‘In Conversation’: A new Higher Education podcast mini-series

This summer, Unite Students is launching ‘In Conversation’: a 3-episode podcast mini-series, showcasing in-depth discussions with 3 Higher Education sector experts about their experiences, sector insights, and what they anticipate for the future.

Jenny Shaw, Higher Education External Engagement Director and series host, shares more.

What do the last two years mean? What does the next academic year hold?

If I told you that you could get a good handle on these questions in under 2 hours, for free, while doing something else – would you take it up?

Excellent! Let me introduce you to our new ‘In Conversation’ podcast mini-series.

Change can come very quickly for the student accommodation sector. Each year sees accelerating social change, generational change and the evolving needs of young people, and the pandemic has caused further disruption on top of that.

So, in search of answers, I went to three different experts – individuals who really have their fingers on the pulse of students, universities and the student accommodation sector itself – and asked them to share their thoughts in a one-on-one conversation.

The conversations were wide ranging, talking about current and near-future issues for students and student accommodation. As well as killer insights and future predictions, I also got to ask them about their own experiences, and why they do the work they do; so much more interesting than reading a report!

Each episode is 30-40 minutes long, and can be found on our Accommodation Matters feed from June until August, alongside regular episodes. They can be accessed by subscribing to Accommodation Matters on your preferred podcast app, or at our Podbean page.

The first conversation, out on Tuesday 21^st June, will be with Hillary Gyebi-Ababio, the outgoing VP Higher Education for the National Union of Students (NUS): following on from her appearance on the Living Black at University launch panel, she’ll be talking about what’s important to today’s – and tomorrow’s – students.

We’ll follow that up with our second episode on Thursday 21st July, featuring Dr Alexis Brown, Director of Policy and Advocacy at the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI), and the mini-series will conclude on Tuesday 23^rd August with an in-depth chat with Victoria Tolmie-Loverseed, Assistant Chief Executive at student housing charity Unipol. Mark your calendar now!

Whether you’re on your commute, in the gym, walking the dog or checking rooms over the summer, we’d love you to join us.

Listen to the first episode of In Conversation now: