It has been widely recognised that students make a valuable contribution to the development of their peers and our staff digital literacy skills by sharing their experiences and running sessions related to the use of digital technologies.

Also, through formal and anecdotal student feedback collected through a range of interactions, we know that students have lots of ideas on how technology could be used effectively for learning & teaching. In more recent years the sector has been exploring ways in which to develop the digital skills of their students and staff.

Our University has set Digital Capabilities development as one of it’s key enablers to achieve our 2030 strategic ambitions and we have seen an increased level of sector activity largely through the work of Jisc. This work has included the increased recognition of the role students have in the development of digital activity in a learning and teaching setting.

This role will form an extension to the Digital Education team activity. The Digital Education team in collaboration with Students’ Union (SU) has established student digital champions roles in Semester 2 of Academic Year 2019/20. This allows us to work with students on a range of digital projects ensuring that the student voice is considered before any decisions are made, therefore they are key in the shaping of the digital experience at Plymouth. It is anticipated that the role will require approximately 36 hours of total commitment across each semester (approx. 3 hour per week) with the role start in the first week of March 2020 for 12 weeks.