#sparqs19 Conference and Awards round-up! 08 Apr 2019
.A big thank you to everyone who attended and presented at the sparqs’ 2019 conference and together contributed to making it such a resounding success! We were delighted to welcome around 200 delegates from Scotland, the rest of the UK,… Read More
Welcome to our new Chair and the launch of our new Strategic Plan 08 Apr 2019
At the sparqs’ conference on 28th March 2019, we were delighted to formally welcome Sir Andrew Cubie into his new role as Chair of the sparqs’ Trustee Board. Sir Andrew succeeds Professor Norman Sharp OBE, to whom we bid a… Read More
Open for registration – Academic Rep Co-ordinators’ Network meeting on 7th May 2019! 08 Apr 2019
The third Academic Representation Co-ordinators' (ARC) Network meeting of 2018-19 is now open for registrations! The Academic Representation Co-ordinators’ Network is sparqs’ professional forum for staff in roles relating to the support of academic representation and student engagement in quality. Under the banner… Read More
Student Mental Wellbeing: A Learning and Teaching Perspective 08 Apr 2019
sparqs recognises that understanding and improving student mental health and wellbeing is a priority for students, student officers, institution staff and people working across the Further and Higher Education sectors in Scotland. We are currently developing a project that will examine… Read More
Save the dates for this year's That's Quality events! 08 Apr 2019
The dates have now been confirmed for our annual induction events for officers.... That’s Quality! Universities 2019 will take place on Wednesday 17th & Thursday 18th July 2019 and That's Quality! Colleges 2019 will take place on Wednesday 7th & Thursday 8th August… Read More
'Talking Student Engagement' Interview with Megan Brown 08 Apr 2019
In this interview, we talk to Megan Brown, Academic Engagement Co-ordinator at Edinburgh University Students’ Association (EUSA). Alongside her role at EUSA, Megan sits on QAA's Student Advisory Committee and sparqs' University Advisory Group. 1. Tell us a bit about your… Read More
'Talking Student Engagement' Interview with Mark Charters 08 Apr 2019
In this interview, we talk to Mark Charters, Academic Development Coordinator at Glasgow School of Art. He studied at the University of Stirling, where he was also Vice-President (Education & Engagement) with the students’ association and then Representation and Student… Read More
Course Rep of the Year Awards shortlists announcement! 19 Feb 2019
3rd sparqs' Student Engagement Awards Shortlists! We are delighted to announce the shortlists for the 'Course Rep of the Year' sparqs Student Engagement Awards! Congratulations to the following reps and thanks to everyone who took the time to nominate an outstanding… Read More
SPOTLIGHT ON…University of the West of Scotland's innovative approach to ILR 19 Feb 2019
This ‘SPOTLIGHT ON’ features the University of the West of Scotland’s innovative approach to Institution-led Review (ILR) which has been contextualised to mirror certain elements of Enhancement-led Institution Review (ELIR), and enables programme teams to focus on those areas where… Read More
International delegate programme at #sparqs19 - site visits open to book! 19 Feb 2019
We're pleased to announce that the site visits for international delegates attending #sparqs19 are now open to book! In addition to the main conference on 28th March 2019, the optional site visits and International Delegates' Day during the same week as the… Read More
'Talking Student Engagement' Interview with Tom Lowe 19 Feb 2019
In this interview, we talk to Tom Lowe, who is the Centre for Student Engagement Manager at the University of Winchester and Secretary for the international network RAISE (Researching, Advancing and Inspiring Student Engagement). Tom’s area of focus is the practicalities surrounding engaging students… Read More
Final week to register for #sparqs19 on 28th March 2019! 19 Feb 2019
If you've still to register for the sparqs' conference, please book by Friday 22nd February! Student Engagement for All is taking place on Thursday 28th March 2019 at Surgeons' Hall in Edinburgh. #sparqs19 The conference is aimed at students, managers and practitioners in colleges, universities and other post-16… Read More
sparqs' 2019 Student Engagement Awards shortlists announced! 21 Jan 2019
Awards Shortlists announcement! We are delighted to announce the shortlists for the 2019 sparqs Student Engagement Awards for the four institutional/SA categories. Thank you to everyone who took the time to make submissions, they were of a very high standard and it was a tough… Read More
Course Rep of the Year Awards are still open + #sparqs19 registration! 21 Jan 2019
Course Rep of the Year awards are still open! .The awards for 'Course Rep of the Year' are currently still open until Friday 8th February so please get your nominations in if you'd like to see an outstanding rep recognised! Nominations are invited for… Read More
Open for registration – Academic Rep Co-ordinators’ Network meeting on 20th February 2019! 07 Jan 2019
The second of 2018-19’s Academic Representation Co-ordinators' (ARC) Network meetings is now open for registrations! The Academic Representation Co-ordinators’ network is sparqs’ professional forum for staff in roles relating to the support of academic representation and student engagement in quality. Under the banner… Read More
'Course Rep of the Year' awards are now open for nominations! 07 Jan 2019
Nominations are now open for our 'Course Rep of the Year' awards for both colleges and universities within Scotland .The awards are part of the third sparqs Student Engagement Awards, taking place at the end of our conference on Thursday 28th… Read More
The College Improvement Project: tackling the FE attainment challenge 07 Jan 2019
Launched in 2017, the College Improvement Project (CIP), aims to improve retention and raise attainment in FE in colleges through taking a quality improvement approach to developing evidence-based practice. Five colleges across Scotland are involved in the project (Dundee & Angus,… Read More
New Year, new… exciting resources! 07 Jan 2019
Welcome to 2019! We hope you have had a wonderful festive break and are feeling recharged and ready for 2019. What better way to ease yourself back in than with some light reading? We wanted to highlight some useful resources for you… Read More
Don't miss the early-bird rate for #sparqs19 - register by Friday 18th January! 07 Jan 2019
Book before Friday 18th January to take advantage of the early-bird rate for the sparqs' conference ~ Student Engagement for All ~ #sparqs19 The conference is taking place on Thursday 28th March 2019 at Surgeons' Hall in Edinburgh, aimed at students, managers and practitioners in colleges,… Read More
Registration is open for the sparqs conference on 28th March 2019! 12 Dec 2018
We are delighted to announce that registration is now open for the sparqs' conference ~ Student Engagement for All ~ taking place on Thursday 28th March 2019 at Surgeons' Hall in Edinburgh. #sparqs19 The conference is aimed at students, managers and practitioners in colleges, universities and… Read More
