Fine more about
LCC Changemakers
Highlights from
the 4th June Knowledge Exchange Event
The in-person event brought together students, staff, and external partners in an open forum for collaborative learning and creative dialogue, including:
- Live knowledge exchange between the LCC Changemakers and the University of Salford’s Equity Ambassadors Scheme, sharing approaches to embedding equity into student experience.
- A hands-on workshop featuring interactive mapping and storytelling activities focused on racial and social justice.
- A student art showcase, celebrating visual storytelling as a method of research and social commentary.
- Opportunities for peer learning, inter-institutional exchange, and cross-disciplinary connection, with plenty of refreshments to keep the energy flowing.
Storytelling Through Art and Design highlights the potential of creative practice to act as a site for knowledge exchange, where ideas are shared, perspectives are challenged, and new understandings emerge through co-created, visual, and embodied forms of learning.
This initiative reflects LCC’s commitment to decolonising education and to supporting students as critical agents of cultural, educational, and social transformation.
Quotes and Feedback
from LCC Changemakers and
Salford University’s Equity Ambassadors
on the Workshop and Knowledge Exchange (KE)
Chiara Portinari
Slavi Kaloferov
Hanna Cox
Saranya Satheesh
Nieves Mingueza
Alejandra Nava Sanchez
Cassia Clarke
Marryam Khan
Jiayi Wu
Image credit: Berenice Guzzo
“ I've been reflecting on the differences between the two teams, and I think the main distinction lies in how we approach students and where we sit within the institution or our scope.
As I understand it, we, as LCC Changemakers, are institutionally embedded to work within the curriculum and program structure, while the Equity Ambassadors at Salford seem to have a broader scope, similar to how Arts SU student reps operate. At LCC, our engagement with students often goes through Programme Directors and staff, meaning a lot of our time is spent setting context with staff, which leaves less time for direct outreach to students.
This structural difference is maybe limiting our ability to engage with students? The non-teaching week workshop with Slavi might be interesting, considering it is following Salford's approach. Maybe it could spark new projects where students' lived experience and they might take on a co-creator role, and staff can be involved as needed. It's quite in tune with the "everyone can be a changemaker" narrative, which is wonderful!”
- Saranya Satheesh, Changemaker for Journalism and Publishing -
"The event was brilliant and what I was hoping, voting and waiting for - to collaborate with like-minded teams from other universities! Having the opportunity to see what peers from other places are doing is both: encouraging - to know that we are contributing towards greater cross-university conversations with our work. Enriching - to learn from each other team and identify opportunities to lend our expertise to do even better work.
A key takeaway from the session is that our creative abilities and project-based approach, appreciated by Salford Equity Ambassadors, can improve the LCC student experience, as long as we are given further opportunities to engage directly with the students."
- Slavi Kaloferov, Changemaker for Moving Image and Digital Arts (MIDA) -
“It was a great opportunity to interact with people from different universities and gain insights into their perspectives on social justice. It was a valuable learning experience for all of us, and it felt really inspiring to see the efforts being made, both by us and by others, to promote social justice and equity.
I also appreciated the discussions around representation. It was insightful to see how different institutions are addressing it and ensuring diverse voices are heard. Seeing the collective commitment to equity and inclusion reinforced the importance of the work we’re doing.”
- Marryam Khan, Changemaker for Graphic Design Communication -
"Hearing from Salford’s Equity Ambassadors reinforced the power of student-led change. As partners with Changemakers, their work in driving equity through lived experience and data was a strong reminder of our collective impact."
- Hanna Cox, Changemaker for Branding, Design, and Innovation -
As I understand it, we, as LCC Changemakers, are institutionally embedded to work within the curriculum and program structure, while the Equity Ambassadors at Salford seem to have a broader scope, similar to how Arts SU student reps operate. At LCC, our engagement with students often goes through Programme Directors and staff, meaning a lot of our time is spent setting context with staff, which leaves less time for direct outreach to students.
This structural difference is maybe limiting our ability to engage with students? The non-teaching week workshop with Slavi might be interesting, considering it is following Salford's approach. Maybe it could spark new projects where students' lived experience and they might take on a co-creator role, and staff can be involved as needed. It's quite in tune with the "everyone can be a changemaker" narrative, which is wonderful!”
- Saranya Satheesh, Changemaker for Journalism and Publishing -
"The event was brilliant and what I was hoping, voting and waiting for - to collaborate with like-minded teams from other universities! Having the opportunity to see what peers from other places are doing is both: encouraging - to know that we are contributing towards greater cross-university conversations with our work. Enriching - to learn from each other team and identify opportunities to lend our expertise to do even better work.
A key takeaway from the session is that our creative abilities and project-based approach, appreciated by Salford Equity Ambassadors, can improve the LCC student experience, as long as we are given further opportunities to engage directly with the students."
- Slavi Kaloferov, Changemaker for Moving Image and Digital Arts (MIDA) -
“It was a great opportunity to interact with people from different universities and gain insights into their perspectives on social justice. It was a valuable learning experience for all of us, and it felt really inspiring to see the efforts being made, both by us and by others, to promote social justice and equity.
I also appreciated the discussions around representation. It was insightful to see how different institutions are addressing it and ensuring diverse voices are heard. Seeing the collective commitment to equity and inclusion reinforced the importance of the work we’re doing.”
- Marryam Khan, Changemaker for Graphic Design Communication -
"Hearing from Salford’s Equity Ambassadors reinforced the power of student-led change. As partners with Changemakers, their work in driving equity through lived experience and data was a strong reminder of our collective impact."
- Hanna Cox, Changemaker for Branding, Design, and Innovation -
“Thank you so much for setting up this meeting. It was interesting and insightful to learn a very different approach from our practice as Changemakers.
What particularly stood out for me:
The Changemaker’s approach leans more toward creation through the school programs,
and that’s been our way to approach students while the Ambassadors seem to have more access
to work directly with the students.
While we do secondary and primary research for our case studies, it seems that our colleagues do primary research first with students, collect data, and analyse it to decide their next steps
and then write their recommendations.
A reflection from this point: It may be worth considering our case studies from a bottom-up perspective. It is great that co-creation is a core part of our practice and our approach to working towards social justice; however, it would be beneficial for us to engage with the students first, learn more about their experiences, and build our case studies with them from those discussions.
Best practices and evaluation processes – The Ambassadors also pointed out this in their practice; documentation and process of our case studies could be important for future Changemakers and the program to understand what works and what does not.
I look forward to what we can develop together with the Ambassadors.”
- Alejandra Nava Sanchez, Changemaker for Interaction Design and Visual Communication -
“It was very exciting meeting the Equity Ambassadors from the University of Salford! Learning about similar roles is always enriching.
In this case, I see great potential for cross-pollination between their data-driven work and our creative approach. Their data-feeding system seems quite effective and, if we get inspired and mimic it, we could maximise our impact and strengthen our connections with other departments.
- Chiara Portinari, Changemaker for Communications and Media -
What particularly stood out for me:
The Changemaker’s approach leans more toward creation through the school programs,
and that’s been our way to approach students while the Ambassadors seem to have more access
to work directly with the students.
While we do secondary and primary research for our case studies, it seems that our colleagues do primary research first with students, collect data, and analyse it to decide their next steps
and then write their recommendations.
A reflection from this point: It may be worth considering our case studies from a bottom-up perspective. It is great that co-creation is a core part of our practice and our approach to working towards social justice; however, it would be beneficial for us to engage with the students first, learn more about their experiences, and build our case studies with them from those discussions.
Best practices and evaluation processes – The Ambassadors also pointed out this in their practice; documentation and process of our case studies could be important for future Changemakers and the program to understand what works and what does not.
I look forward to what we can develop together with the Ambassadors.”
- Alejandra Nava Sanchez, Changemaker for Interaction Design and Visual Communication -
“It was very exciting meeting the Equity Ambassadors from the University of Salford! Learning about similar roles is always enriching.
In this case, I see great potential for cross-pollination between their data-driven work and our creative approach. Their data-feeding system seems quite effective and, if we get inspired and mimic it, we could maximise our impact and strengthen our connections with other departments.
- Chiara Portinari, Changemaker for Communications and Media -
Image credit: Berenice Guzzo
Chérie Bosama
Tamia Hall Tudor
Anisa Ali
Cerys Thorne
Jennifer Okpalaojiego
Mahnoor Hussain
Anis Rahman
Emma White
"Changemakers don't just talk about educational equity, they turn tough conversations into real solutions for students facing barriers to graduation."
- Jennifer Okpalaojiego -
"The changemakers are truly inspiring, using creative approaches that engage everyone in advancing equity."
- Cerys Thorne -
"The changemakers showed me that using more creative and artistic methods to raise awareness can be more effective for engaging with students."
- Mahnoor Hussain -
"The change makers have an innovating approaching to tackling barriers in equity, diversity and inclusion. I'm inspired by their creativity and imagination!"
- Anisa Ali -
"The changemakers are visionaries who live to be the change we all want to see in the world. Showing us ways to overcome obstacles! "
- Anis Rahman -
- Jennifer Okpalaojiego -
"The changemakers are truly inspiring, using creative approaches that engage everyone in advancing equity."
- Cerys Thorne -
"The changemakers showed me that using more creative and artistic methods to raise awareness can be more effective for engaging with students."
- Mahnoor Hussain -
"The change makers have an innovating approaching to tackling barriers in equity, diversity and inclusion. I'm inspired by their creativity and imagination!"
- Anisa Ali -
"The changemakers are visionaries who live to be the change we all want to see in the world. Showing us ways to overcome obstacles! "
- Anis Rahman -
Image credit: Berenice Guzzo
“Winning the Tom Burns Award is deeply personal. Tom once supervised the very research that gave birth to my student partnership framework, a living, breathing testament to partnership, justice, and co-creation. This award honours not just a methodology, but a movement, where storytelling, student voice, and radical pedagogy converge to reimagine education as a space for equity, belonging, and transformative change. It is a tribute to Tom's legacy, and a reminder that learning, at its best, is collective, courageous, and compassionate.” - Kevin J Brazant, LCC Changemakers Coordinator - Kevin J. Brazant and the 2024/25 LCC Student Changemakers cohort were honoured with the inaugural Tom Burns Memorial Award in June 2025, recognising their outstanding contributions to student co-creation and social justice in higher education. |
Find out more about the Equity Ambassadors here: https://www.salfordsu.com/changeandengage/equity-ambassadors/#:~:text=The%20Equity%20Ambassadors%20are%20students,as%20the%20wider%20student%20population.