Close
UCL Change Builders – The Student Life Strategy: Building belonging and opportunity at UCL
Meet the UCL Change Builders helping to drive progress for our community of staff, students and partners.
12 December 2024
Introducing UCL Change Builders
As part of our shared efforts to deliver on our Strategic Plan and respond to insights raised, teams across UCL have been working hard to drive progress for our expansive community.
It's often the combined efforts of many small steps of improvement, which build together to create immense impact, that make up much of our progress.
Recognising and celebrating the teams behind these efforts, UCL Change Builders spotlights these stories of change.
Know a Change Builder? Get in touch!
Transforming the campus experience
It all started with a simple but ambitious goal: to make every UCL student’s experience rewarding, both inside and outside the lecture hall.
“We know that students learn, develop skills, have fun, and form a deep connection and sense of belonging through the informal opportunities [they] create” says Ana Boikova, Activities and Engagement Officer at Students' Union UCL.
“[What we’re doing] is help[ing] embed co- and extra-curricular activity into every student’s experience and education”.
The Student Life Strategy, the largest ever expansion of co- and extra-curricular experiences at UCL, aims to provide students with thousands more opportunities to feel a sense of belonging, discover new passions and grow their skills.
“[We want to] increase engagement and allow all students to be part of our arts, sports, department, societies and volunteering experiences”, adds Ana, who is supporting work on the Strategy.
A growing impact
Last year alone, over 21,000 students joined a sports club or society, with more than 7000 events hosted by the Students' Union to bring everyone together.
Now in its second year, the Strategy has become a cornerstone of the UCL's mission to break down barriers to engagement and ensure that every student has the opportunity to thrive.
At its heart, the Strategy is about creating opportunities that are accessible, inclusive, and impactful.
“The more engaged students are” explains Ana, “the greater their sense of belonging, and the more confident they feel applying what they learn at UCL to other areas of their life and working collaboratively with people from different backgrounds and cultures to their own”.
Covering everything from volunteering and arts, to sports and departmental societies, the Strategy aims to support students in gaining skills and confidence to build upon their personal growth.
Big changes, big results
This year, the Strategy has been making an even greater splash, with numerous standout initiatives organised, including an Impartial Chairs Programme equipping students with practical skills to handle difficult discussions – with students traveling on a field trip to Northern Ireland to study the peace process firsthand.
“We want to drive continued growth” reflects Ana, “much of [that] is going to come from all our mass participation events”.
Looking ahead, the team hopes their initiatives will become a core part of UCL students’ university experience, providing students with transferrable skills that will support them in the future.