Lessons of the Summer School
An important aspect of every activity is collecting feedback. We have to understand what we did well, but also what needs to be improved. Particularly when we have more activities planned for the future. We did this by recording and evaluating the thoughts of the participants in the tried and tested ‘stop’ ‘start’ ‘continue’ format
What didn’t work, what should we stop?
What wasn’t there, what should we start?
What worked well, what should we continue?
Every participant was given a feedback form, whether a student, member of industry or academic partner. We asked them to comment on
the preparation phase (where we met remotely to discuss the project and prepare for the summer school)
the summer school itself (the week in Sheffield working together on the project)
What did we learn?
What we did well
Overall feedback was good, everyone was happy with how the week went and its organisation. The facilities really helped. We had our own space and access to lots of equipment and resources (both staff and materials) to help them in their projects. While this was of enormous value, it’s important to note that facilities are variable depending on the venue and the experience must be altered to cater for the specifics of what is available.
What we can improve
Learning what needs improving will be essential in order for us to maximise the effectiveness of our future events!
Sometimes these things are simple limitations in what we were able to provide. For example, there were a lot of comments about the distance of the accommodation to the laboratory space. The research centre we used to host was on a remote campus, separate to the main University spaces and accommodation. While there wasn’t much we could do about this aspect, it’s important to recognise how important this is for future events. It should be prioritised if possible.
Sometimes feedback needs to be interpreted with more nuance. For example, many people asked for things that were already provided! This means we didn’t do the best job helping them to access information. We put a lot of time putting together information sheets, schedules, online maps etc. to assist with the event. We need to make sure everyone is clear what information and resources are available — after all, we’ve spent the time putting it all together!
Consistency of experience. With many different groups and staff members, experiences really varied. Many students asked for more frequent meetings prior to the summer school, others asked for far fewer! Finding the sweet spot in organisation and ensuring we all stick to the effective formula will be an important element to ensure consistency of experience.
Finally, there are other elements that would really vary between individuals. For example, many students would have loved to have a competitive event (sport, quiz etc.) as part of a social programme. There may be a feeling to try to cater for everyone, but I think that poses a risk of overload, of trying to do too much and providing a poor experience as a result. The solution in situations like this might be to give agency to the students themselves! Give them the ability and encouragement to organise small activities themselves. Engaging with students based with the host would be a key element to this.