My name:
Katie Hickmott
My role:
Vice President Academic Student Voice
Information about my role:
My role as a Vice President Academic Student Voice means I'm able to listen and take on board students' voices when things aren't working or they're working well, and I'm able to advocate these voices in meetings.
I'm able to collaborate with other Student Leadership Team members, and work alongside them to uphold the Students Association's priorities for my term. I am the point of contact for students' academic issues, and aim to make important decisions when these issues could impact students across the University.
I'm also looking forward to leading the Student Voice Festival and being part of that alongside VP Student Representation.
What excites me most about this role is knowing I'm not going into it alone – I have the support from my team and other elected student leaders. We might all have different priorities for the two-year term, but we all want the same outcomes to make it a better learning experience for students – to have students' voices heard when they don't feel they can speak up and shout about issues. The Students Association is one big community whether you're a student on a club/society, volunteer, staff member, or whether you just join an event. It's an experience and I look forward to representing you for the next two years.
My priorities for the 2024–26 term:
My priorities are as follows:
- I want to work with library services to get insight around secure environments, so I'm able to represent them, hear their voices and find out what they'd like to see from their learning journey with The Open University.
- Recognition of the mental health ambassador programme – I feel students could benefit from this service having peer-to-peer support.
- Making sure students are mental health first aid trained. If this means having to raise funds to provide training for students who wish to become mental health first aiders, I'd be keen to link up with the fundraising teams and work alongside them to see what is available. Mental health isn't always taken seriously enough when it comes to distance learning, and I feel students could benefit from some emotional support from their peers.
- I'm very keen to implement more student consultations to hear from students who aren't represented from BAME, LGBTQ+ and neurodivergent communities, as well as the Disabled Students Group. I want to work collaboratively to produce focus groups to hear from students on their experience with The Open University, and what they'd like to see The Open University provide to make their experience better.
What I’ve been up to and what I’m currently working on:
For the last year I've been a student representative on Education, Childhood, Youth and Sport (ECYS), and sit on the retention group for ECYS. I'm also a part of the academic committee for WELS and the Student Reference Group.
Outside of the Students Association, I volunteer as a Suicide Prevention Influencer, doing some work around high-risk locations and technology. I also do some other exciting work around policy and intervention.
I've also been doing my training and getting myself prepared for the two-year term on the Student Leadership Team, familarising myself with policies and procedures to do with my role and the Students Association.
What I’m studying:
I am currently on Year 2 on an Open Degree Pathway, hoping to study KE206 ('Making a difference: working with children and young people'). This is following on from achieving my Certificate of Higher Education in Children and Families.
What I do when I’m not studying:
I have three guinea pigs that keep me on my toes. I also enjoy listening to music, playing games and watching Netflix.
I’m a Harry Potter fan (Gryffindor)!
My top study tips:
It's okay to ask for help when you're struggling. Don’t struggle in silence – help is always there. You just have to ask.
How to contact me:
Email: oustudents-VP-voice@open.ac.uk
Please note that a handful of Association staff team members have access to this mailbox.
Twitter / X: @_OpenVoice