Do you have perspectives, experiences and ideas to contribute to School-level conversations about education at LSE? Join fifty other students from accross LSE to reflect on your experiences of education, exchange insights with senior leadership, and help shape education enhancement activity.
The Student Education Panel engages students of all backgrounds in the development of education at LSE. 50 Student Education Panellists meet five times per year to discuss a specific education-related topic, question or proposal. Drawing on their own experiences and ideas, they provide an all-important student perspective in current conversations about education at LSE, with a view to developing a better educational experience that works for all our students.
Panellists are a group of diverse individuals who reflect on their personal experiences and perspectives, and do not participate as a representative of their peers. They also play a key role in shaping how the Student Education Panel develops accross the year and beyond. The opinions, ideas and solutions exchanged during panel meetings will be considered alongside other channels for student input, including Student Staff Liaison Committees, Consultative Fora, LSESU representation and Change Makers research.
Hear from Sam, a previous Student Education Panellist, about his experience on the panel:
The Student Education Panel is composed of up to 50 students: undergraduate, General Course, taught postgraduate and research.
We welcome participation from any registered student who is interested in the design and delivery of their education and believes they could bring a different perspective to the conversation. There are no prerequisites for this role.
We are particularly looking to engage students who may feel less heard through LSE’s existing student partnership and student voice opportunities.
Each Student Education Panel meeting will have a different high-level topic, chosen collaboratively between panellists and staff.
You can see the topics from previous meetings at Insights from the Student Education Panel.
Some of the topics we are interested in discussing with panellists in 2023/24 include (but are not limited to):
- Navigating transitions between levels of education
- Student voice at LSE
- The changing influence of Artificial Intelligence on education
- Assessment criteria and feedback
- Inclusivity on campus
We will also invite panellists to be part of the decision-making process for panel meeting topics, so that we can shape the year's activities together.
The Student Education Panel has been designed to offer panellists the following benefits and opportunities:
- Engage as a partner in education enhancement by building mutually beneficial relationships with other students and staff.
- Contribute to real changes at LSE by sharing your experiences, advising on proposals, co-creating new ideas, and collaborating on solutions.
- Develop your skills and insights as an independent thinker, critical investigator and thought-leader.
- Become part of a community of panelists from across the School who share your commitment to improving the student experience.
- Interrogate and increase your understanding of the university as an idea and an institution.
All panellists will be remunerated for the time spent preparing for, and attending, Student Education Panel meetings. This is to ensure equitable access to opportunities and to recognise their labour and contributions to improving LSE. Panellists will receive a £30 voucher per meeting, that can be redeemed from a variety of retailers.
There will be five in-person panel meetings each academic year, each one lasting for approximately 90 minutes. Every meeting will have a different overarching topic/theme and will be facilitated by staff from LSE and LSESU.
Panellists will hear about current strategic priorities within LSE and LSESU and interrogate their understanding, expectations, and experiences of higher education. The main part of the panel discussions, on the given topic/theme, will take place in small groups, who will then feed back to the rest of the panel. Examples of activities given to panellists could include:
- Assess an aspect of LSE’s current education offering
- Identify priority areas for change
- Propose solutions to known issues
- Share examples of good practice from across the sector
- Co-create resources for staff development.
Student Education Panellists are expected to prepare for, attend, and actively contribute to five Wednesday afternoon panel meetings across the academic year – two in Autumn Term (15 November and 6 Dec 2023) and three in Winter Term (31 January, 28 February and 20 March 2024).
They are also expected to take an active role in the development of the panel, by contributing to short planning and evaluation activities outside of each main meeting.
If a timetabled lecture/class/seminar prevents you from participating in one of the panel meetings or activities, please discuss this with panel organisers in advance. We will endeavour to identify alternative ways of making your contribution, if appropriate.
Between the compulsory main panel meetings, panellists will also be offered exclusive opportunities to contribute to university developments through optional sub-panel meetings. These include activities such as:
- Forming a student discussion panel as part of the LSE Education Fora and Symposia events for staff
- Collaborating with School-level working groups on relevant topics
- Contributing to the development of new policies and procedures
- Preparing posters and/or papers for presentation at external education-focussed conferences
- Research Assistant positions within the Eden Centre
Previous panellists have told us how much they enjoyed the experience to engage directly with staff during these smaller-group opportunities.
After each main meeting, panellists are invited to create an Insights from the Student Education Panel report, which provides a snapshot of the panellists' discussions and calls to action for the wider LSE community.
The information gained from panel meetings are used, in conjunction with feedback from Student Staff Liaison Committees, LSESU representation and Change Makers research, to enhance students’ experience of education at LSE.
An overview of the different ways the Student Education Panel has contributed towards innovation and change within LSE will be shared in due course.
LSE has a variety of opportunities for students to share their university experience.
The Student Education Panel differs from Academic Representatives because panelists reflect on questions as individual students, and their feedback is not taken as representative of their peers. Student Education Panelists consider a pre-defined strategic topic in detail, whereas Academic Representatives typically provide feedback on their experiences more generally.
Similarly, Panelists do not conduct in-depth original research like the Change Makers, although they may engage with Change Makers findings and recommendations from previous years.
Applications for the 2023/24 Student Education Panel closed on Sunday 22 October 2023. Regrettably we are unable to accept late applications. All applicants will be notified about the outcome of their application in Mid-November.
If you are interested in joinin the Student Education Panel 2024/25, please check back at the beginning of Autumn Term 2024.
Contact us
Please contact the Student Education Panel team if you have any questions.
