Dr Susan Kenyon

In Politics and International Relations at Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU), we think carefully about the real-world skills that we want our students to graduate with.  With an eye on our students’ future employment, we are working to embed the professional skills and mindset needed to be successful in ‘doing’ politics and influencing others, to increase the impact and usefulness of the knowledge that they gain during their studies.  

Recent league tables suggest that our students not only enjoy, but benefit from, this approach.  We are thrilled that our students have voted us second in the UK for student satisfaction! 

But it’s not only our students who benefit.  By supporting our students to develop the skills that they need to practice politics in the real world, we hope to contribute to progress towards more inclusive, representative and accessible political arenas, in all areas of life.   

Our aims closely parallel those of the Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN), a community of Universities and policy professionals who are committed to increasing the impact of academic knowledge and research on public policy and to increase the diversity of voices contributing to policymaking.   Dr Susan Kenyon, Principal Lecturer in Politics at CCCU, was asked to write a blog for the Universities Policy Engagement Network, discussing the team’s teaching approach.  Follow this link to read more about how we are working to open up the world of policymaking to our students: Teaching students how to influence policy and engage with stakeholders at Canterbury Christ Church University.