Empathy is what helps us understand and care for others, it happens when we check on a peer who seems quiet or help a colleague who’s having a tough day. These small moments of kindness can create real and positive change in the lives of those around us. What does it look like to practice empathy? I led two workshops for the Student Change Lab where we worked with 43 student reps to learn how to practice empathy using human-centred design (HCD) to amplify the student voice. We reflected, discussed, learned, role-played and reimagined what it means to truly understand students. Though each student brought different experiences and perspectives, they were all connected by a shared hope of creating positive change for their programme as student reps. 

“It’s very engaging, insightful, helpful and enjoyable, great teamwork and a chance to connect with peers after class hours.” 

“I really loved being able to feel validated in my experiences as a student rep. It gave me tons of ideas for collecting student feedback.” 

“I like the video of the Lancaster university professor using emotional journey mapping to put together an overall student experience without making student feel targeted.” 

“It was interesting to learn human-centred approach and technique because I had never heard of it. I think it will be useful for my course too.” 

—— Some anonymous feedback from participants 

Unlocking students’ stories: reflecting on their student experience 

We kicked things off with pizza and conversation, inviting them to explore the journey of a UoM student through group discussion, answering the following six questions in rainbow colours: 

• What 3 words describe how you felt when you first started university? 

• If an alien landed at the university of Manchester tomorrow, how would you explain the challenges of being a student? 

• What is the best piece of advice you have been given about being a student 

• What is your university-hack? 

• Where is your favourite place on campus? Why? 

• When you complete your studies what prize do you think you should be awarded? 

Student reps were discussing six questions of their learning experience at the university.

Then, we turned the reflection inward. Participants were asked to reflect on their own journey of being a rep using custom reflection template we designed just for them! The participants were all Student Rep Superstar, who were asked to identify their superpower (strengths), expectation, reality, like and dislike, challenges, and hopes. 

Before coming back to share, Sarah gave an impromptu example of how storytelling through the ‘rainbow’ questions brings human-touched experiences to life in a way numbers can’t. As some reps shared, many realised these were the conversations they already had, however, the structured reflection tool helped them reflect more critically in ways they hadn’t before. They found validation on feelings and challenges and deeper connection. This is why understanding the student rep journey matters, not just to listen but to spark meaningful conversations where everyone can share, feel heard and inspired. 

Exploring human-centred design through real-world case studies 

With reflection flowing, I went into the introduction of human-centred design through real-world case studies in the public sector. The first workshop featured a case from New Zealand’s Ministry of Health, which used HCD to reduce smoking rates among young Māori women. The second workshop highlighted how the NHS applied HCD to reduce violence and aggression in A&E departments. These examples showed how HCD can create meaningful change. Sarah then brought it closer to the higher education context, and shared a video on how educators could use journey mapping to better understand their students (For more information, please see Newton and Doherty’s work).  

Walking in their shoes: practicing empathy 

The tools are great structure but need practice. How can we practice empathy while collecting student voices to understand the complexity of student experience? With two wooden sticks with two personas and self-roleplaying, I brought student rep-to-student conversation to life. Later, we invited reps to role play, practice stepping into their peers’ shoes in different scenarios to listen, and to ask better questions. It wasn’t always easy, but many found it eye-opening. As one participant put it: “imagining a ‘typical student’ are different types, use of critical thinking to fully imagine yourself in another shoes, their troubles and joys.”  

“It feels nice, and I think the workshop puts together nicely concepts about empathy, the intersectionality and gathering feedback.” 

——Anonymous written feedback from a participant 

Students paired up to role play and practiced empathy on other’s studying experience

More than feedback: amplifying the student voice through co-creation 

One of the biggest takeaways was the energy and commitment of the student reps. Their willingness to reflect, discuss, and embrace new tools demonstrated the potentials of more than representing voice, but amplifying them, uncovering real needs and aspiration that we might have missed. 

Moving forward, we are excited to continue this journey by partnering with the Student Union (SU) to refine these design tools, ensuring they are relevant and easy to use. With the aligned goals, we would like to create a space and culture, where the student reps feel supportive with these tools and resources, amplifying the student voice in a meaningful way and actively shape the future of higher education. We will work with student reps to refine the empathy maps and develop other tools, adapting to scenarios and issues that concern our students. 

Our next step will be two co-design workshops with student reps facilitated by Katherine Calderbank, Head of Research and Insights at the innovation hub Unit M, focusing on community and collaboration building. We look forward to the continuing journey to learn and unlearn alongside the incredible group of student reps and the Student Union. If you would like to join the conversation about refining empathy maps, please reach out. Or if you are a member of UoM and would like to attend our next workshop on 26th March, please sign up!

Chiachi Ming, Research Associate on the human–centred design projects

Connect with Ming on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/chiachiming 

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