BrookesEDGE activities

The Global Buddies programme brings together our current UK and international students with newly arrived international students. Please see the "How Does It Work?" section of the Global Buddies webpage for more information.

This activity will enable you to develop the following BrookesEDGE competencies:

• Collaboration competency
• Normative competency
• Self-awareness competency

This activity is open to all students.

Please see the Global Buddies webpage about the required student commitment and how to join.

Students from all faculties and programmes are welcome to take part in the interdisciplinary Dialogue in Migration and Refugee Studies series. This is a non-credited series of lectures and seminars, from different disciplinary perspectives, about topics connected to migration and refugees. The lectures are online and open to the general public, whilst the seminars are in person and for Brookes students only. By participating in the sessions regularly, you can receive  a BrookesEDGE certificate. In the past, disciplines covered have included International Development, Criminology, Sociology, History, Business Studies, Media, Literature and others. This opportunity has also proven very useful for students doing dissertations or essays on the topic, as well as those who may want to work in the field after graduation. 

This activity will enable you to develop the following BrookesEDGE competencies:

• Collaboration competency 
• Normative competency
• Critical thinking competency
• Futures thinking competency

The online lectures are open to all students. The full programme, including face-to-face seminars, is open to students who can attend Headington Campus.

Interested students should contact Dr. Esteban Devis-Amaya at edevis-amaya@brookes.ac.uk

Over the past 20 years the Oxford Human Rights Festival has used its platform to shed light on the importance of Human Rights through engaging programmes consisting of films, performances, talks, exhibitions and more. The festival is led and organised by a student committee of various disciplines, giving students the opportunity to meet outside of the classroom, to add some experience to their CV and to learn more about the current state of human rights globally. Students can participate by planning events such as film screenings, performances or exhibitions, or by contributing a specific skill set such as design, social media, writing and so on.

Planning begins in semester one and the festival runs in March.

This activity will enable you to develop the following BrookesEDGE competencies:

• Collaboration competency
• Normative competency
• Critical thinking competency
• Futures thinking competency
• Systems thinking competency
• Strategic competency
• Self-awareness competency
• Integrated problem-solving competency

This activity is open to all students.

Interested students should contact Jackie Kearney at j.kearney@brookes.ac.uk for further details.

This activity offers students an opportunity to learn basic Korean language, while acquiring a familiarity with Korean society and culture. This course includes aspects of digital immersion. Professionally designed university course materials will be supplemented with a range of fun language-learning activities, as well as stimulating visual aids and multimodal learning resources, including pop culture content.

This is a 30 hour course with a BrookesEDGE rating of 50 hours overall, based on your participation in the classes and preparation at home. 

This activity will enable you to develop the following BrookesEDGE competencies:

• Collaboration competency
• Normative competency
• Critical thinking competency
• Systems thinking competency
• Strategic competency
• Self-awareness competency
• Integrated problem-solving competency

This activity is open to all students.

Interested students should contact Dr. Laurence Mann at lmann@brookes.ac.uk for further details and enrolment.

This activity offers students a chance to develop advanced skills in Japanese-English translation, across a range of text genres / styles. A charity outreach / knowledge exchange event in S2 will be planned and hosted by students participating in this activity, which has a BrookesEDGE rating of 50 hours overall, based on your participation in the workshops, preparation at home and charity activities. 

This activity will enable you to develop the following BrookesEDGE competencies:

• Collaboration competency 
• Normative competency 
• Critical thinking competency 
• Strategic competency
• Self-awareness competency
• Integrated problem-solving competency

This activity is open to all students.

Interested students should contact Dr. Laurence Mann at lmann@brookes.ac.uk for further details and enrolment.

This activity offers students a chance to develop translation and research skills in Japanese, using online tools to search and locate metadata for J-Pop songs, including lyrics, artist, year of release. Students participating in this activity, which has a BrookesEDGE rating of 50 hours overall, will also contribute to a growing database of J-Pop translations.

This activity will enable you to develop the following BrookesEDGE competencies:

• Collaboration competency
• Normative competency;
• Critical thinking competency;
• Strategic competency
• Integrated problem-solving competency

This activity is open to all students.

Interested students should contact Dr. Laurence Mann at lmann@brookes.ac.uk for further details and enrolment.

The Student Research Launch Pad enables you to become a published researcher and disseminate the work you've done as part of your degree, either from your coursework, projects, dissertations etc. Sharing and publishing your research helps you to develop invaluable graduate skills such as critical thinking, and visual and verbal communication skills, as well as graduate attributes such as confidence, creativity, and professional autonomy. Being able to communicate complex ideas to a wide audience in simple and interesting ways is a crucial stand-out skill in the digital age. The Student Research Launch Pad will help you develop these skills and attributes so you can aim for new horizons. See Launch Pad webpage for more information about ways you can get published and share your research more widely. 

This activity will enable you to develop the following BrookesEDGE competencies:

• Collaboration competency 
• Normative competency 
• Critical thinking competency 
• Strategic competency
• Self-awareness competency    

This activity is open to all students.

Interested students should contact Dr. Louise Taylor at louise.e.taylor@brookes.ac.uk for further details and enrolment.

You will help to organise, run, and promote a regular podcast or blog exploring Cultures and Societies. This is an ongoing commitment to establish, record and publicise a Languages/Cultures-related podcast/blog. You should expect to give approximately a total of 2 hours of your time per week. 

This activity will enable you to develop the following BrookesEDGE competencies:

• Collaboration competency 
• Normative competency 
• Critical thinking competency 
• Systems thinking competency
• Strategic competency
• Self-awareness competency
• Integrated problem-solving competency

This activity is open to all students. 

Interested students should contact Dr. Irène Hill at ihill@brookes.ac.uk for further details.

This activity involves undertaking Reserve Officer training modules in preparation for either Reserve or Regular Commissioning Courses at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Officer Training Corps training starts with the teaching of basic military skills before developing command and leadership skills in the second year. Throughout, Officer Cadets learn to work within cohesive and inclusive teams, communicate effectively in stressful situations, and develop practical solutions to problems. At the conclusion of the second year Officer Cadets will be able to lead sections of 8 or platoons of 28 in tactical scenarios. Skills and character are also developed through taking part and leading a wide variety of sport and Adventurous Training activity which is funded and enabled by the Army.

Time commitment (approx.): Officer Cadets are funded to attend up to 45 hours of training every year but can range above or below depending on availability and need. Attendance is encouraged at Tuesday training evenings, field weekends (4 per term) and at the Summer exercise (10 days, either UK or Europe).

This activity will enable you to develop the following BrookesEDGE competencies:

• Collaboration competency 
• Normative competency 
• Critical thinking competency 
• Futures thinking competency
• Systems thinking competency
• Strategic competency
• Self-awareness competency
• Integrated problem-solving competency

This activity is open to all students who can attend. However, you must be enrolled on the OTC to join this activity and you will be manually added to the activity following enrolment.

Interested students should see the OTC website at Universities Officers’ Training Corps and, once enrolled with OTC, should contact Dr. Laurence Mann at lmann@brookes.ac.uk to enrol on the BrookeEDGE activity.

You will help to organise, run, and promote one or more events under the programme of the Brookes Global Languages Society. This is an ongoing commitment to establish, publicise and lead at least one Global Languages Society-related event. You should expect to give approximately a total of 2 hours of time per week for at least one semester to support the President of the Society.

This activity will enable you to develop the following BrookesEDGE competencies:

• Collaboration competency 
• Strategic competency
• Integrated problem-solving competency

This activity is open to all students.

Interested students should contact Dr. Irène Hill at ihill@brookes.ac.uk for further details.

Students from all Faculties are welcome to be part of a team of volunteers taking part in weekly one-hour digital skills workshops for the Oxford senior community. You will be supporting members of the Oxford senior community with their digital skills and helping with a wide range of individual digital issues and questions. This is a fantastic opportunity to be involved in an intergenerational exchange which can be truly transformative for the seniors. The students and seniors usually work 1-1 or 1-2, depending on the number of volunteers and seniors at the workshops and the seniors bring and use their own digital devices. These workshops run in Semester 1 and 2, usually weeks 2-10 - so this activity is worth around 18 hours in total if you volunteer in both semesters. These workshops take place on the Headington Campus at Gipsy Lane.

This activity will enable you to develop the following BrookesEDGE competencies:

• Collaboration competency  
• Self-awareness competency
• Critical thinking competency

If you are interested in being involved, please contact Lisa Hale at lhale@brookes.ac.uk for further details.

This activity can involve a variety of things such as supporting or participating in network events, promoting the network activities to students or other groups, assisting members of the network with administrative or research-focused activities.

This activity will develop your collaboration competency, critical thinking competency and may involve integrated problem solving.

Interested students should contact Tamsin Barber at t.barber@brookes.ac.uk for more information.

This activity is available to students on the Graduate Diploma in Law who participate in client interviewing workshops and competitions, including the GDL Client Interviewing Competition, the Client Interviewing Competition for England and Wales, and the International Client Consultation Competition.

This activity will enable you to develop the following BrookesEDGE competencies:

• Collaboration competency 
• Normative competency 
• Critical thinking competency 
• Futures thinking competency
• Systems thinking competency
• Strategic competency
• Self-awareness competency
• Integrated problem-solving competency

Interested students should contact Dr. Marc Howe at marc.howe@brookes.ac.uk for more information.

This activity is available to Law and Criminology students in the School of Law and Social Sciences who participate in the online work experience scheme for Oxford Brookes University students delivered by the Crown Prosecution Service.

This activity will enable you to develop the following BrookesEDGE competencies:

• Collaboration competency
• Strategic competency
• Critical thinking competency

Interested students should contact Dr. Marc Howe at marc.howe@brookes.ac.uk for more information.

This activity is open to any LLB student at level 5 or level 6 who has passed all their modules from the previous year, or a GDL student, or a LLM student. Volunteers will assist those who lack legal representation in court.    

This activity will enable you to develop the following BrookesEDGE competencies:

• Collaboration competency 
• Normative competency 
• Critical thinking competency 
• Futures thinking competency
• Systems thinking competency
• Strategic competency
• Self-awareness competency
• Integrated problem-solving competency

Interested students should contact Dr. Achas Burin at aburin@brookes.ac.uk and Dr. Gayle McKemey at gmckemey@brookes.ac.uk for more information.

This activity is available to students on the Graduate Diploma in Law who participate in courtroom advocacy and mooting workshops and competitions, including the Richard Benson QC Mooting Competition, the UH/Blackstone's Criminal Advocacy Competition, the ESU-Essex Court Chambers National Mooting Competition and the Commonwealth Mooting Competition.

This activity will enable you to develop the following BrookesEDGE competencies:

• Collaboration competency 
• Normative competency 
• Critical thinking competency 
• Systems thinking competency
• Strategic competency
• Self-awareness competency
• Integrated problem-solving competency

Interested students should contact Dr. Marc Howe at marc.howe@brookes.ac.uk for more information.

This activity is available to law and criminology students in the School of Law and Social Sciences who take part in the death penalty training organised by the Amicus ALJ pro bono charity.    

This activity will enable you to develop the following BrookesEDGE competencies:

• Collaboration competency 
• Normative competency 
• Critical thinking competency 
• Futures thinking competency
• Systems thinking competency
• Strategic competency
• Self-awareness competency
• Integrated problem-solving competency

Interested students should contact Dr. Marc Howe at marc.howe@brookes.ac.uk for more information.

This activity has a BrookesEDGE rating of 50 hours overall, based on your participation in a mentor training workshop, completion of the mentoring induction moodle course, and mentoring year 2 students taking part in GEOG5003 over the year.  

This activity will enable you to develop the following BrookesEDGE competencies:

• Collaboration competency 
• Normative competency 
• Critical thinking competency 
• Futures thinking competency
• Systems thinking competency
• Strategic competency
• Self-awareness competency
• Integrated problem-solving competency

This activity is open to Geography students in their 3rd years who have completed and passed the GEOG5003 Advanced Research Skills module.

Interested students should contact Prof. Helen Walkington at hwalkington@brookes.ac.uk for further details and enrolment.

This activity has a BrookesEDGE rating of up to 50 hours overall, based on your attendance and participation in the discussion group, preparation of materials / ideas and introduction / management of topics for discussion. The group, which is student-led and which engages with a broad range of topics within the History of Art, meets weekly throughout the year, across both semesters.

This activity will enable you to develop the following BrookesEDGE competencies:

• Collaboration competency 
• Critical thinking competency 
• Systems thinking competency
• Self-awareness competency
• Integrated problem-solving competency

This activity is open to students on the History of Art degree programme.

Interested students should contact Dr Athene Reiss at preiss@brookes.ac.uk for further details and enrolment.

Take the opportunity to represent your classmates studying languages at university. You will be invited to the Languages Subject Meetings, where issues about the course and specific modules can be discussed. You will also hear about plans for the future and be able to give feedback on them. Being a Student Rep provides a range of skills, including negotiation, expectation management, and organisation - which will be extremely useful for your future career. 

This activity will enable you to develop the following BrookesEDGE competencies:

• Collaboration competency 
• Normative competency 
• Critical thinking competency 
• Futures thinking competency
• Systems thinking competency
• Strategic competency
• Self-awareness competency
• Integrated problem-solving competency

This activity is open to students taking the Modern Languages with Translation degree programme.

Interested students should contact Dr. Esteban Devis-Amaya at edevis-amaya@brookes.ac.uk and Dr. Enora Lessinger at elessinger@brookes.ac.uk

You will be taking part in our School Events and initiatives to build positive relationships between Modern Languages students and language learners from secondary schools. Help us on the day by supporting visitors at Oxford Brookes – meet and greet, encouraging participation during the workshop(s), run a short Q&A session on studying languages at University/Brookes. Your engagement will vary depending on the Event / initiative but expect around 10-12 hours of commitment.

This activity will enable you to develop the following BrookesEDGE competencies:

• Collaboration competency 
• Normative competency 
• Self-awareness competency

This activity is open to students taking the Modern Languages and Translation degree. 

Interested students should contact Dr. Irène Hill at ihill@brookes.ac.uk for further details.

You will create engaging video blogs about your life as a student on the Placement / Study abroad year. You will tell your story and develop your vlogging (2-3 vlogs of between 1.5-4 minutes each) per semester for one year. You will need to have a strong interest in marketing / social media and an ability to represent Oxford Brookes and your course in a friendly, positive, and appropriate manner as this may be used for marketing the programme. The time used for this depends on your experience, length of the videos and chosen style. Students may undergo a selection process before they undertake the activity and receive some guidance with topics and themes that you can cover. 

This activity will enable you to develop the following BrookesEDGE competencies:

• Collaboration competency 
• Normative competency 
• Critical thinking competency 
• Self-awareness competency

This activity is open to students taking the Modern Languages and Translation degree who are taking their year abroad / placement and who are registered on the module MDES5003.

Interested students should contact Dr. Irène Hill at ihill@brookes.ac.uk for further details.

You will participate in the photo competition for the Placement / Study Abroad in the third year, which you will be conducting as a student taking MDES5003 or JPNS5010. You need to submit up to two photographs: These can be from any work you do, writing, your workspace, group work in your new cultural setting. We encourage creative approaches to show the experience abroad! You then submit the photograph(s) to the competition via email. You will be eligible to complete the activity regardless of whether you win the competition itself.

This activity will enable you to develop the following BrookesEDGE competencies:

• Collaboration competency 
• Critical thinking competency 
• Self-awareness competency

This activity is open to students taking the Modern Languages and Translation degree or Japanese Studies degree who are taking their year abroad / placement and who are registered on the module MDES5003 or JPNS5010.

Interested students should contact Dr. Irène Hill at ihill@brookes.ac.uk for further details.

The Broadening Horizons Conference aims to inspire and challenge healthcare students to reflect on their current practice as students and develop a broader understanding of the role of nurses in future healthcare. Students will be encouraged to question current practices and consider how to apply a wider perspective when exercising problem solving skills, drawing on different specialities to change how they view and address a problem. Through attending the Broadening Horizons Conference, students will develop skills in networking and building professional relationships with others from the healthcare community. Students from all year groups will be exposed to the experiences of working professionals. There will be the opportunities for open floor discussions that facilitate healthy conflicts of opinion and sharing personal experiences with a diverse group of peers and professionals. Session will be delivered by healthcare professionals from a variety of specialities and backgrounds. This provides an opportunity to learn from people that healthcare students may not have the opportunity to work with during their placements or university based learning. Students will demonstrate their learning through the submission of reflective practice forms. As well as providing opportunities for student learning, this event will also provide opportunities for healthcare professionals to acknowledge the ideas and perspectives of the future workforce. Through this BrookesEDGE activity, students will develop the following competencies:

• Collaboration Competency
• Critical Thinking Competency and Integrated Problem-Solving Competency
• Futures Thinking Competency

Any pre-registration Healthcare Student at Oxford Brookes University

Interested students should contact Charlotte Maddison & Jasmin Sadler-ladell (student) at cmaddison@brookes.ac.uk for further details.

You will be responsible for writing a report on the position of women in national politics within a small democracy. You will be guided in doing so by a Country Report template generated as part of the Women in Manx Politics project and supervised by one of the Women in Manx Politics team based in HSS. A Country Report will typically take around 25 hours to research and write, and can be spread over an entire academic year. Your final report will appear on the Women in Manx Politics blog as a Country Report. Undertaking this work will show your ability in the key competencies of: Systems Thinking Competency, Critical Thinking Competency, and Collaboration Competency.

You need to have lived experience of the small democracy you are writing your report on.

Interested students should contact Peter Edge at pwedge@brookes.ac.uk for further details.

You will give your thoughts on plans for the development of employability provision, thinking through their relative value and appeal from your persective as a student in the faculty. Your responses can be by email or in online or face-to-face meetings - whichever you prefer. You will be invited to give your responses once or twice each semester. You will also be welcome to make suggestions to feed into possible curriculam-development and related provision.

This activity will help you develop your critical thinking, systems thinking and futures thinking competencies."

Must be a student representative in the faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Interested students should contact Andrea Macrae at andrea.macrae@brookes.ac.uk for further details.

This activity will involve a group of students (n=20) constructing a closed metaverse/virtual reality world focused on developing student-led education encounters, using the platform Edumetaverse. Students will collaboratively agree the design of the space based on an existing template, and they will agree together the kinds of educational activities that will take place in the space. This could involve, for example, audiovisual content, art exhibitions, reading groups, peer-led seminars, and so on. This is an opportunity for students to co-design an educational experience at the experimental cutting edge of technology and pedagogy, in an act of future-making. The competencies developed will be as follows:

• Systems Thinking Competency:
  • recognise and understand relationships
  • understand how systems are embedded within different domains and different scales
  • deal with uncertainty
  • recognise and work with connections and interactions between factors
  • assess a problem from different scales and perspectives
• Futures Thinking Competency
  • understand and evaluate multiple futures – possible, probable and desirable
  • create one’s own visions for the future
  • learn to unlearn when situations and contexts demand alternative solutions
  • use historical knowledge and an understanding of the consequences of past actions to envision how futures may be shaped
• Critical Thinking Competency
  • question norms, practices and opinions
  • reflect on own one’s values, perceptions and actions
  • identify and formulate critical questions and problems
• Strategic Competency
  • collectively develop and implement innovative actions
  • anticipate and analyse the consequences of different decisions
• Collaboration Competency
  • communicate effectively with others
  • learn from and with others
  • understand and respect the needs, perspectives and actions of others
  • understand, relate to and be sensitive to others
  • recognise the goals, skills and needs of others
  • deal with conflicts in a group
• Integrating Problem-Solving Competency
  • apply different problem-solving frameworks to complex problems
  • develop viable, inclusive and equitable solution options that promote sustainable development
  • use and apply established frameworks and methodologies for analysing the impact(s) of a behaviour or process
  • understands the academic norms of a discipline and explore disciplinary integrity
  • combine different sources and types of evidence, drawing from different disciplines, to view and address a problem
• Normative Competency
  • understand and reflect on the norms and values that underlie one’s actions
  • debate and explore fairness and justice, including social justice
  • identify ethical questions and use ethical frameworks
  • engage with and understand different world views
• Self-Awareness Competency
  • reflect on one’s own role in the local community and (global) society
  • continually evaluate and further motivate one’s actions
  • deal with one’s feelings and desires
  • identify and evaluate one’s own competences and learning needs
  • understand one’s own heritages and cultures
  • maintain healthy mental and emotional state and be aware of one’s mental and emotional health

Students should be over 18 for safeguarding reasons. 

Interested students should contact Patrick Alexander at palexander@brookes.ac.uk for further details.

Are you interested in the chance to make a difference and help shape the future development of Oxford Brookes Business School? Are you interested in working more closely with academic staff across the Business School to develop what we do? Are you interested in developing a range of transferable employability skills that will enhance your CV? Are you interested in getting involved in activities that you could use in an application for the Dean’s List to demonstrate how you have exemplified the University’s Guiding Principles during your time at Oxford Brookes Business School and how your activity has positively impacted the School?

If the answer to all of these questions is 'Yes', then you may be interested in applying to join our team of OBBS Student Partners. This role entails working closely with a range of academic staff, for example Module Leaders, Subject Coordinators, Programme Leads and the Dean/Associate Deans/Deputy Associate Deans of the Business School, to enhance the student experience. Examples include participating as a project team member on one of our OBBS Student Experience Task and Finish Projects, helping to run our digital skills workshops for the Oxford senior community, or working with our UG/PG induction coordinator, our Senior Faculty Academic Adviser and our Academic Integrity Lead on a variety of projects.

It doesn’t matter whether you are an undergraduate or postgraduate student or whether you are in your first, second or final year - this opportunity is open to ALL OBBS students. You do not need any previous experience of this kind of role or need to be a Student Representative; we are looking for students who are hard-working, reliable and keen to make a difference.

This is a paid role and you are contracted to do no more than 24 hours per semester (48 hours over an academic year) - so around 2 hours a week. Expressions of interest for the OBBS Student Partner roles are advertised at the start of each academic year on all Programme Moodle sites.

This activity will enable you to develop the following BrookesEDGE competencies:

• Systems thinking competency
• Strategic competency
• Critical thinking competency
• Futures thinking competency
• Integrated problem-solving competency
• Collaboration competency
• Normative competency
• Self-awareness competency

Interested students should contact Lisa Hale at lhale@brookes.ac.uk for further details.

A Brookes Creative Assistant is a paid opportunity to work with the School of Arts initiative Brookes Creative. www.brookescreative.co.uk.  As an assistant in the team you would choose from a variety of roles that help to run the project from social media content creator, media crew, website developer, events organiser, graphic designer, copy writer, podcaster and so on.  You will be working in a interdisciplinary team with students from a range of subjects across the faculty of TDE.  There are weekly team meetings as well as independent working remotely.  We navigate an uncertain landscape through collaborative problem solving and strategic planning.  Students who are BC assistants have a transformational journey, becoming aware of the values they aspire to follow in their professional lives.

This opportunity covers all the Brookes EDGE competencies.

Must be excited by interdisciplinary opportunities and working with others

Interested students should contact Lucy Turner at lturner@brookes.ac.uk for further details.