sparqs is recruiting a Deputy Director! 23 Sep 2025
We are excited to announce that sparqs is currently recruiting for a Deputy Director to join our staff team. Please share the details to anyone you think may be interested in this exciting new post! sparqs is a charity funded by the… Read More
Launch of sparqs' updated SEAP Practical Guide to student partnership 17 Sep 2025
We are delighted to publish our updated SEAP Guidance for students’ associations and student officers, designed to support meaningful student engagement throughout the SEAP (Self-Evaluation and Action Plan) process. Initially published in 2024, the guidance has now been updated for… Read More
Launch of sparqs' new Tertiary Quality Enhancement Review Practical Guide 17 Sep 2025
sparqs is delighted to announce the publication of our Practical Guide to Tertiary Quality Enhancement Review (TQER). This guide has been produced for students’ association officers and staff in the tertiary education sector in Scotland. It provides a context and… Read More
sparqs' TQER training 17 Sep 2025
As the second cycle of the Tertiary Quality Enhancement Reviews gets underway, sparqs is pleased to introduce a new training opportunity designed to support college and university students’ associations engaging in a Tertiary Quality Enhancement Review (TQER). This dedicated TQER… Read More
Induction Resource for Academic Representation Co-ordinators 17 Sep 2025
A reminder about our Induction guide for Academic Representation Co-ordinators, most recently updated in May 2025. It contains helpful information for any new students’ association or institution staff member with a student engagement or academic representation role. We do periodical… Read More
A reminder that sparqs' 2025-26 CRT is open to book! 17 Sep 2025
A reminder that bookings are now open for sparqs Course Rep Training during 2025-26 ....for delivery from week beginning Monday 29th September 2025 onwards. All the information you need is on our main CRT webpage. Please read the booking guidance before… Read More
sparqs' Buddy Scheme deadline extended until 14th October 17 Sep 2025
A reminder that our Buddy Scheme is back for year 2025-26 and you now have until Tuesday 14th October to register for the scheme! By signing up to the scheme, you are paired with another practitioner in student engagement across… Read More
A reminder re NEON plans - sign up now for the October meeting! 17 Sep 2025
A reminder that new and returning student officers are invited to sign up and participate in this academic year’s National Education Officers' Network (NEON), run by sparqs. The first online meeting on 28th October is open to book... What is NEON? The… Read More
SESN plans reminder - register now for October's meeting! 17 Sep 2025
A reminder that the Student Engagement Staff Network (SESN) is back for academic year 2025-26. Make sure you save the dates in your diary! The online meetings will all take place via Zoom, from 10.00am to 1.00pm. The October meeting… Read More
sparqs team news! 29 Aug 2025
It's been all change in the sparqs staff team this summer, as we wished farewell to Gloria Laurini and Justin Walker, and recruited two new Development Consultants, Amy Monks and Shona Agnew. Gloria left the team in July, to return… Read More
sparqs' 2025-26 Course Rep Training is open to book! 29 Aug 2025
Bookings are now open for Course Rep Training during 2025-26 ....for delivery from week beginning Monday 29th September 2025 onwards. All the information you need is on our main CRT webpage. Please read the booking guidance before arranging your sessions and… Read More
Meet our Associate Trainer team for 2025-26 29 Aug 2025
We are delighted to introduce our excellent team of student Associate Trainers (ATs) for the coming academic year. The team includes 11 newly-recruited trainers and 8 returners from previous years, making it our largest ever team! The team will begin delivering Introductory… Read More
Student officers – Join us for this year’s NEON meetings 29 Aug 2025
New and returning student officers are invited to sign up and participate in this academic year’s National Education Officers' Network (NEON), run by sparqs. What is NEON? The National Education Officer’s Network is designed as an ongoing training, development, and networking space… Read More
SESN plans for 2025-26 - register now for October's meeting! 29 Aug 2025
The Student Engagement Staff Network (SESN) is back for academic year 2025-26. Make sure you save the dates in your diary! The online meetings will all take place via Zoom, from 10.00am to 1.00pm. The October meeting is currently open… Read More
Round-up of That's Quality! 2025 29 Aug 2025
A round-up from our annual That’s Quality! induction event for new college and university student officers and those who support them. The event is designed to introduce participants to the quality enhancement agenda, look at why quality matters to students and… Read More
sparqs' Buddy Scheme is open for registrations! 29 Aug 2025
The Buddy Scheme is back for year 2025-26! By signing up to the scheme, you are paired with another practitioner in student engagement across institutions and students’ associations in Scotland, to give you the opportunity to discuss and have a… Read More
sparqs' support to student officers for 2025-26 29 Aug 2025
As always, during July we sent our annual welcome emails to new and returning student officers with an education remit. The aim was to highlight sparqs' support, relevant resources and forthcoming events that would be useful as part of student… Read More
Updated Induction Resource for Academic Representation Co-ordinators 22 May 2025
sparqs is pleased to announce an update to our induction resource for new academic representation co-ordinators and similar students’ association staff. The Induction guide for Academic Representation Co-ordinators contains helpful information for any new students’ association or institution staff member… Read More
Introducing our 'Talking Student Partnership' interview series 22 May 2025
Readers of sparqs news articles will be familiar with our longstanding 'Talking Student Engagement' interview series, launched over a decade ago in 2014. sparqs is now taking these interviews in an exciting new direction under a new name… Our newly relaunched 'Talking… Read More
sparqs Institutional Visits: Key themes across the SLE and within SAs 22 May 2025
sparqs conducted a series of institutional visits with 36 colleges and universities between October 2024 and February 2025. The purpose of these visits was: To discuss sparqs’ two key sector resources, the Student Learning Experience model and Scotland’s Ambition for Student… Read More
