Aspire to HE share insight on student engagement at national conference

Colleagues from Aspire to HE presented at the Uni Connect Virtual Conference to showcase best practice on inspiring students to pursue higher education over the past twelve months.

The Southern Universities Network hosted the Uni Connect Virtual Conference, which had taken place via Zoom on Wednesday 31st March 2021.

The event enabled those part of the Uni Connect programme to share best practice, hear case studies from other partners and network with colleagues.

Colleagues from Aspire to HE discussed the launch of our Aspire to HE Youth Panel, the delivery of virtual reality campus tours and the collaborative use of Microsoft Teams with Dudley College – all new initiatives to successfully engage with students throughout the pandemic.

Stephen Heslegrave, Senior Partnership Officer at Aspire to HE said: “We really enjoyed the conference – it was great to hear from our partners and seeing how we have all created new ways to engage with students over the past twelve months.

“We were overwhelmed with the amount of interest in our virtual reality initiative and so pleased to have inspired others to try this fantastic new way of working.

“Attending conferences like these are a brilliant opportunity to share best practice, enable new ideas to spark and move towards the next stage of inspiring the next generation to pursue higher education.”

Ben Tucker, Co-Director at Aspire to HE said: “The conference was a fantastic event – so inspiring to hear from our partners and their success stories as well as being a platform for our team to share the amazing work they do to support students, schools and parents across the Black Country and Telford and Wrekin.

“It’s been a challenging time to engage with students during the pandemic but the team saw this as an opportunity to think differently and more creatively in the way we deliver our sessions.

“The team came up with some fantastic ideas that we will continue to implement and develop over the next year.

“I’m extremely proud of the team for their continued hard work and dedication throughout the pandemic and always putting students’ needs first. We have exciting times ahead packed with more creative ideas – I look forward to see them come to light and inspiring more people to enter the world of higher education.”

Over the next few years, working in partnership schools, colleges, businesses and local authorities across the Black Country and Telford and Wrekin, Aspire to HE will continue to support people to reach their potential through higher education.

You can view the presentations here:

Aspire to HE Youth Panel
Virtual Reality
Microsoft Teams with Dudley College