Student Voice

Youn Affejee (Warwick Manufacturing Group)

WIHEA Student Fellow and Project Officer

The Fellowship gave me an opportunity to meet and collaborate with students and staff from all over the university. A personal highlight is being involved in a student-led project exploring the experiences of neurodivergent and international students.

Gunisha Aggarwal (Economics)

WIHEA Student Fellow and Project Officer

Being a WIHEA Student Fellow has been an incredibly rewarding and transformative experience. I’ve had the opportunity to contribute to a range of intersectional initiatives that promote inclusive learning at Warwick and beyond, from co-chairing sessions at the Warwick Education Conference to supporting leadership development through Warwick in Africa. A standout moment was successfully applying for the WIHEA Strategic Student Fund, which offered a supportive platform to test the feasibility of student-led ideas. Through this, I co-led a project exploring how students use AI for academic development, with a particular focus on accessibility and digital literacy. This Fellowship has expanded my toolkit of experiences and has equipped me with the skills, confidence, and network to drive meaningful change as a student.

Sophie Bourne (MA Culture of the European Renaissance, Centre for the Study of the Renaissance, 2022–2025)

WIHEA Student Fellow and Project Officer

I have had opportunities to get involved with two different WIHEA Small Fund projects, as a focus group lead and as a student co-chair. Being part of the project design and having input into the aims and methodology of the project was really beneficial for seeing inside a small-scale research project. It has also been excellent experience undertaking a different type of research, focusing on data collection through surveys and focus groups, skills I would not have developed otherwise coming from a humanities background. My advice for incoming Fellows would be to choose one aspect you are interested in and stick with it. There are so many opportunities that it is easy to get overwhelmed, so choosing one or two projects in which to really invest your time and energy is a great way to make sure you have something tangible to show at the end of your Fellowship.

Josh Davies (Philosophy (Chemistry)

WIHEA Student Fellow and Project Officer

The Doctoral Values project was developed to enhance the voices of Warwick’s postgraduate researchers (PGRs) and centre their lived experiences within institutional strategy and our PGR ecosystem. As a student, co-leading this project, I ran seven focus groups held online and across multiple campus locations. The creation of five co-defined Doctoral Values (Learning and Personal Growth, Supportive and Effective Practice, Community and Belonging, Equity and Fairness, and Research with a Purpose) provided a space to discuss the core needs, aspirations, and lived realities of our PGR community. By putting co-creation at its heart, this project ensures that Warwick’s evolving research culture genuinely reflects and responds to the priorities of its postgraduate researchers.

Yanyan Li (Applied Linguistics)

WIHEA Student Fellow and Project Officer

Being a WIHEA Fellow is an honour that has broadened my academic, professional, and social networks. It has given me the opportunity to lead a strategic fund project on a timely and important topic promoting ethical and inclusive practices in use of AI for writing within the University. Through this role, I have connected with colleagues beyond my own discipline, opening doors to interdisciplinary dialogue and collaboration. More than just a title, being a WIHEA Fellow is a source of pride and a reflection of my commitment to driving positive change in UK higher education. It also highlights my expertise in higher education research. The Fellowship is a mark of recognition both within Warwick and beyond.

Linta Nasim (Final (4th) Year Medical Student, Warwick Medical School)

WIHEA Student Fellow and Project Officer

I had the privilege of expanding an existing project originally focused on enhancing inclusivity for Muslim students in medical education, broadening its scope to support Muslim students across higher education more generally.

As part of this initiative, supported by WIHEA, my colleagues at WMS and I delivered a hybrid WIHEA Masterclass entitled ‘Enhancing the Education and Student Experience for Muslim Students’.

Building on this work, we are now adapting our Medical Muslim Student Guide to serve the wider Muslim student community at Warwick. This is being developed in collaboration with WIHEA Fellows and undergraduate Muslim students, particularly through the Islamic Society. We aim to launch the updated guide in time for Freshers’ Week this autumn, so stay tuned!

As part of WIHEA, I have had opportunities to attend Learning Circles and workshops, as well as expand my network outside of WMS with staff and students across the University. It truly has been a great experience, and I hope to continue to make the most of these connections in the year I have left at Warwick.

Enaya Nihal (Students’ Union)

President

WIHEA is such an inclusive and welcoming space! For myself, although the nature of my role and the sheer number of campaigns I was delivering meant that I could not attend as many Learning Circles as I would have liked to, I found WIHEA events and the people who made it to be a joy. Meeting people who champion interdisciplinarity, co-creation, and the student voice at its heart, and being able to work with them in other spaces has meant leading initiatives designed with students, for students. Having been a Fellow for two years, I can definitely say that WIHEA gives you a chance to go beyond your bubble. I would thoroughly recommend everyone who has got a touch of wonder at Warwick to rock up and see where it takes you. There are some incredible stories waiting to be told, and you have the chance to tell yours – or create one with someone from a department that you did not know existed before!

Dr Dhvani Patil (BA, 2nd year (about to go on an intercalated year abroad), Liberal Arts)

WIHEA Student Fellow and Project Officer

I’ve had a great time as a WIHEA Student Fellow this year. One of the main things I did with my time as a Fellow was to get involved with the Building Belonging Learning Circle. I also had the opportunity to be a judge for the Warwick Award for Teaching Excellence, which was super interesting! Finally, I got involved with a student project on Belonging and Inclusivity within informal spaces of higher education. Although this project did not get to the data collection stage this year, I still learnt a lot about research through the process of planning and organising it. Overall, my time with WIHEA has taught me a lot about the way the University works and how academic research is conducted. As a student, I have valued opportunities to have conversations with staff beyond the classroom. Especially as someone who wants to pursue a career in academia, this year has been a brilliant learning experience.

My advice for incoming Student Fellows would be to be confident and not shy away from starting conversations with the other Fellows.

Alijah Taha (Students’ Union)

President (then Vice President Postgraduates)

As a WIHEA Fellow, I had an excellent opportunity to get involved in Learning Circles, particularly the Building and Belonging Circle. For me, WIHEA feels like a parent body to many small but incredibly powerful think tanks – spaces where meaningful change begins with conversations and ends with tangible outcomes.

This Fellowship has impacted on me in more ways than I can count, from expanding my network and shaping my thinking, to empowering me to drive initiatives with the support of brilliant people whom I met through WIHEA. It’s been equal parts thought-provoking and action-oriented.

To incoming Fellows, make the most of this rare and brilliant opportunity. Say ‘yes’ to collaborations, dive into discussions, and let your ideas grow in the company of curious, committed people. Just one word of caution: don’t stretch yourself too thin like I did, trying to join every fascinating Learning Circle. There’s a lot to gain, and just enough time to do it well.

Vivek Venkatram (3rd Year PPE, UNESCO Youth Representative, Student)

The WIHEA community and Fellowship have allowed me to directly impact the student experience and understand the institutional challenges that educators face. In my first year, as part of a WIHEA project, I co-created an interdisciplinary PPE module on food systems. As a WIHEA Student Fellow and Project Officer, during my second year I worked on a University-wide project to embed digital skills throughout the learning cycle. I conducted research and devised questionnaires on how we can holistically improve virtual learning environments across the University, so that digital skills are effectively integrated. As an extended WIHEA Fellow in my third year, I co-led a University-wide Education Fund project on generative AI in education, and collated department-specific AI policy frameworks, while also receiving a WIHEA Small Fund grant to launch ‘Building a Climate-Conscious Warwick’, a project that allowed me to merge my policy advocacy as a COP29 Youth Delegate with climate education, and informed the pedagogy of ‘Politics of Climate Change’, a module taught by WIHEA Staff Fellow Kerem Öge.

The informal avenue of my many interactions with WIHEA Staff Fellows has allowed me to voice concerns and suggest improvements to student–staff engagement. The community has facilitated my learning and engagement through WIHEA forums such as the Learning Circles.

Yvette Wang (Applied Linguistics)

WIHEA Student Fellow and Project Officer

My PhD research is on intercultural education. The WIHEA network and the seed fund gave me a valuable opportunity to translate my PhD expertise into practice and organise intercultural training and continuous professional development workshops for Graduate Teaching Assistants with Dr D. Wang and Sara Hattersley.

Meifang Zhou (English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics)

WIHEA Student Fellow and Project Officer

It has been an incredible journey serving as a WIHEA Student Fellow. I’m deeply grateful for the opportunities, from regular networking lunches and professional headshots to enriching Masterclasses. The student panel experiences, in particular, strengthened my confidence, nurturing skills that elevated my engagement with UK higher education systems. The WIHEA Student-Initiated Strategic Fund gave me a chance to continue my passion for researching AI in education. I also greatly valued the Learning Circle community. I leave this Fellowship inspired, empowered, and sincerely thankful to the entire WIHEA team. Thank you for such a transformative experience!