This blog is brought to you by Phil O’Brien, an Academic and Study Skills Tutor at Manchester Metropolitan University, who discusses and reflects on a collaboration between Learner Developers and Widening Participation colleagues on a programme of events to support first generation students manage the transition to university.
Introduction
Going to university as an undergraduate can be both exhilarating and overwhelming. For those who are the first in their families to do so, there are also a range of more pronounced challenges and perceptions to overcome. These often relate to not knowing what to expect from a university life and education without a family member to ask for advice. That lack of shared, familial knowledge is one reason why the First Generation Scholarship Programme was set up at Manchester Metropolitan University in 2016.
Students who live or study in the North West of England and whose parents did not go to university can apply for the Widening Participation programme. There is pre-entry support and application guidance to help them access and get ready for university. Additionally, those who progress through the programme onto a full-time undergraduate degree get financial, personal, and professional support, including a bursary of £1,500.
The initiative, funded by donations made by companies and alumni as well as yearly fundraising initiatives, recently welcomed the 1000th scholar – hitting the original target set a decade ago – and £2million has been raised overall. It’s about supporting students’ transition into what may seem like the unknown, starting during the application process.
In what follows I discuss how to incorporate Learning Development strategies into widening participation initiatives while also discussing how to harness the creativity and intelligence of students through confidence building and the creation of a supportive space for learning.
How Does This Connect to Learner Development?
As part of the Learner Development team at Manchester Met, I’ve designed and delivered, with my Maths and Stats colleagues Elise Hay and Victoria Herod, a range of workshops on a First Generation Summer Taster. It’s part of the pre-entry stage of the programme and, crucially, is the first event students take part in as they are about to start Year 13 at college.
In 2024 we worked with the Widening Participation team to devise a two-day event which has now run successfully for two years with over 400 students, four times each July and August. This built on a long-standing relationship with Widening Participation. The timetable includes an introduction to the First Generation scheme, ice-breakers, a campus tour, a Q&A session with alumni and donors, as well as a night of bowling and food. Central to these events, and supported by existing Manchester Met students who are current First Generation students, is the suite of Learner Development sessions.
Harnessing Skills and Creativity
As Learner Developers, we wanted to stay true to the title of the event – a taster of what it’s like to study at university – while ensuring we harnessed the range of skills and interests of those attending in creative and engaging ways.
We set them a small group task of producing an academic poster over the two days, with structured sessions on day one followed by the creation and production of the poster on day two.
In 2024 the theme was on what the next 200 years of education might look like, as it was Manchester Met’s 200-year anniversary. And in 2025 we asked them to consider Generative AI (GenAI) and education.
Alongside a session to introduce the activity and another on how to design an academic poster, Elise delivered a session which involved students collecting their own data on the given topics and discussing how best to visually represent their findings. She said:
“From my perspective as a Maths and Statistics specialist, students frequently overlook how crucial it is to gather suitable, well‑designed data to address their research questions with confidence. This session gave the prospective First Generation Scholars an excellent opportunity to develop this aspect of project planning, while also enabling them to connect with and learn more about their peers”.
I followed that with a session on critically evaluating two different viewpoints on the given theme. That session developed into a co-taught workshop in 2025 with colleagues from the library who worked with students on how to find and verify sources.
Building Confidence
While day one involved these more formalised teaching sessions, day two was centred around the production of the posters followed by a poster showcase on campus.
We were able to involve current Manchester Met students in the design of the sessions, with initial feedback in early 2024 stressing that the poster task would work better if it was done using physical materials, rather than digitally.
Our initial presumption was that digital would be preferred by students but the decision to switch to more traditional, tangible methods was a key part in the success of both versions of the Taster.
As can be seen in the images of the posters produced in groups of 6 to 8 students, the form and materials used harnessed an impressive range of creative talents. Every group member was able to contribute in some way, from drawing images and designing layout to constructing arguments and using data.
The ingenuity they demonstrated in designing their posters was hugely impressive. There were interactive elements, like QR codes, surveys, and pull-out questions, alongside detailed drawings of robots, anime characters, and complex design patterns.
As Learner Developers, we gave them the guidance and tools – everything they needed was provided in bespoke packs – and they were able to deliver work of an impressive standard and discuss it with alumni, business owners, donors, and senior university figures on the afternoon of day two.
Having walked on to campus for the first time the day before, uncertain but ready to learn, we learnt through discussions with the students that many had now developed skills they may use on a university-level assignment, be that an academic poster or any form of assessment which involves analysis, argument, and critical thinking. This all, in turn, had a positive effect on their self-belief which we witnessed slowly grow over the two days.
More Popular than Bowling!
The feedback from the students on the latest iteration was very encouraging, with 92% rating the poster task as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’, 90% reporting that they enjoyed the whole event, and 82% more likely to apply to Manchester Met. The poster task, in particular, was rated more favourably than the evening’s bowling, albeit by 1.5%.
These successes were due to the close collaboration with the Widening Participation team, with manager Ellie Collins stating:
“Phil and Elise went above and beyond to support the students, creating an engaging and encouraging environment where the students understood and enjoyed the task at hand. This opportunity gave the students not only valuable knowledge but also an experience they can confidently draw on in their university applications”.
I think that was key, creating an environment in which they could gain confidence and overcome those unknowns mentioned at the beginning. And I think that links back to the role of Learning Development: providing students the space, giving them the tools, harnessing their intelligence and skills, and unlocking their potential and creativity, regardless of background.
Concluding Points and Recommendations to Others
The success of the Summer Taster is based on collaboration with the Widening Participation team and a range of colleagues from across the university. Planning starts each year in early spring and we work in a flexible and focused way to ensure the aims of boosting confidence and opening up the university to the students are met.
My advice for any Learning Developers wanting to do similar is to work on establishing constant collaboration with other teams and to involve students at the earliest opportunity to give clarity on how to overcome the challenges faced by First Generation students.
Bio:
Dr Phil O’Brien is an Academic and Study Skills Tutor at Manchester Metropolitan University, linked to the Arts and Humanities Faculty. He is the author of The Working Class and Twenty-First-Century British Fiction: Deindustrialisation, Demonisation, Resistance (Routledge, 2020) and editor of Culture and Politics: Class, Writing, Socialism (Verso, 2022) by Raymond Williams.