Throughout the academic year, QMSU’s Student Voice team sat down one-to-one with students from all corners of the University to try and work out what it really means to be a student in 2025. During these interviews, we let students tell us what is really on their mind.
Throughout the academic year, QMSU’s Student Voice team sat down one-to-one with students from all corners of the University to try and work out what it really means to be a student in 2025. During these interviews, we let students tell us what is really on their mind – what is important to them at the moment, what are they worried about, what are we as a University and a Students’ Union doing really well (and most importantly, what we are not doing well). How did this differ from any of our other data collection exercises? This time, we let the students completely lead the conversations, with no set script or closed questioning, just a few loose strands of conversation to guide them if they run out of things to say.
We then took these conversation transcripts and analysed them for key strands of data – cross cutting themes that exist throughout the University in equal measure, from first to final year to postgraduates, from History to Medicine to Chemistry. We came away with 10 findings, affecting both the University and the Students’ Union, that affect the way that we as an organisation see and assist in the ‘Student Experience’.
Of course, there were some key findings that one might expect to find based on data we have collected through other means, and what we know to be true already – that campus living is important to the students at QM, the Cost-of-Living crisis is still affecting students to this day, and extracurricular and QMSU events are still core to what many consider ‘their student experience’. In a certain sense, this was reassuring to us, as the Students’ Union have already identified these issues as ongoing and have been working throughout the year to improve these aspects of the student experience.
What I found more interesting was the strong themes that perhaps we as an interviewing group did not expect to resonate with students, across even faculties, courses, years, and backgrounds! In a certain sense, this is what the Student Experience was really for - to pick up these trends that previous data exercises weren’t able to pick up on. Surprisingly, most students ended up discussing their emails, and the struggles that they are finding with email burden alongside their course leading to miscommunication. We were also really surprised to find that a lot of students have been struggling with faculty staff on their courses responding poorly to feedback, and the often lack of understanding from staff about the importance of co-creation and student voice – something that we had long suspected from conversations with our Course Reps, but it was certainly interesting to see it as a common theme amongst all students!
Perhaps the most important finding, however, was when we asked students about what they are most proud of, or what they most identify with as a student at Queen Mary University of London. When I first started this project in September of last year, I had always wanted to get some real data on this – pride can tell you a lot about a person and what they find most important at that touch point in their life. Reactions to these questions from students was mixed - many were very enthusiastic about their passions and their motivations, but a number were confused at the question itself, as if they had never considered what makes them proud to be a student at QMUL before.
After some thinking, though, every student was able to consider a part of QMUL that really plays into their identity as a student. Interestingly, while there was a lot of pride from many students for Queen Mary itself – the ‘Russell Group’ prestige, the research opportunities, the reputation of the course or school themselves, every single student first opted to talk about their pride in their community before mentioning any wider institutional or academic prestige. What students resonated with as their ‘community’ differed – for some it was a sports group, a volunteering initiative, or a particular faith group that have played a large part in their life. For others, it was the community of students they met on their course, or a particular subculture in a school or faculty (notably: Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry and their respective Students’ Association - the BLSA).
And so, on the 30th of April, Queen Mary Students’ Union hosted staff from across the Students’ Union and the University to present the results of these interviews, having had the transcripts read, analysed, and summarised into key take home points. The afternoon started with this presentation of the data, along with answering some questions about how we collected and analysed the data – we then moved into some round-table discussions with staff from a wide range of backgrounds to discuss topics of their choosing based on the findings. 
We are really excited to work with University and Students’ Union colleagues on some of the recommendations that have come from the report, and we are looking forward to making the Student Experience Forum a yearly staple of the Student Voice team as it was pre-pandemic.
On a personal note, it’s been a brilliant send-off project to lead on as I move on to the next chapter as an NHS Doctor in August – a great way to relive my Sabbatical year as BLSA President/VPBL! Particular thanks to Marianne Melsen for overseeing the project and the rest of the Student Voice team for aiding in interviews and the presentation day itself!
To read the full report, or if you have any questions about the 2025 Student Experience Forum, we would welcome an email to the QMSU Student Voice Team at su-respresentation@qmul.ac.uk. The summary of the 10 Key Findings of the report are listed below.
Charlie Sellar
Student Voice Intern, QMSU
Summary of Findings:
- Extracurricular activities are at the heart of Queen Mary’s Community
- Poor communication encompasses the majority of student concerns
- Students broadly recognise the difference between the Students' Union and the University, but none have a full depth of understanding
- QMUL’s understanding and acknowledgement of Students’ Union representation structures is highly inconsistent
- Pride at QMUL is a pride of community, rather than institution
- Students are struggling with considerable email burden
- Campus life is a core experience for QMUL students, but risks are present
- Students now expect Careers and Employment services to form a part of the Student Experience
- The Cost-of-Living crisis continues to significantly impact the Student Experience
- Diversity at QMUL is highly celebrated, but international students feel unsupported