Students and staff take part in the University of Exeter’s first Social Mobility Week
Events highlighted efforts within the university to create positive social change, and help students to gain valuable extra-curricular experience and kickstart their careers
Students and staff have showcased their work to help to break down barriers to higher education and employment during the University of Exeter’s first Social Mobility Week.
Events highlighted efforts within the university to create positive social change, and help students to gain valuable extra-curricular experience and kickstart their careers
The University of Exeter is home to the Centre for Social Mobility, the UK’s only university centre dedicated to improving social mobility through evidence-informed practice and policy. During Social Mobility Week the centre’s experts took part in a series of short talks about their work, and there were opportunities for staff and students to connect with others working on or interested in social mobility research across the university.
Last year the University of Exeter was named ‘University of the Year’ at the Social Mobility Awards in recognition of its work across multiple national and regional projects dedicated to championing equal opportunities and improving life outcomes for young people.
The events were organised by third year undergraduate Mia Taylor-Seal, who co-leads the University of Exeter’s branch of The 93% Club, a student-led society which celebrates state-educated students, and Education Partner Jennie Fox, in partnership with the University of Exeter’s Student’s Guild, and staff and students from across the university.
Mia, a University of Exeter Success for All winner, said: “It’s about making students and staff feel confident in who they are, by supporting, respecting and representing their accent, regional pride and class experience. Confidence and representation is so important, especially when you’re away from home, feel unseen in your experiences, or feel like an imposter in your lecture halls. This week was so important in building and spotlighting the community we have and need, in academic spaces and social spaces, because we all deserve to feel like we belong here.
“We made an impact with the plethora of types of sessions we ran, whether that was being sat in the forum showing cross-solidarity and opportunity, cutting and sticking to reframe imposter syndrome in our creative zine workshop, discussing social and academic classism, or listening to our staff and lecturers journeys and specific representative research in this space. It’s about demonstrating that everyone matters at all levels of the university. Even if you just impact one person’s experience, you’ve made a difference.
“Representation matters and we needed that here, and I’ve never felt prouder to say I’m a working-class girl from the Black Country and also a University of Exeter student. When I first got here, i felt that they were two different worlds that weren’t allowed to meet, but after this week, I’ve shown that we don’t have to choose our roots over our routes, they can live proudly together and equally worthy of taking up space at university.
“I can finally say my authentic self belongs to a community (student and staff). I found the people who understand the authentic me and others who want to know it regardless of if we have the same background.”
Student leaders and representatives from the Students’ Guild took part in workshops about the connections between social mobility, classism and curriculum design, and how campus cultures of non-belonging can impact social experiences and wellbeing at university.
Students also took part in an interactive “kind campus” workshop to explore how kindness, inclusion, and supportive practices can make the university a more welcoming environment, and there was a fun, lively quiz celebrating state-school experiences.
University of Exeter staff and students joined a virtual panel to discuss their own diverse social mobility journeys, including the routes taken, the barriers faced, and the support that made a difference. Panellists included law lecturer and former barrister Nick Pointon; Dr Dawn Lees, Student Employability and Development Manager; Business School academic Sian Robinson, who is a graduate of the University of Exeter, after having followed a widening participation route of entry from Exeter College, and University of Exeter astrophysicist Professor Nathan Mayne, who proudly hails from a working-class background in Cornwall.
The Exeter and Penryn 93% Clubs held creative workshops at the Streatham and Penryn campuses where students and staff used collage and art materials to reflect on belonging, classism and imposter syndrome at university.
The University of Exeter Feminist Society held a discussion group to explore the intersection of class and gender, providing space to share experiences, reflect and spark ideas for positive change.
Jennie said: “We organised this week to raise awareness of the huge variety of activity that’s already taking place across the university to celebrate and champion social mobility. We also wanted to create opportunities for students and staff to talk about the barriers they have faced and come together to challenge the norm and drive positive change.”
