Listen to Student Stories

Monday, 10 May 2010

Catherine Reynolds, CCMS & University of Sussex (presenter), Laura Brown, CCMS (Project Officer, Student Stories), Clare Furneaux, UoR, (presenter), Julian Park, UoR (presenter), Joy Collier, CCMS (Project Manager/Assistant Director), Julia Horn, Univers

The Centre for Career Management Skills has recently launched a new website, which aims to give a powerful insight into the real student experience.

Student Stories contains hundreds of audio clips, featuring current students and recent graduates talking about their own university experiences. Overall, the site gives an objective, well-balanced view of student life, before, during and after university.

Work on the project began in January 2009, after the team identified a gap in the market for an unbiased audio resource, for university students and prospective students. The site is non-promotional and does not aim to offer advice; rather it reflects diverse aspects of the university experience in an objective way using a rich variety of student voices, thus giving students a chance to hear about relevant issues from others' point of view.

The site may also be of benefit to sixth form and college age students, as many of the clips cover relevant topics, such as choosing a particular institution and going to university after a gap year. They are also able to hear all about what life is actually like as a student, from a wide range of perspectives.

However, it is not only students who may find Student Stories useful: Joy Collier, Student Stories Project Manager said: "The student experience is constantly changing, and this site gives university staff a chance to gain an understanding of the kinds of issues that students are grappling with on a day to day basis."

"Gathering the material for the website through informal interviews with students and graduates has been a fascinating and enriching experience. We are so appreciative of their openness and honesty as that is the basis of this whole project. We hope that people will find Student Stories to be an interesting and fascinating insight to student life."

http://www.studentstories.co.uk

For more information on the project please contact Joy Collier j.collier@reading.ac.uk