What made you apply to be a tutor at this year’s Lead and Change course? 

My manager recommended that I go for it, and it’s always good when someone has faith in you like that. I had lots of training experience from previous jobs, and I’d really enjoyed it, so I thought it would be good to transfer those skills and experience.

What did you enjoy most about your tutor experience?

You always get at least a couple of delegates in each group who make training worthwhile. We had a great group but there were a couple of delegates in particular who were really engaged with the training, were very motivated and really appreciative.

What have you taken away from the delivering the training to incoming elected officers, and has it changed the way you work? 

It was excellent to get experience of training sabbatical officers and also training via Zoom. I have learned a lot about training and engaging people with technology and have written a guide on it to go in our Cardiff University SU / Student Associations Academic Rep handbook, and some slides to go with our Academic Rep training.

If you could give one piece of advice to inspire those thinking of applying to tutor at future Lead and Change courses, what would it be?

Be firm with your expectations from the start:

It is important that delegates cancel or excuse themselves from other meetings and don’t dip in and out of training. The training course is an integrated experience and not a series of modules they can select from.

Cameras need to be turned on. Most experts agree that at least 70% of communication is non-verbal and a high proportion of this is visual. Cameras being turned off means trainers aren’t sure if the subject matter is being understood. It’s also important for us to know if delegates are finding some of the material too sensitive.

If you could give one piece of advice to inspire those thinking of applying for a role in the movement, what would it be?

Go for it! Students are committed to learning and ready to absorb knowledge like a sponge. You are helping them to maximise their experience as a student and empowering the people who will be society’s leaders in the future.

–  Tim Fry, Student Voice Coordinator – Cardiff University Students’ Union / Student Associations