A series of podcasts in which two Registrars (or similar) talk about higher ed stuff. Hosted by Dr Paul Greatrix, the podcast has a lot to offer for everyone working in universities and colleges.
Higher education is a wonderful and frightening world and university Registrars (and others) have much to say about most of it. Across the 50 episodes in Season 1 and into Season 2 there is much to enjoy and learn from a wide range of sector leaders in the UK and beyond.
S2 Ep20: Bonus Content - The Higher Education Shipping Forecast
Jenny Lawrence and Jackie Potter present a lighthearted shipping forecast parodying higher education topics and maritime reports.
12 May 2025
S2 Ep19: Episode 19: ‘I wish I knew then what I know now’
Drawing its inspiration from the classic 1973 song by the Faces, this episode of the podcast was a live recording at the spring conference of AHUA held at Swansea University in April 2025.
The recording provides an opportunity to hear from two departing/departed AHUA members in conversation discussing their reflections on their long careers in the sector. Featuring Lee Sanders of the University of Birmingham and Paul Greatrix, formerly of the University of Nottingham the focus is very much on those areas where valuable lessons have been learned.
Subjects such as being selective in the battles you pick, the convening power of the registrar, the challenge of complexity and the importance of pragmatism are covered along with issues such as delivery focus versus PhD acquisition and trying to be serious most of the time. The various attributes needed to survive as a registrar are discussed too, drawing on recent surveys of AHUA members and some insightful contributions are provided by the audience.
And without getting too maudlin or self-indulgent they do try to remind everyone that they were the future once but actually things look much better now for the next stage of development of a more diverse and inclusive AHUA.
This is a longer podcast than usual and carries all the features of a live recording. Huge thanks though to Robin Henderson for providing the equipment and Stella, his daughter, for cleaning up the audio as best she could.
17 Apr 2025
S2 Ep18: Episode 18: Law and Leadership in a Cold Climate
For this edition of the podcast I have the great pleasure to talk to Nicola Maina who is the Union Development Officer, a sabbatical position (equivalent to President) of the University of Nottingham Students' Union (https://su.nottingham.ac.uk).
We start off by discussing Nicola's decision to study Law at Nottingham and how she found the learning environment in the immediate post-pandemic period. Whilst she loved the course and her lecturers she did find the cold and dark winter climate a bit too much. Campus and residential life and the immersion in British culture were clear positives and then things really developed when she discovered student representative activity and was persuaded to stand for the part-time position of Students' Union International Officer.
Having been elected into the role she really focused on trying to develop a shared sense of community for those studying away from home, noting the difficulties which often exist when trying to promote engagement with home students. Building on her enthusiasm for democratic representation Nicola was then elected to her current sabbatical position following a campaign which lasted for what she described as two of the hardest weeks of her life.
Nicola discovered she had a huge amount to learn as a new sabbatical and we discuss the ways in which she sought to contribute effectively to represent students at the highest levels within the University and how important the place of officers like her is within the formal structures. It's a really steep learning curve and there is so much more to the role and the students' union than most students imagine.
Finally, we learn that Nicola hopes to build on her law degree in terms of future work plans but nothing is certain yet. It is a really good conversation with a hugely impressive student representative.
Podcast Authority Score: 32 / 100
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