Twelve tips for enhancing student engagement

Abstract

Student engagement refers to a broad range of activities where students participate in management, education, research, and community activities within their institutions. It is a mutually beneficial collaborative approach between students and their institutions. This article provides practical advice for the implementation or further development of student engagement at medical, dental, and veterinary schools. The tips provided are based on the experiences of a group of universities recently recognized for best practice in student engagement, and are supported by evidence from the literature. The tips cover overarching themes which include the creation of an institutional culture and formal framework for student engagement, and maximize communication routes between students with peers and faculty. Tips are for specific areas of active student engagement, covering curriculum design and development, peer teaching, governance processes, research activities, peer support programs, and interaction with the local community.

Acknowledgments

We wish to thank the many students who helped us write this manuscript: Simon Dress, Fabian Stroben (Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany), Bogdan Zdravkovic (University of Maribor, Slovenia), Melanie Still and Sebastian Leathersich (University of Western Australia, Australia), Evyn Neumeister and Austin Beason (Southern Illinois University, USA), Konrad Nilsson (Uppsala University, Sweden), and Joni Remmits and Lisa Adriaansen (University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands).

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Harm Peters

Harm Peters, MD, MHPE, is a Professor of Medical Education and director of the Dieter Scheffner Center for Medical Education and Educational Research at the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany.

Marko Zdravkovic

Marko Zdravkovic, MD, is a teaching assistant and former coordinator of Centre for Medical Education at Faculty of Medicine, University of Maribor, and an anesthesiology resident at University Medical Centre, Maribor, Slovenia.

Manuel João Costa

Manuel João Costa, PhD, is an Associate Professor and coordinator of the Medical Education Unit at the School of Medicine, University of Minho, Portugal.

Antonio Celenza

Antony Celenza, MBBS, MclinEd, University of Western Australia is a Professor of Medical Education and Emergency Medicine and Head of the MD Program and MD Education Unit.

Kulsoom Ghias

Kulsoom Ghias, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences and co-chair of the Undergraduate Medical Curriculum Committee at the Aga Khan University in Karachi, Pakistan.

Debra Klamen

Debra Klamen, MD, MHPE, is a Professor and chair of the Department of Medical Education and senior associate dean for Education and Curriculum at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, USA.

Liz Mossop

Liz Mossop, PhD, is a Professor of Veterinary Education at the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science University of Nottingham, UK.

Michael Rieder

Michael Rieder, MD, PhD, is chair of the Department of Paediatrics and was the Assistant dean for Learner Equity and Wellness (Undergraduate Student Affairs), Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry Western University, Canada.

Vishna Devi Nadarajah

Vishna Devi Nadarajah, PhD, MHPE, is a Professor of Human Biology in the School of Medicine and dean of Teaching and Learning at the International Medical University, Malaysia.

Danai Wangsaturaka

Danai Wangsaturaka, MD, PhD, is a lecturer in medical education and assistant dean of Academic Affairs at Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand.

Martin Wohlin

Martin Wohlin, MD, PhD, MD, PhD, is a Senior Lecturer in Emergency Medicine, former Head of the Unit for Medical Education, Uppsala University, Sweden.

Margot Weggemans

Margot Weggemans, MD, is a PhD candidate at the Center for Research and Development of Education, University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands.