THE STORY

Over a three year period, The Glass-House was supported by The Ove Arup Foundation to develop and deliver our dedicated and innovative student programme to accompany and enrich our national WEdesign series. 

WEdesign is The Glass-House’s annual series of free interactive public events, held online and in-person in cities across the UK, where we explore collaborative design in placemaking through discussion, debate and playful co-design activities. The student strand of the programme offers a cohort of students the opportunity to explore these themes alongside diverse audiences, and to gain real-world experience of co-facilitating a public co-design event.

Support from the Ove Arup Foundation injected new resources into the partnership between The Glass-House and university partners, which first brought student facilitators into our national WEdesign series during the Covid pandemic. This funded space allowed The Glass-House to work with our partners and their students in new ways, and to develop a more structured student programme to accompany our WEdesign Series. 

The WEdesign Student Programme has emerged as a space for students to explore the role of collaborative design beyond theory and their more formal studies. It offers meaningful opportunities to develop skills in facilitation, communication, event management and co-design, while contributing to national placemaking conversations. With an ethos of experimentation and shared learning, and developed in collaboration with university tutors, students link event themes to their studies and bring their research, voices and ideas into live public dialogue. 

The programme invites students to co-create WEdesign events that connect their academic work with wider conversations about places and spaces. WEdesign provides a valuable and supportive environment for students to take risks, test ideas and build confidence in working collaboratively across sectors and with the public.

CREATING A REPLICABLE & FLEXIBLE MODEL

Alongside student learning and public engagement, the WEdesign Student Programme developed between 2022 and 2025 helped test and refine a flexible model for embedding co-design in higher education. Co-designed with our university partners, the WEdesign student programme was adapted across four Universities, dovetailing with teaching modules and adapting to suit different subjects, teaching structures, timescales and academic levels, from undergraduate to PhD. 

This flexibility was underpinned by strong, open and collaborative partnerships with university tutors. Our collaborators valued the opportunity to explore an experimental approach that complemented and enriched existing teaching. These relationships fostered mutual learning and trust, and helped create space for reflection, shared planning and innovation. The programme showed how universities can support students to develop their voices and to contribute meaningfully to public dialogue on place and policy, while inviting communities into shared spaces for collaborative design events. 

INTRODUCTORY CO-DESIGN & FACILITATION SESSIONS  

Many participating students had little or no experience of co-design in practice. As participation in WEdesign was voluntary, it was important to offer them a chance to experience co-design from a participant’s perspective before stepping into a facilitation role. We began the programme with workshops like Design by Consensus.

We also developed a WEdesign Introduction Session, which gave students a hands-on introduction to facilitation and co-design through active participation, as well as the opportunity to find out more about WEdesign and what their role would be. 

STUDENT PLANNING SESSIONS

Across the three years of the programme, we refined our student planning and mentoring approach, creating a structured and supportive process to help students step into facilitation with confidence. For many, it was their first time facilitating a public event, so it was important to build a welcoming space where they could explore ideas, ask questions, and develop trust in their own voice.

The planning sessions were more than just logistics and preparation, it was also a space for team building. Students often came from different disciplines and year groups, from BA to PhD, making these sessions a valuable opportunity to meet and collaborate with new people. Working closely with The Glass-House team and university tutors, students helped shape event themes, prompts and materials. In larger cohorts, students also took on event management and documentation roles, including photography, drawing and blog writing.

These planning sessions were delivered both online, using miro boards, and also via in-person delivery at each partner university.

STUDENT RESOURCE

To support the students’ learning and experience, The Glass-House developed a resource booklet which was designed to support their understanding of the WEdesign event model, introduce facilitation methods, and embed co-design within their wider learning context. These resources were practical, offering students the vocabulary, tools, hints and tips.  To give them confidence in their voice and ability to facilitate members of the public as part of the event and also to see themselves, as active contributors in shaping conversations around place.

Tutors reflected that this supportive framework helped students step outside the structures of coursework and into more open-ended, real-world exploration. 

SETTING THE SCENE

Students stepped beyond their formal studies to co-create welcoming, inspiring event spaces for WEdesign.   They took an active role in shaping the feel of each event, from dressing the space and arranging materials, to designing bespoke icebreaker activities, props to introduce the table lenses and conversation prompts to get our participants talking. This helped them work alongside people of all ages, backgrounds and disciplines at the events. 

We offered the students a unique creative opportunity to consider how physical space and atmosphere could encourage connection and conversation. We were constantly impressed by the students’ attention to detail and creativity which helped set the stage for meaningful exchange, encouraging participants to listen, share, and co-create.

These were moments where students’ personalities, ideas and values came through. As one tutor reflected: “There was a real sense of joy. They were playful, curious, and totally engaged and so were the participants. The icebreakers didn’t just ease people in, they opened doors.”

STUDENT & TUTOR FEEDBACK SESSIONS

An important part of the programme was creating time and space for reflection after each WEdesign event, both for students and for our university partners. These sessions encouraged participants to pause, look back on the experience, and articulate what they had learnt.

IMPACT

Over the three years of programme support from the Ove Arup Foundation for the WEdesign series, The Glass-House developed a replicable and adaptable model for embedding co-design into higher education through the WEdesign Student Programme. Between 2022 and 2025, 175 students from across the UK took part in the programme, co-facilitating events that engaged with over 300 members of the public. Going forward, this model will continue to evolve to support student involvement in future WEdesign series, linking academic work with real-world dialogue and public engagement.

Impact on Students

For many students, WEdesign was their first opportunity to take on a public-facing role as facilitators. Tutors observed how the programme created space for connection, experimentation and shared learning, helping students rebuild confidence and develop their voice. As one student put it,

“My wisdom was valued and I valued their wisdom too.”  

Students described the experience as enjoyable and motivating, particularly the opportunity to connect with members of the public from different backgrounds, generations and perspectives, people they might not otherwise encounter through their studies.

Many students spoke about how the programme helped build their confidence, not only in facilitation, but in their own ideas and voice. Free from the pressure of assessment, they took creative risks, explored ideas in a new way, and connected their academic work with broader social and spatial challenges. As one tutor reflected:

“The conversations during the event made the students feel that their work mattered… that it was understandable, useful, and appreciated.”

 

WEdesign gave students the chance to apply co-design and facilitation skills in a real-world setting. Many took away a new motivation and professional readiness and many students also used the programme as a springboard for their studies. Some turned their WEdesign experience into dissertation research, blog content, or professional portfolios. In Glasgow, students even initiated their own co-design event following the programme.

TUTORS

Tutors described WEdesign as “a bridge between academia and practice,” with value in building students’ social skills, ethical awareness, and professional readiness.

Several tutors observed a change in students after participating in the programme, returning to their studios more articulate, motivated, focused, and confident in the social relevance of their work. One shared:

“The impact of WEdesign didn’t end at the event. It rippled through their work, their confidence, and how they saw themselves as designers and citizens.”

 

Tutors also noted how the programme encouraged them to reflect on their own teaching practice. The experience of working alongside students in the planning and delivery of WEdesign events opened up space for experimentation and new ways of engaging with design education. One tutor noted:

“The opportunity that Glass-House has brought to the school has opened minds to different ways of engaging.”

 

At an institutional level, the programme has encouraged tutors to explore new ways of embedding co-design in their teaching. Several noted that the WEdesign methodology is increasingly being adopted across modules and research areas.

Others reflected on the importance of aligning architectural education with contemporary social and spatial challenges:

“The more we embed this methodology within the curriculum, the easier it would be for students to see the value they bring to policy makers and place makers.”

 

“WEdesign is a fantastic vehicle for our undergraduate students… the relevance of it as an initiative only gets stronger as our socio-spatial challenges become greater.”

 

By supporting students to step into real-world facilitation roles, WEdesign helped strengthen the connection between academic learning and public engagement. 

One tutor captured it simply:

“This is what education should look like in the 21st century: collaborative, experimental, rooted in real issues, and filled with care.”

 

Event Participants

The events created a space for open, multigenerational dialogue about place and design. Participants came from a range of backgrounds, ages and professions, and many commented on the value of sharing ideas across generations and collaborating with the students. 

The presence of students brought a different energy to the room. Participants reflected:

“To see the young students speak with such passion and articulation of their ideas was wonderful. …There is something refreshing about people 40–50 years apart debating the same ideas and thoughts… it was such a great mix of youth and experience, backgrounds and opinions.”

“Renewed faith that there are young people thinking and advocating for a more active, just and equal society”

 

These conversations allowed for genuine exchange of perspectives, knowledge, and ideas. The dialogue was reciprocal, with students and participants learning from one another, bringing different experiences and insights into shared conversation collaborating on provocative propositions for change. With one participant reflecting that the “future looks bright!”