Partnering with students to transform teaching and learning

Students and staff sit around a tables in a conference room. At the centre of the image a student with long dark hair and a black t-shirt smiles in conversation with a woman with blonde hair sat on the other side of the table.

The front cover of the Student Partnership Charter is a close-up image of a Gadi tree with the University of Sydney crest and the title Student Partnership CharterThe University of Sydney has a long history of staff and students working in partnership. In 2023 the nominated practitioners in student-faculty partnership came together for a roundtable under the remit ‘what do we have and where are we going?’. The result of these conversations is a The University of Sydney Student Partnership Charter . This ‘Charter’ is publicly accessible at https://bit.ly/PartnershipCharterUSYD, and is the result of extensive co-design from staff and students across the University.

Developed collaboratively by educators, administrators, and students, the Student Partnership Charter supports individuals evidencing their commitment to shared principles and supports projects and initiatives who sign-up in receiving wider intra- and inter-institutional visibility. This is a tool made by students and staff that aims to build on how we can work together to make positive change for the university.

Download a copy of the Student Partnership Charter Sign the Student Partnership Charter

The article below is adapted from a Staff News article by Killara Ulm, and has been used with permission.

Making partnership key to our educational offerings is one of our Sydney in 2032 strategies that puts students at the centre of education and campus life. The Student Partnership Charter is a new tool to help individuals and teams share existing practice and guide new approaches to staff-student partnerships. In a large university like ours, the ways we implement student partnership will always be diverse, but can be united by the same values, principles and language.

The Student Partnership Charter was launched at the 2024 Sydney Teaching Symposium. This Charter represents the University’s commitment to fostering an authentic culture of student-staff partnership. It provides practical actions for embedding and recording the way that our values and principles are embedded in the way staff and students partner with each other. Students as Partners is a well established approach and paradigm by which to develop new teaching practices, systems, processes and student support and engagement. Our strength is in our diversity of practice and this Charter provides a shared language and tool to better connect us.

The Student Partnership Charter was created from the inaugural 2023 Students as Partners Roundtable, which brought together more than 90 students and staff from a range of disciplines, fields and services across the University.

For me, it’s about co-creating transformative learning and teaching experiences with my students and recognising their agency. Together we inspire and support each other to move outside of our comfort zones to reinvigorate what learning and teaching looks like. Dr Maria Ishkova, Education-focused Lecturer, Work and Organisational Studies

Co-designed and co-authored by students and staff, the Charter aims to:

  • Define student-staff partnership as a reciprocal process for transforming teaching and support of learning at the University.
  • Commit to shared values that underpin student partnership across a variety of practice in diverse contexts related to teaching, learning and student life.
  • Foster equity and inclusion through a shared purpose, language and commitment.

The Charter outlines actionable partnership principles centred around the value of RESPECT, developed as a framework through extensive student-staff collaboration and co-design.

Respect means valuing the unique perspectives, contributions and experiences that students and staff bring in the process of learning and working together.

Jacob James, Bachelor of Engineering Honours (Aeronautical Engineering) and Bachelor of Science student, is a co-author to the Charter and a member of the Sydney Students as Partners Advisory Board.

Students as Partners is about using meaningful and effective collaboration to create positive change in learning environments for both students and staff . Jacob, Student Partner

Co-author Dr Maria Ishkova from the Business School said partnership is about a mindset. “It’s about going beyond student feedback … not treating students as customers but as citizens in their own lifelong learning.

“For me, it’s about co-creating transformative learning and teaching experiences with my students and recognising their agency. Together we inspire and support each other to move outside of our comfort zones to reinvigorate what learning and teaching looks like.”

Become a signatory to the Charter

Staff and students involved in partnership initiatives are invited to become a signatory to the Student Partnership Charter. By becoming a signatory, you commit to:

  • Actively promoting and practising the principles of the Charter in your partnership work.
  • Regularly reflecting on your partnership practices and seeking ways to improve.
  • Sharing your experiences and learnings to help build a culture of partnership across the University through a shared repository of names, initiatives and projects.

Signatories will receive a digital badge to display on their personal profile or project materials. They will also be listed in the Sydney Student Partnership Database that will allow greater cross institutional visibility and collaboration in student partnership work. Complete an online form to sign up as an individual or for a project or initiative.

The development of the Student Partnership Charter is the result of the collaborative and creative efforts of staff and students from across our University community.

Find out more

Interested in learning more about the Student Partnership Charter and how to be involved in student partnership at the university, we’d love to hear from you! Whether you have questions, want to share your experiences, or are looking for personalised advice, please don’t hesitate to reach out: [email protected]

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