Reflecting on a Student Research Experience Project: Eleanor and Gergely
This year marks the fourth year that current University of Leeds students were given the opportunity to conduct a small-scale supervised research project, focusing on student education and/or experiences, as part of a Student Research Experience Placement (SREP) Scheme funded by the Leeds Institute for Teaching Excellence (LITE) and Educational Engagement.
In summer 2024, Gergely (Geri) Kajos and Eleanor Dufton conducted a project titled “Educational Gain: The Value of the University of Leeds Education: A Student Perspective”, which was supervised by Dr Emma Peasland (Head of Research, LITE) and Prof. Gabriel Cavalli (LITE Director). The following reflection includes insights from the two student interns about their experiences of the SREP placement with the aim of demonstrating to future interns and academics the developmental values of building research partnerships between students and staff.
Before our LITE placement
Geri: I am a recent graduate in MA Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages and from October 2024, I am continuing my studies as a PhD student in Education (Applied Linguistics). During my MA course, it has become clear to me that I would like to pursue a career in research, which is why I decided to apply for a PhD. However, as funding for postgraduate research studies can be highly competitive, I was advised to seek additional research experience to boost my CV, which is when I came across the advertised research placements at LITE.
In addition, I have been a student at the University of Leeds for over 5 years, and I have gradually become interested in improving student education and advocating for student voice, demonstrated by my previous roles as Peer Mentor, Course Representative, School Representative and Academic Writing Mentor. The experiences and conversations that I have had as a result of these roles have demonstrated some of the priorities and challenges students have, which motivated me to apply to this specific project.
The application process was quite new to me because it did not require a traditional 1-page CV, but detailed answers to evidence my skills for the essential criteria. Although I felt that my previous work experiences made me a strong candidate, the help from the Careers Centre in the form of a 1-2-1 consultation was invaluable in producing an application that truly reflected my skills and dedication for improving student experience through research.
Eleanor: I have recently graduated with a BA in French and Spanish at the University of Leeds where this year I will be completing a master’s by research in French and Francophone decolonial studies. I later hope to also carry out a PhD in the same area. Throughout my undergraduate studies, I had the opportunity to carry out various research placements and university roles, whilst studying, as well as throughout my various work experiences abroad. These opportunities expanded my interest in academic research and allowed me to develop transferable skills such as collaboration, analysis, and critical thinking, all essential for carrying out further research. Furthermore, due to my interest in the Higher Education sector and research related to student experience, as well as my experience working for LITE as a Student Project Assistant, I knew I had to apply for this project!
During our LITE placement
We began the placement by familiarising ourselves with the concept of Educational Gain, a term that has recently been adopted to describe how and what students gain from their experiences at university. To do that, we read and discussed different kinds of literature such as academic papers, government reports, and Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) submissions. We then developed six research questions to understand what current University of Leeds students think about the concept of Educational Gain and its measurement.
For data collection, a survey was disseminated to current students, and later two focus groups were carried out. These were then thematically analysed to draw out findings and respond to the research questions. In the final stage of the placement, we focused on producing three outputs so that we could disseminate our findings to a wider audience. We developed a Sway to have an accessible dissemination product, along with a full written report that captures our work in more detail. Finally, as we have been invited to present our research, we created PowerPoint slides.
Reflecting on our LITE placement
Geri: Working on this project has significantly contributed to my personal and professional growth. Our supervisors treated us as genuine researchers with authority, ensuring our individual ideas and identities were respected throughout the project. This approach helped alleviate my impostor syndrome, increasing my sense of belonging to the University of Leeds as an aspiring researcher. Working within this team taught me that the focus should not be on whose idea is better, but on how our ideas complement each other in order to design a study that can have meaningful impact on students’ higher education experiences.
I also learned that collaboration does not always mean splitting tasks 50-50; some tasks might be a 20-80 and others might be a 70-30 split, which is more effective and reflective of real-world research dynamics. Our complementary skill sets allowed for peer-scaffolding as well, with Eleanor guiding us on focus groups and me leading on thematic analysis. Finally, among the many transferable and research skills that I have enhanced, a newly acquired skill was to learn how to create an engaging Sway as a form of an easily accessible dissemination channel.
Eleanor: The opportunity to carry out this project has been valuable, both personally and professionally. Although I had already developed an interest in academic research and student experience throughout my studies, this placement allowed me to consolidate this interest, as well as research skills which will be invaluable for my further studies. Working with LITE, as well as a fellow UoL student, has taught me the importance of research collaboration and given me the opportunity to gain further insight into the HE sector.
Furthermore, through carrying out a student-led and student-focused project, I have also learnt the importance of student input, and the value of the student voice. This has been a key learning takeaway, and one which I will continue to apply throughout my studies. Although this placement pushed me out of my comfort zone, and was a new area of research for me, it has been a truly positive experience, allowing me to gain confidence in a daunting sector. From this placement, I better understand what I wish to achieve and take forwards into my Master’s and hopefully a PhD.
For more information about the research and the findings, please visit our SREP profile, where you can find all the resources that we developed.