One of the most successful projects between academics and students since 2017 has been the publication of DEN’s online, a hard copy magazine, and annual book. Whilst the magazine focuses on short blogs and discussions, the books cover longer and academic articles, ranging across local, global, social, political and economic issues.
Given the circumstances that came with the outbreak of COVID-19, we faced a new challenge as on-site activities at the university became impossible. Remotely engaging students was the only way for DEN to continue working on different projects so we developed a new strategy.
By inspiring and encouraging our students, we sought creative and imaginative online approaches to sustain our activities. Academics and students met online weekly from all over the world, discussed various issues and made decisions on how to design, develop and execute our projects, publishing a magazine and an annual book during the pandemic.
We used new technology to our advantage by turning COVID-19 into an opportunity for our students. By looking at local and global activities, our undergraduate and postgraduate students and our alumni around the world collaborated as a team, supported each other and shared their experiences of the global pandemic. The results were inspirational – over 30 articles were published that expressed their experiences of Covid-19, and some were real stories of their local conditions. The publication of these articles represents the voices of our students who were affected by the pandemic worldwide.
The magazine and book projects have become cornerstones of a mentoring strategy to engage and support students at different levels. Hence, mentoring students across academic levels, from master’s to undergraduate, has been a crucial focus of our online experimentation. The academics have used the magazine and the book as tools to mentor, train and encourage our master’s students and alumni to support our undergraduate students. Hence, managing projects and delivering them online were remarkably successful.
Together, staff and students have developed innovative approaches and strategies that turned the pandemic around. The success of the approach has been remarkable, as students’ testimonies demonstrate this.
The growing role of information and communication technologies, especially since the outbreak of COVID-19, has also played a significant role in shaping the thinking of academics seeking to use the best practices to encourage and fos- ter student engagement. Therefore, DEN has developed new online strategies to sustain its activities. Employing a creative and imaginative...
Every year, DEN students edit and publish a hard copy magazine, which can also be accessed online. In this magazine, students reflect on their experiences as part of Westminster and DEN. We are encouraged to tackle important and difficult topics and we have different sections where we can write about the challenges and learnings of...
Democratic Education Network (DEN) hosted its annual international student conference on 11th and 12th May 2021. This conference, like DEN’s other ongoing projects, was organised collaboratively, managed and delivered by students and academic staff. It attracted 50 individuals made up of fellow students, families, and friends from different universities all over the world including the...
As stated by the American industrialist Henry Ford, “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is a progress. Working together is success”. We hear quotes like these almost on a daily basis. But they only relate to us through experience- the only way to really understand a deeper meaning of quotes or sayings. Being in...
Every year, DEN students edit and publish a hard copy magazine, which can also be accessed online. In this magazine, students reflect on their experiences as part of Westminster and DEN. We are encouraged to tackle important and difficult topics and we have different sections where we can write about the challenges and learnings of...
“Global Crossroads: Rethinking Dominant Orders in Our World” is a DEN publication gathering a collection of papers from 2019 DEN International Student Conference. This book articulates students’ research and analytical work on some of the most pressing global issues of our times. It is the result of their hard work, their engagement and skills, developed through...
In an interconnected and globalized world, the voices of the local communities struggle to make themselves heard on the international stage. But many issues that arise within international relations have consequences for ordinary lives and are therefore closely connected. Climate change, warfare and migration are all examples of this. They are often discussed in abstract...
Every year, DEN students edit and publish a hard copy magazine, which can also be accessed online. In this magazine, students reflect on their experiences as part of Westminster and DEN. We are encouraged to tackle important and difficult topics and we have different sections where we can write about the challenges and learnings of our...