Navigating My Sabbatical Journey: Week 17

Apologies for the delay in following up on my last newsletter. In this edition, I reflect on why missing these newsletters isn't just disappointing for readers but is also detrimental to my own progress. Having time to reflect is vital. I hope you enjoy this week's update, which shares insights from my 17th week as a sabbatical officer. Looking back, I believe this is when things started to kick off in terms of projects—the meetings and strategic thinking a few weeks prior set the stage for this.?

Meeting Anne Robertson?

Anne Robertson is the head of EDINA , which has launched a new service called ELM. ELM provides all students with free access to the latest models from OpenAI . This levels the playing field for those who cannot afford the ￡20 monthly fee for AI chatbots.?

The service is being developed in-house, allowing students to contribute to its development roadmap. Anne and I discussed my involvement in creating promotional and explainer videos. This aligns with new AI guidance for students, which I helped shape. The policy is now framed more positively but still needs a systemic approach to guide students and staff for AI use in courses. This would enable students to make informed choices about their coursework among other benefits.?

Enhancing Student Voice?

In a workshop led by Robin Gay , we brainstormed our vision for a student voice at the university. With much of my work being reactive, a session of blue-sky thinking was a refreshing break. Meetings within our association are often shorter and more efficient than those at the university. This is because we are a smaller organization, which allows for easier communication and demands interdisciplinary skills for most roles due to broader remits than larger organizations that allow for specialization. I was surprised by how many university projects are reliant on self-discovery. This suggests to me that the institution is often blind to what other parts of it are doing. For instance, most projects spend the initial year researching current practices and potential alternatives. ?

Senate Student Data Monitoring Task Group?

The University received a report from the The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) called the QESR, which included several recommendations for addressing attainment gaps. These gaps represent significant disparities in student performance relative to benchmarks, often affecting marginalized groups like BAME or disabled students.?

Our group, led by Tina Harrison , had its first meeting where Vivian from the analytics department and Emma from college-level planning shared their findings. They revealed challenges stemming from poor data quality and the absence of relevant data, making it difficult to analyze these gaps effectively. The group plans to involve support services and interested academics to bolster resources. Once clean data is obtained, it will be necessary to correlate it with other potential indicators of these attainment gaps.?

Fun Fact?

Edinburgh University Students' Association is a charity governed by a board of trustees comprising student trustees recruited from the student body, external trustees, and sabbatical officers. Trustees make strategic decisions to ensure the organization's financial, reputational, and operational health. Students are the charity's members, and all decisions are made with their best interests at heart.?

Reflection?

This may sound meta, but an important reflection is that you cannot be too busy to reflect. If you're too busy to improve yourself, you're likely stuck in a rut. Whether you've lost direction or are overwhelmed, finding a way out is essential to creating the headspace needed for strategic foresight. Without this, you may find yourself dwelling on the situation instead of addressing it. While there's value in focusing on the present, it's crucial to horizon scan, or you risk climbing the wrong mountain entirely.?( Although I didn't climb the wrong one in the picture, it was a hell of a journey that would have benefitted from some better planning.)