Name:
Lou Robinson
My role:
Vice President Engagement: my role divides itself between overseeing OU Students Association communications and feedback/research through Student Voice Week and student consultations. It involves partnership work with The Open University to ensure that your voice is heard across both OU Students Association and The Open University communications. I also get to oversee The Hoot (our fabulous online magazine).
My priorities for this term:
I have three main pledges – I hope to improve our communications across a variety of platforms to ensure that more students than ever before can connect with the opportunities that suit them. I hope to create a hub of resources including blogs and vlogs created by students, for students – sharing module experiences, answers to frequently asked questions and top tips. I am also keen to improve the opportunities that students have to feed back to us and be heard, and hope to work closely with Equality, Diversity and Inclusion to improve accessibility to our student feedback/consultation opportunities.
What I’ve been up to and what I’m currently working on:
I had meetings with Fanni Nicoll (our previous VP Engagement) to ensure that I could start off building on her hard work. I have already spoken to a few staff at the OU Students Association about the creation of the resources hub, and this is what I intend to get working on. I have also already been attending Student Voice Week planning meetings ahead of my term to ensure we are ready to launch and to get as many students as possible involved in this exciting week of events (7–13 November 2022).
What I’m studying:
I am currently studying BSc (Hons) Geology, and will be studying S112 (Science: Concepts and Practice) and S209 (Earth Science) in 2022-23.
What I do when I’m not studying:
I love being outdoors and enjoy hiking and running locally. When indoors, I love to read, paint and crochet. I also work part-time as a tutor (mostly with younger children – I’m a qualified primary school teacher).
My top study tips:
I am the Queen of Procrastination and love to use productivity apps to help me keep my studies on track. I use Microsoft To Do List to keep a list of everything I have to do, and I schedule them to days as I go along. I also use the Forest app which uses the Pomodoro Technique (25 minutes study/five minutes break – but you can alter the timings). I often use my five minute break to have a kitchen disco – it’s amazing the boost you can get from dancing to The Spice Girls while the kettle boils. I also highly recommend attending Meet Ups, booking into Student Hub Live sessions or even volunteering for OU Students in some capacity – sometimes time away and with other students really helps me refocus back onto my studies.
Where to find me:
Email: lou.robinson@open.ac.uk
Twitter: @Open_Engagement
Facebook: Lou Robinson - OU Students VP Engagement 2022-2024
Instagram: @geology_lou
TikTok: @geology_lou
LinkedIn: Lou R.
Blog: topuptoteacher.wordpress.com
My manifesto