WHAT WE DO
Partnership with Independent Higher Education (IHE)
Supporting Independent Higher Education and their members
We are particularly proud of the partnership we have with Independent Higher Education, the formal representative body for independent providers of higher education, professional training and pathways in the UK. Coole Insight and IHE have worked in partnership to form the IHE Student Advisory Board (SAB), a national forum for student representatives from IHE member institutions to discuss their experiences and feed the student voice directly into national policy through the IHE Board. Coole Insight supported IHE to draft terms of reference, and provides ongoing support for the work of the SAB through a training programme for SAB members; mentoring and coaching for the IHE Student Governor; and providing secretarial support for the SAB.
Coole Insight has also developed a bespoke offer for IHE member institutions, tailoring our flagship Student Officer Support Programme to meet the needs of providers without traditional Students’ Unions, with students often studying highly specialised and vocational subjects and with unique needs. We also offer consultancy to IHE members on a case by case basis, and through our work with the SAB we have an excellent understanding of the particular requirements of IHE member institutions. We have supported student representatives at an IHE member institution to deliver a student submission to TEF, and are currently working with another to deliver a tailored student voice system and approach unique to their institutional context.) Our education policy support offer will always be bespoke to the needs of the provider, university, college or students’ union, and will always centre the authentic student voice and student ownership and agency.
Supporting IHE members Â
In 2016, James Dyson set out to transform education and how it is delivered due to a  shortage of engineers in the UK. Coole Insight Ltd is honoured to collaborate with the  Institute and its student representatives to develop a strong and responsive approach  to learner voice, student engagement, and student leadership. Â
This new partnership is great news as our journey and partnership work with  Independent Higher Education continues to go from strength to strength. Â
We had the privilege of training the student representatives at The Dyson Institute of  Engineering and Technology. We will now provide mentorship to eight student  representatives going forward, and we look forward to continuing our pivotal role in  the Institute's higher education journey.
Our Education Policy Support can feature:
Expert advice, coaching and mentoring, or interim capacity to support student officers to engage with academic committees or Boards of Governors
Data analysis and report-writing for exercises such as the TEF, or annual quality reports
Reviews of academic representation and student voice structures
Analysis of large data sets such as the National Student Survey, student led teaching award nominations, minutes of student rep meetings, and generating thematic reports
Interim capacity to support the engagement of students in public policy consultation exercises, ensuring students have a voice in policymaking on issues pertaining to education and student life.
Our Team
Steve Coole
Jack Medlin
Tom Ritchie
Oscar Minto
Beth Garrett