Partnership in Practice: Student Advisory Boards Can Be More Than a Feedback Mechanism – A dialogic-reflective blog

By Boróka Javor, recent graduate and Myra Vaish, undergraduate student, The University of Leeds 

When we first joined the Student Advisory Board (SAB) for the Partnerships in Assessment and Feedback (PiAF) Network, we imagined a year of committee meetings, agendas, feedback forms, and a polite exchange of opinions. But what we discovered was something much richer. The SAB wasn’t simply a platform for students to comment on teaching; it was a living, breathing collaboration between students and staff, a shared space where learning itself was the focus. This dialogic-reflective blog captures our shared perspectives on how being part of the SAB community has reshaped our understanding of what it means to learn, to teach, and to work in partnership.  

From Feedback to Co-Creation 

The year began with workshops led by inspiring educators such as Amanda Millmore and Jan McArthur, whose talks on student-staff partnership challenged many of our preconceptions. Professor Millmore described the idea of “audacious imperfection” as the courage to try, reflect, and adapt rather than wait for a perfect plan. That idea stuck with us. 

As part of our work with the SAB, we attended staff-facing workshops on co-creating assessment components, facilitated student feedback stalls in the university library, and collaboratively wrote blogs summarizing our perspectives after each event. Later, we helped develop student-facing guides on group work and peer feedback, which were incorporated into the practice toolkit for teaching staff. 

Our participation in all these activities was supported by a bespoke development programme designed by the Network Lead, Dr Eva Sansavior. This included a selection of academic literature, skills workshops focusing on research techniques and AI, and a reflective framework to help us make sense of our experiences. Behind every workshop, stall, and blog post, there was a shared goal: to bridge the gap between how learning is experienced and how it is designed. 

Learning to See the System from Both Sides 

We have learned so much about teaching, not from being taught, but from collaborating with those who teach. Sitting alongside lecturers and hearing about their challenges gave us a whole new perspective. It is easy, as students, to assume that feedback systems or assessments are static; that they simply are. But these workshops revealed just how much thought, negotiation, and compromise go into shaping them. This realization brought forth empathy – an essential element of true partnership. Understanding that lecturers also navigate complex systems made our conversations more productive and our suggestions more grounded. 

At the same time, engaging directly with other students during feedback collection reminded us that no single student experience is universal. The conversations were candid and varied; some focused on fairness, others on inclusion or belonging. These insights did not just inform the PiAF Network’s practice toolkit; they reshaped how we think about our own learning. We began to approach our studies with greater self-awareness, constantly asking ourselves: How do I learn best? and how could assessment reflect that more fairly? 

Towards a Culture of Mutual Learning 

The biggest takeaway for us is that partnership is not consensus; it is connection. Working in the SAB showed me (Myra) that the most meaningful progress often emerges through discussion, disagreement, and iteration. It also reinforced the idea that collaboration takes time. As Boróka (co-author of this blog) would put it, partnership “might not be the quickest way ahead, but it’s the backbone of equitable participation.” 

Moving forward, we want to continue fostering these kinds of conversations, whether in future study groups, workplaces, or other communities. We have realised that effective change begins with empathy, patience, and a willingness to see others’ perspectives. We have also built a foundation in the knowledge, skills, and practices that enable transformative partnerships. Thanks to our work in the SAB, we have become more adept at formulating opinions, facilitating engagement, navigating teamwork, and practising reflection. The board offered us a glimpse into the realities of advocacy and leadership. 

On a practical level, we now approach feedback differently – we don’t just react to it; we engage with it. We recognize that assessments are not the final judgement but an ongoing dialogue between learners and educators. And in many ways, that’s what this whole experience has been: a dialogue that transforms both sides. 

Rethinking What “Student Voice” Really Means 

If there’s one thing we hope others take from this, it’s that student engagement shouldn’t stop at consultation. Real partnership means moving from transmitting knowledge to co-creating learning. It’s about students seeing themselves as contributors, not consumers, and staff recognizing students as collaborators in the process of academic growth. True student partnership is slow, sometimes messy, but always worth it. It’s where empathy meets innovation, and where everyone learns how to learn better. 

Note:  

Boróka Javor is a recent graduate of BA Chinese and Russian at the University of Leeds. 

Myra Vaish is a final-year student in Law LLB at the University of Leeds.