Architects of education: empowering the student voice through co-creation

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This blog was kindly authored by Micaela A. Cirilo Correa, Vice President of Education, Oxford Brookes Students’ Union.

When I arrived from Peru to begin my Master’s and took on the role of Vice President of Education, I quickly realised that leadership in UK Higher Education required more than just a seat at the table; it required an open and flexible mindset. I brought with me a background in creativity, expecting a fast-paced environment of collaborative change. However, I soon found that there is still a traditional model of student representation, often too formal and reactive to keep up with a modern, international student body.

To truly empower student voices, we must move beyond ‘consulting’ students and start ‘co-creating’ with them. My journey as VP Education at Oxford Brookes has been about building an ecosystem where students are not just participants in meetings, but the primary architects of university policy.

Too often, ‘Student Voice’ is treated as a compliance exercise, a tick-box at the end of a committee paper. However, the currency of effective policymaking is engagement. If the structures for feedback are too rigid, we lose the quietest but most vital voices, particularly those facing language barriers or those from underrepresented backgrounds.

To address this, we implemented a Student and Representation Voice Strategy that shifts the power dynamic. I don’t like to be just a leader; I want to start building the infrastructure and recognition systems that help students to take the lead. The objective is to move away from simply ‘organising’ students and instead create the conditions that permit them to organise themselves.

The success of this shift is visible in the structural innovations we have implemented this year:

1. Professionalising the role: We created a comprehensive ‘Rep Series’ including the Rep Academy, Reps Forum, RepsFest, and RepsWall. This goes beyond basic training; it creates a clear path to professional success for our students. By ensuring student reps are formally mentioned during graduation, we have showed to the entire institution that student leadership is a high-level professional contribution, not just a volunteer ‘extra.’
2. The power of ‘school rep’ pilots: Recognising that a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach fails, we successfully implemented a new role pilot for School Reps in Education Humanities and Languges School, Biomedical Sciences School and Oxford Brookes Business School. This decentralised the student voice, placing decision-making power directly in the hands of those within their specific academic disciplines.
3. Real-time data vs. static surveys: Through RepsWall, a dedicated live feedback channel, we have facilitated over 100 points of live interaction. This allowed us to bypass the delays of termly committees and co-create a plan of action to close the feedback loop.

The most powerful evidence of student-led innovation was the Student Start-Up Fair, created in collaboration with the Enterprise Support Team. By providing the space, we proved that when students are empowered to lead, they drive their own employability and enterprise. This project didn’t just provide feedback; it created an economy of ideas within the university.

To ensure that student empowerment becomes a standard, not an exception, I propose that institutions do the following:

1. Recognition in academic records: Student representation roles should be a formal part of the Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR) and celebrated at graduation nationwide to incentivise diverse leadership.
2. Agile governance integration: Universities should formalise ‘Live Feedback Panels’ (similar to our RepWalls model) to inform university executive boards, ensuring that policy decisions are based on real-time student data rather than six-month-old surveys.
3. The student innovation fund model: Every Faculty should allocate a ring-fenced ‘Student-Led Project Fund’ where students propose, vote on, and execute campus or academic improvements (like our 50 per cent retail discount initiative to reduce food waste).

My experience has shown me that the most effective leadership involves building the stage and then stepping back. Whether it is tackling language barriers or redefining study spaces, the focus must remain on student-led action.

It is essential for every student, from undergraduate to PhD, to have the opportunity to take the lead and create change. We must show them not only that they are being heard, but that their input leads to real action. By shifting from top-down management to a culture of self-driven development, we can unlock a synergy: blending institutional strength with the restless, creative energy of the student body. If we are to solve the challenges of the 21st century, we must empower students to lead the way.

To read more about student’s experiences of leadership roles within universities why not read HEPI’s report ‘Rethinking student voice: how can higher education design effective student governance?’ by Darcie Jones.