Wintec students get a voice of their own design

Wintec students now have a voice of their own design.

Earlier this year students and staff developed and launched a new feedback reporting system Student Voice 24/7 which gives students a way to give feedback on any aspect of their Wintec experience and be responded to within a day. And just recently Wintec students were invited to take part in a “design a logo competition” for Student Voice 24/7 – with the winning designs now chosen.

“We decided our students are the best people to create the authentic brand-look to represent their voice,” says Karen Jones, director Wintec Quality and Academic Unit.

A range of submissions were shortlisted for the competition and all Wintec students were invited to participate in an online vote to pick their favourite.

“The votes for the best design were so close, that we chose four submissions, and are using all of them for different elements of the system,” says Karen.

What is Student Voice 24/7?

Student Voice 24/7 is a feedback platform co-created by Wintec staff and students. A series of workshops were organised to design a tool that would meet the needs of the students, who wanted to provide more frequent feedback as long as the process was simple and they received a proper response in a timely way.

Student Voice 24/7 is directly plugged into the Wintec student learning management platform (Moodle). The anonymous feedback submitted receive a response within one working day. Then feedback and response are made public for all Wintec students and staff to see.

Karen says: “Student Voice 24/7 is an exciting development and allows students to directly inform our decision making. While students are anonymous in the system, their comments and Wintec’s answers are available to all.”

Since its launch in February, the system has received feedback more than 70 times on learning practices, facilities, parking and information technology.

“We have also seen an 84% reduction in formal complaints in comparison to this time last year. This gives us confidence that our new range of Student Voice 24/7 systems are already improving the quality of the Wintec student experience.”

Student Voice 24/7 is just part of a wider approach at Wintec to find early solutions to problems students may face. Wintec students continue to share their experiences with staff through student forum meetings, feedback structures, student representatives and formal complaints system. Wintec also tests student views through weekly student polls.

Who are our winning students?

The four winners of the design competition received vouchers for computer and high-tech equipment, and their designs were implemented on the platform last week.

Keegan Linstrom (21 years old) is in his second year of a Bachelor of Nursing. He designed the silhouette of the head and megaphone (middle image above).
“I heard about the competition on posters around the campus and I thought it would be a fun thing to do even if I have not art background. A student with a megaphone was the best representation I could think of when I think about Student Voice, it’s about making student’s voices louder” says Keegan.

Shennaye Cox (22 years old) is in her third and final year of a Bachelor of Media Arts. She designed the face with the brain, the forecasting waves and headphones (left image above). See more of her work here.
“I focussed at first on the voice. However, I also wanted to add all the elements that make the system Student Voice what it is. The microphone in which we speak is the beard, the brain symbolised the student learning process, sunnies are here because we are cool students (laughs), the message box shows our will to share with friends and peers and the forecasting waves show how all of that is shared with Wintec,” Shennaye says.

Wiehan Vosloo (21 years old) is in the second year of his Diploma in Engineering. He designed the magnifying glass with the microphone (right image above).
“When I designed the logo, I thought what Student Voice means to me - a platform where I can make my voice heard. I platform on which I can share what I think about Wintec. That's what the microphone in the design represents. A tool to make my voice and other people's voice heard. A tool shows we can share what we feel and think. And the magnifying glass? To me that represents that your voice be heard but what you say will be considered and any problems solved,” Wiehan says.

Josh Uerata (22 years old) is currently finishing his Bachelor of Media Arts. He designed the icons (background image above). See more of his work here.
“My inspiration for my designs comes from my experience of being a student at Wintec. I created a suite of logos that features imagery of either items or ideas that are frequently used by students (e.g phones, tablets, pencil etc.) and iconography representing the concept of the 'student voice’ like the thought/speech bubbles and a ballot box. I wanted to capture the overall concept of ‘student' into bold, simple and modern illustrations that can be easily read,” says Josh.

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