Felix Interviews Deputy President (Education) Candidate: Chun-yin San

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What made you run for this position?

I have been a Rep since my first year in College, and I have immensely enjoyed it. It’s one thing just sitting there and complaining about when things go wrong and that ‘nobody cares’, and quite another being able to reach across the aisle, and understand that there’s a lot of common ground and lots of energy from both students and staff to make positive change.

The nature of the academic order though is that there can be quite a large and natural disconnect between both sides. Being a Rep, now Academic Officer, and hopefully as DPE, it’s very much in me to keep that gap bridged, to facilitate conversation, to collaborate and solve problems that benefit an Imperial education.

What is the main change you would like to implement if elected?

The question that’s on my mind a lot is whether the current Rep system might be too hierarchical – for many Faculties, it’s sort of like, you have to contact the Year Reps, then your Dep Reps, then your AAOs, before everything filters into the DPE. In ICSM, it’s literally just me and 2 teams of Reps, 2 per cohort. Whoever you contact first, we’ll make sure you’re looked after.

That said, hierarchy is important in making sure that there’s full representation. So what can we do within those confines to make the Rep system more approachable and inclusive? I don’t have all the answers yet, but I know I’ll start by making sure you can get help by reaching whichever Rep you remember, myself or otherwise.

What is your favourite thing about Imperial?

I love the community. I love how so many people care about so many things, whether it’s making their voices heard, helping others, or just passionate about a huge range of things like playing an instrument, teaching first aid or shaping policy.

Particularly memorable was in my second year, where I had the chance to work with a group of super inspirational people at our volunteering center, Imperial Hub. We had such a great time doing things that could make a positive impact, from basics like helping out a charity shop to hosting big speakers in big conferences. I think it’s a great example of what Imperial students do, and can achieve, when they really set their minds to it.

What is the biggest challenge you foresee in the next year?

As Academic Officer I have tried to keep myself actively ‘in-the-loop’ of the Union’s Rep activities, e.g. through attending ERB and Pascal’s focus groups. But with ~14,000 students across College, I don’t feel yet that I have fully accounted for the breadth of education issues that affect each of you and your peers.

So, I think it’ll be an incredibly exciting – though admittedly somewhat daunting at first – challenge to find the best way to scale-up the abilities that I have developed over the past 3 years, so that I can become a better listener, a better responder, to all your diverse range of suggestions and feedback before and during my tenure as DPE.

How do you intend to convince departments to reschedule staff timetables to ensure there is enough staff for this “2 staff and 6 [students]” pastoral group ratio?

The 2:6 approach is advantageous in that it frees up staff time and promotes student-staff contact. Instead of a tutor having to meet face-to-face with each of their students, which would take up a lot of ad hoc time and key to generating inertia, both students and tutors can encourage each other for regularly-scheduled sessions. It’s more accountable, as it’s harder for 6 students to slip through the cracks.

2:6 would ideally be for where pastoral support is essentially non-existent or very poor in quality. The idea is that with increased contact, students and tutors will be compelled to stay in contact via private email, and also help to recognize and elevate the best tutors in College.

How do you plan to oversee and implement the feedback framework of “3 good/3 bad things” across College?

Feedback is the big thing for Imperial students – non-existent comments, one-liners doesn’t help when you’re trying to improve your performance in coursework and exams. “3 good/3 bad things” would be a basic framework that’s quick and easy for even the busiest marker to implement, and gives useful information for future work.

Because it’s basic, easily applied and somewhat of a no-brainer, I will work with my Rep teams to make sure the suggestions are on the SSC agendas of Departments affected by poor feedback, and account for progress through likes of Edu&Rep Board meetings. Since feedback is also a major issue for the College leadership, I will also look forward to working constructively with them on disseminating the framework.

What exactly constitutes a “gold standard” practice?

For me, it would be something that students find highly useful. An experience of mine include revision tutorials with clearly laid-out structures (summary materials on topics voted by students, then mock questions practice, then general FAQ) are highly praised and well-received. That would be a gold standard for revision materials.

Of course, I am aware that different cohorts will have different dynamics and different things that they find useful. Something that benefits a cohort of 50 might not be generalizable/practical to 500. By talking to students, working with Reps, working with College, then sharing and discussing the findings in group sessions, I hope to put brains together and find tailored solutions that work best for each group of students.