Centre for the Study of Higher Education’s first PhD student

George Mindano is the first PhD student to complete his degree through the Centre for the Study of Higher Education (CSHE) at the University of Kent. His thesis investigated students’ understanding of the concept of ‘student voice’ to investigate whether strong group identity influences students’ responses to mechanisms designed to capture this. His findings indicated that student and academics have both varied and multi-dimensional understanding of the ‘student voice’ phenomenon. His study also revealed that while the majority of senior academic leaders maintain that ‘student voice’ has been amplified through various feedback mechanisms, most students think that surveys such as the NSS are not an accurate representation of their voice, with institutional failure to act effectively on their feedback and change practice.

George found doing his PhD at Kent was probably one of his most fulfilling and best experiences ever. ‘I chose University of Kent because of the support and interest I received from my prospective supervisors. I was also lured by Kent’s reputation, location and institution’s willingness to fully support my studies. I received tremendous support from my supervisors (Drs Joanna Williams pictured with George and Janice Malcolm), the Centre for the Study of Higher Education and the Graduate School. I was involved in two research projects and presented at several international conferences, which helped my growth as an early research career’.

In June 2018, George completed a postdoctoral research fellowship with University of Sussex and has returned to Malawi with his family.  He is teaching at University of Malawi’s Polytechnic on part-time basis and also consulting with the Ministry of Education.