CHSS student Meerav Shah (Politics, Education, Sociology, Economics) shares his experiences of the PICNIC exchange programme where he spent time with CH students at Newcastle University. Applications for this year's programme are about to open! Find out more about PICNIC here: https://picnicscheme.wordpress.com/
In April 2018 I visited Newcastle University for three days on a PICNIC Exchange with the aim of exploring how Combined Honours worked at a different university. Having heard of Newcastle Combined Honours through Durham and the many projects that they were working on, I decided to visit Newcastle to investigate student communities, focusing on student-run initiatives.
The first aspect I explored was the mentoring system at Newcastle, where I wanted to find effective methods of delivery in order to help inform efforts to implement a similar scheme within CHSS at Durham. It was exciting to see that Newcastle had an advanced mentoring system with regular meetings during their first semester which were all student run and staff supported with student mentors all having a link to a senior mentor who was another student experienced at mentoring alongside the department coordinator.
The next thing I examined was the Newcastle Combined Honours Society which has helped me shape the CH Society at Durham. Through learning of the history of CHS in Newcastle, I learnt about the importance of traditions and on holding a variety of events to engage students. We look forward to hosting a Durham CHS Ball alongside various other events inspired by Newcastle.
The last item which I uncovered at Newcastle was that it was a teaching department which taught a few modules from allowing students to reflect on their university experience and develop their grad skills to allowing for single and double dissertation paths – all which featured an interview component. My findings were fed back to the SSCC and Management Committee at Durham and are helping to shape our own department’s efforts to create a dissertation pathway.
The highlight for me was exploring not only a new university but a different city! Having undertaken the exchange, I have gained insight into interviewing and uncovering good practice at other institutions. I would encourage anybody who wants to investigate other universities to help share good practice with Durham to apply. On my exchange I met other students who had gone from Newcastle to other universities in order to explore aspects about their individual courses at other universities, witness specialisms of research or explore how societies and Student Union’s operated.
It is open to you what you want to explore, but my application advice would be to apply for something which will be able to help Durham improve as well as further your own interests.
Overall, it remains one of my highlights of first year and is such a unique experience!