Student Media Survey Results 2021
Tuesday 01-06-2021 - 11:46
Earlier this year, we asked Middlesex students for their thoughts on the branding and image of MDXSU Student Media. Thanks to everyone who responded to our survey - we now have loads of useful feedback to shape the future of your Student Media!
What is Student Media?
Student Media at MDXSU consists of three platforms, each of which have their own distinct name and brand. These are the:
• Radio platform MDXFM
• Television platform SMTV
• Newspaper platform The Echo
Your Feedback
The results of the brand survey showed that most students would like the three Student Media platforms to have a shared name and identity. Many students suggested new names for the platforms, and we will work with the current Student Media leaders and Sabbatical Officers to refine these before working with the student body to choose the final names.
Students who are members of our Student Media teams reported that the teams are friendly, encouraging and inclusive spaces, with lots of opportunity for new experiences and personal development. However, many students also felt that more activity was needed from Student Media, including more...
• Training opportunities
• Better access to equipment
• Posting more content across all three platforms
Therefore, we are developing plans to train, equip and support students to create more content including articles, podcasts and videos. We also have plans to work with student groups and University teams to publish this engaging and relevant content in places that are easy for all Middlesex students to discover and respond to.
One reason that there has been less Student Media activity this academic year is because of the ongoing pandemic. However, instead of returning to a completely in-person and on-campus programme of activities next semester, we are keen to use what we have learned about online participation to make future involvement in MDXSU Student Media a flexible opportunity for students who are less able to regularly come to campus, for example due to work or caring responsibilities.
The survey results also showed that one of the biggest reasons that students were not involved in Student Media was due to not knowing enough about the available opportunities. We are going to develop our communications plan to make sure that all Middlesex students know how they can get involved in Student Media. Another reason for not participating was not having enough time alongside studying, so we will make it easier in the future to contribute to Student Media without needing to make a time-consuming long-term commitment.
Answers to many questions in the survey also highlighted the need for Student Media to focus on student futures and employability. These answers included an emphasis on ensuring that MDXSU Student Media offers a broad range of skills development opportunities and training that focuses not just on the practical skills involved with media activity (e.g., video editing, podcast production) but also on skills such as leadership, teamwork and project management. We hope to work closely with academic staff from media courses to develop pathways for students to use skills learned in their studies in practice with MDXSU Student Media, and also to provide loads of training opportunities for students from other courses to learn introductory media skills.
If you would like to read more about the results of our survey and the recommendations we will be working on, you can read the full report by clicking here.
