From inspiring talks to hands-on workshops and immersive campus visits, building relationships with universities can open up exciting opportunities for students. And Edge Hill’s outreach team offers a variety of activities to spark the curiosity of young minds.

Our expert Education Liaison Team is dedicated to building links between schools/colleges and universities across the UK. They want to support you in providing impactful and impartial advice and guidance to young people. This comprehensive guide offers you insider tips on getting the most from a partnership with Edge Hill University.

Do some preparation first

It’s a good idea to check with heads of department, careers leads and senior leaders at your school/college to see if you can take advantage of any already established relationships. It’s also helpful to think about the types of activities you’d like to get involved in. Are there particular year groups, subject areas or groups of students you want to target? Knowing more about your aims means we can tailor our outreach provision more effectively.

Next steps – who, what and when

It’s usually best to contact a university’s outreach team, like student recruitment officers and widening participation staff, who act as a gateway for initial contact. This is a better than reaching out to academics directly. The Education Liaison Team can assess your needs and make appropriate connections with other staff across the university.

Once you’ve made first contact, let us know what you’re looking for. What are your aims, intended audiences and expected student numbers? If you have ideas in mind, we’re happy to talk to you about them. Early planning is the best way to get any activity up and running and giving us plenty of notice and detail helps us to align to your school/college’s needs and priorities. If you have a draft activity schedule for your school/college for the coming academic year, even if it’s not confirmed, share it with us and we can use it to align our availability.

Developing deeper connections

Could you collaborate with other nearby schools/colleges to create enhanced collective experiences? Bringing students together from different schools/colleges can offer a number of benefits, from fostering new peer perspectives and networks to increasing the impact of activities with larger or mixed groups.

And building a lasting relationship with Edge Hill will help you get the most of out of your contact with us. Look at embedding university activity into a continuous programme rather than one-off additions. This means, we can expand the horizons of students over time, aligning them on their journey towards higher education or employment.

Make it a two-way relationship

One of the best ways to demonstrate potential career paths is to utilise your alumni links. Our Education Liaison Team work with current Edge Hill students and can organise for former pupils from your school/college to share their inspirational university experiences.

And you can help us to help you by offering honest feedback. It’s really important that you tell us about any university activities you arrange or attend, as this supports continuous improvement on both sides. Whether your reflections are positive or more constructive, we welcome any feedback.

Are you ready to take the first step? Here are three things you can do now:

Sign up to Edge Hill’s teacher/advisor newsletter

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Get in touch

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April 30, 2024