The University of Sheffield has been voted top for student life and its Students’ Union (SU) on ‘What Uni?’.
To find out what it is like at the top university for student experience, we spoke to Daisy Watson, the SU president.
We asked Daisy why it’s been voted top and she talked about the community feel.
She said: “It felt different from visiting other universities, the SU was filled with people, every ambassador seemed like they genuinely wanted to be there”.
She talked about green spaces, music and other venues in Sheffield and said: “It’s not just Sheffield University, it’s the people of Sheffield, they really care about their city”.
Courses are flexible, she said: “we have courses which are widely optional, so not many core modules.”
We spoke to Isaac Lloyd, academic representative for Philosophy on his views.
He said: “The culture of getting involved in societies is fantastic, everyone I know is involved in something”.
We asked Daisy why some may disagree with the ranking, she said: “I have had that experience where, even if that support was there, it wasn’t signposted enough to me and that is the central problem.
“When you look at those big ticket items, whether you’ve been discriminated against, you’re having a mental health crisis, or you don’t have enough money, and you don’t get help from your organisation”.
In terms of improvements, she mentioned support and students knowing where to go with an issue. There is an advice centre that manages problems with housing, academic or financial issues.
She said: “I would say 60% of students don’t know about it. The support is there, it’s just not very accessible.”
She said: “Many students would be less inclined to agree with the ranking, because of what the uni is involved in”.
To help with this, she said: “The SU can try and protect that right to protest. We are one of the only SU’s who are as actively involved in making sure that students have that right”.
Daisy Watson will also be working on student voice capture systems.
She said: “It’s an opportunity for people in committees to be recognised for that, from an empowerment lens”.
She has spoken to the marketing team about improvements and said: “This is so they can tell students the SU is here.
“I’d love them to come into our office and tell us about an amazing idea or that they’re having a bad day”.
This means the SU can point students in the right direction, signposting the support available.
