SEDA, in collaboration with Jisc, has created the Student Partnership Impact Award as an international recognition of students who have had impact at their universities relating to Educational Development. Students are now engaged in developing universities, colleges and students’ unions through both formal and informal opportunities outlined below. We are open to written applications directly from students and graduates from across Higher Education to celebrate the success of students engaged in educational developments.
Hear more about the award from Tom Lowe, a member of the award development team and find out more in our video introduction to the award.
About the award
Student Partnership Impact Award – What do we mean?
Criteria
Process
Confidentiality and data protection
Evaluation and assessment of the award
Fees and certification
About the award
Student voice, representation and partnership opportunities are increasingly common features of higher education in the UK and internationally, as evidenced through networks, conferences and publications. Students are being given the opportunities and agency to support and lead educational change. From 2023, SEDA is welcoming applications for a cross-sector certificate in partnership with Jisc that recognises student roles in supporting and leading educational change. This is available for students and for student teams (including graduates up to 12 months) who have gone above and beyond their standard institutional role, and have had identifiable impact or influence within their course, department or university.
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Student Partnership Impact Award – What do we mean?
What do we mean by Students?
This award is open to national and international students of higher education level of study, who are/were engaged in developing or enhancing an element of education or services at their university, college or students’ union. This award is open to graduates reflecting retrospectively on their engagement too, limited up until 12 months post-graduation.
What do we mean by Partnership?
Student-staff partnership activities occur across education development and enhancement, whether between staff and students, students’ union officers and university managers, and often based upon formal schemes such as Peer Mentoring, Student Academic Course Representatives, and Students as Partners or Fellows Schemes. SPIA recognises partnership that is based on students and staff who are equal partners sharing leadership and authority to determine together new ideas and interventions, delivered through professional and educational development, to achieve a mutually beneficial goal (Matthews & Dollinger, 2022; Peters, 2018).
What do we mean by Impact?
We wish to hear about students that have had impact when enhancing educational development, where changes in practice occurred and agendas were influenced. Applicants must identify the impact of their work (e.g. has it improved student engagement and/or wellbeing in a way that can be identified and, ideally, measured?) and explain how it will be carried on if/when they leave their student role. Impact is not just being in the role – the Student Partnership Impact Award aims to recognise students who have made a difference and gone above the minimum expectation. For example, if applying as a Student Academic Representative, the student should have impacted a change in the course or helped support the course team during a difficult time, as examples of impact. Impact for a Student Academic Representative would not be just attending meetings and giving feedback.
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Criteria
Applications should be written by the student or student team. The named contact on the application can be a staff member but only the reference should be written by a staff member. To achieve the award, applicants must describe and explain the partnership initiative they have been involved in and evaluate its impact and their contribution to it.
Student partnership, or students as partners, is defined as a relationship in which all involved (this can include students, academics, professional services staff, senior managers, students’ unions etc.) are actively and collaboratively engaged in improving practices and/or policies to develop and enhance the student experience in higher education.
Applicants must explain:
Applications must evaluate:
Note on multiple applications
You may only appear in one Student Partnership Impact Award application per application round. For example if you have submitted an individual application you may not also be part of a team application; you may not be part of more than one team application; and you may not submit more than one individual application.
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Process
Individual students or student teams can apply for the award through a short, online application form. You can view Word versions of the forms by clicking the links below. You may wish to complete your form in Word first and then copy and paste your answers into the online version. This is advisable if you are submitting a team application where you will need to add details for each of the team members. There are also some mock applications to view below.
Individual application form (Word doc)
Team application form (Word doc)
Deadline
Tuesday 1st July 2025 23:59 (UK time)
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Confidentiality and data protection
We expect that these applications will offer a rich source of information about student partnership activities. The online application form also includes a data protection request. If applicants agree to this, SEDA may use all or part of the body of the application anonymously in order to further develop and share examples of effective student initiatives and partnership work.
All successful applicants will have their name and institution added to a ‘hall of fame’ on the SEDA website (unless they choose to decline this offer).
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Evaluation and assessment of the award
A number of SEDA volunteers (from the committees and wider membership) have been trained to review the applications.
An independent external reviewer has been appointed by SEDA to ensure standards are maintained and that the scheme has credibility.
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Fees and certification
There is a small fee for each application to cover the administrative costs.
£20 for an individual applicaiton
£40 for a team application (2-12 individuals)
There is a 25% discount if the ‘Corroborating Statement’ comes from an institutional or individual member (NB: an institutional member = anyone employed within a member institution); members can be given a discount code to apply when ‘purchasing’ the product on the website.
We hope that students’ institutions will support this initiative by paying or contributing to this small charge.
Successful applicants receive a certificate (pdf format) by email.
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A member of the International Consortium for Educational Development