to view the materials from the meeting. 

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2019-20 SESN meetings

  • Tuesday 19th November 2019 at Dundee University Students' Association
    - see the event page for further details and to view the materials from the day.  
  • Wednesday 5th February 2020 at Forth Valley College, Falkirk campus  

    - see the event page for further details and to view the agenda and presentation for an overview of the whole day. 

  • Tuesday 5th May 2020 - online event due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic
    - see the event page for further details and to view the materials from the online event.

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Past ARC resources

In 2018-19 and prior, SESN was known as the Academic Representation Coordinators' Network, and details of meetings under this name are as follows:

Meetings of the network in 2017-18 took place as follows:

  • Wednesday 29th November 2017 - hosted by City of Glasgow College
    - see the event page to view the materials from the day.
  • Tuesday 20th February 2018 - hosted by Dundee University Students' Association
    - see the event page to view the materials from the day. 
  • Wednesday 9th May 2018 hosted by University of Stirling Students' Union
    - see the event page to view the materials from the day.

Details of our 2016-17 dates were as follows:

  • Thursday 17th November 2016 
    - see the event page for further information and materials from the day.
  • Tuesday 14th February 2017
    - see the event page for further information and materials from the day.
  • Thursday 4th May 2017
    - see the event page for further information and materials from the day. 

For more information, please contact Gloria Laurini

Student Engagement Framework

National Education Officers' Network meeting

21 Mar 2024

This meeting of sparqs’ National Education Officers’ Network (NEON) continues our series of meetings for academic year 2023-24. …

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Student Engagement Staff Network meeting

19 Mar 2024

This meeting of our Student Engagement Staff Network (SESN) for academic year 2023-24 continues our series of half-day events for…

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