Rhys Parry, from Pontypridd, is the first of two new Student Liaison Officers at the University and has big plans for helping the team improve the University’s approach to student engagement.
Rhys graduated from Trinity University College Carmarthen in 2009 with a degree in Health, Exercise and Sports Studies. Sport still plays a large role in his life. In his spare time Rhys is a keen footballer and plays in the Welsh League.
For Rhys the topic of student engagement is an important one “[students] know what is best for them…they have a right to be heard and respected”. He admits however that getting students to engage can be a challenge because often students, especially international students do not realise what they are entitled to. Rhys believes that the job of the Student Liaison Officer is to help change this.
Before joining the University of Wales Rhys was Student President at Trinity University College Carmarthen and was involved in the University of Wales Alliance Student Forum (UWASF). These experiences helped Rhys to realise the importance of student engagement “knowing that I am making a difference is what makes the job so important”.
Rhys already has a number of projects running to help further develop Student Engagement at the University of Wales. These include: developing a student forum for the University of Wales students in London, developing a “student survival guide” for students and uploading a weekly blog to the website which students can access and comment on. He will also be visiting, along with the other Student Liaison Officers, Fresher’s Fair events at Alliance institutions and other Collaborative Centres who express an interest in having the University of Wales representatives at their induction week; with regard to availability of the Student Engagement Team.
Read Rhys' blog >>
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