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Second Semester Studio Project
January 2020 - April 2020
Masters in Social Design,
Ambedkar University, New Delhi

The Problem

As students step into a university space, they are expected to become “thinking” individuals, who participate in the various activities of the university space and engage as active “citizens”. As a university space allows opportunities for students to participate in political spaces and demand for their rights, they also learn to practice what it means to be a “citizen” from the perspective of the university first, eventually leading to the state as a whole. With the framework of the fourth Sustainable Development Goal, which is, to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all, this project was situated in Ambedkar University to understand the need and importance of a student council and its election processes.

 
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The hypothesis of this project was as follows –

Students and the existing council face a communication gap that causes less participation in the various activities of the student council - from actively participating in the organization to voting processes to participation in other events organized by the council.

the design idea

As Ambedkar University is a new university, the student council is also evolving. They currently struggle to reach out to a greater number of students to participate and engage in the various activities that impact and affect the student community of the university. Thus, there is a need to establish multiple ways of contact and communication between the student council and the students.
 
The objectives of the project are:
  • Creating an environment that allows engagement of the council
  • Creating a sense of transparency and trust
  • Creating opportunities for engagement through varied communication channels
 
This project focused on –
  • Re-imagining a space that can reflect the values of the university and political environment of the campus, be able to conduct small discussions, conversations and events; and become a one-stop space for any information about the student council and its work
  • Create a phase-wise communication strategy that can give information about all the processes of the council, how to reach out to the council, the kind of work the council is doing, along with provide opportunities to students to provide suggestions and feedback to the council

the process

PRIMARY RESEARCH

This research was conducted in two processes – one, through a group and two, individually. Below is a snapshot of each of these.

GROUP PROCESS

The initial research focused on collecting data from the university students on three things – one, access to resources of the university and its organizational structure, two, students’ experiences of the university’s infrastructure, and three, students’ participation and social interactions in the university.

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The group consisted of three members, each having one focus out of those mentioned above. Using the medium of google forms, this research was conducted.

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INDIVIDUAL PROCESS

After gathering all the data through the form, each member set out to analyze data based on their individual focus area. For this project, the focus was understanding students’ participation and social interactions in the university. The research goal was to understand -

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  • The kind of participation of students in activities in the university

  • The existing knowledge of the students about the council

  • The perspective of students about the council

  • The modes of interaction used between the council and the students

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While there is a visible participation of students in various activities organized in the university, there was a gap in terms of participation in election and voting processes of the council. Therefore, the next step was to understand the existing student council system and students' engagement with the council through two modes of research - phone interviews with students (past and present) and through online survey.

The existing system of the student council mapped using the Constitution created for the same.

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The next step was to analyze the existing channels of communication that the student council uses, and the type of content for each channel, along with understanding the frequency of the each communication channel.

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CREATING STAKEHOLDER MAPS AND USER PERSONAS: The Stakeholder Map and user personas that were created highlight the various stakeholders that become an important part of the design process of the communication strategy.  It was important to highlight the different kinds of users that would become part of this process (as you can see in the user personas created).

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RE-IMAGINING A SPACE IN THE UNIVERSITY: This is the first part of the design idea, with the focus on creating a dedicated space, for students and the council, that can: 

  • reflect the values of the university /political environment of the campus

  • have a space to conduct small discussions/conversations or events

  • become a one-stop space for the information about the council and its work

This was created in collaboration with fellow group member and classmate, Avanti Kalkar.

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A separate space allows a sense of identity to be established for the council. If there is a dedicated space that the council uses, eventually, that space's identity is associated with the council itself and its activities. There are possibilities of interaction that otherwise get lost in smaller pockets of the campus.

CREATING A PHASE-WISE COMMUNICATION STRATEGY: This is the second part of the design idea, with the focus on creating a phase-wise strategy that can: 

  • give information about all the processes of the council

  • give information about how to reach out to the council

  • give information about what kind of work the council is doing

  • opportunity to students to provide suggestions or feedback

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Prototype of a brochure or pamphlet that can be created that creatively introduces the student council. The prototype was made keeping in mind stringent budget, and use of minimum paper.

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Prototype of a brochure or pamphlet that can be created to promote election dates, voting processes and FAQs about the council. The prototype was made keeping in mind stringent budget, and use of minimum paper.

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The dedicated space imagined for the council would be where this activity can take place. This will help in not only creating awareness, but also re-inforce the identity of the space as that of the students and their council.

MEASURING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE PLAN: The parameters of measuring the effectiveness of this strategy are as follows -

  • Amount and type of feedback received

  • Number of students using the 'space'

  • Number of students participating in various processes of the council

  • Frequency of engagement of students and council through the various channels suggested

FUTURE PROSPECTS OF THIS PROJECT

Due to the pandemic and the consequent lockdown, this strategy could not be tested as planned. However, a proposal sent to the student council would be the next step. It will be up to them whether they would want to implement this plan and see whether it is effective in bridging the communication gaps between the students and the council.

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