We know feedback is powerful – but encouraging students to complete surveys can be a challenge. Response rates tend to be low, so the insights gathered don’t always represent the broader student body. We wanted to find a fun, low-pressure way to encourage participation so last year, our education team decided to throw a festival.
Inspired by Glastonbury Festival and fuelled by free food, Feedback Fest celebrates the student voice by inviting all Edinburgh Futures Institute students to share in a welcoming and fun space.
Why a festival?
Survey reminders often fade into the background. Festivals are about expression, community and good vibes – qualities we wanted to mirror in how students engage with feedback. By inviting students into a space that felt informal and creative, we hoped to shift feedback from a solitary obligation to a shared celebration. What started as a modest trial became one of the most well-attended events of the year.
Feedback meets festival
The idea was simple: make feedback fun and relaxed. We put together a themed playlist and made sure there was plenty of pizza as well as free hoodies for those who completed the Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES) or end-of-course surveys.
Students spoke up, and we listened. Survey response rates significantly improved, and the feedback directly impacted the student experience in the following academic year.
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What we learned
A friendly, informal environment encourages students to engage. Incentives such as food, small merchandise items and interactive elements were helpful draws, but the real impact came from making students feel heard. Most importantly, we realised that when students see how their feedback leads to change, they are more willing to participate.
We also learned that students didn’t want to interrogate staff. These conversations belong in structured settings such as student-staff liaison committees and town halls. The presence of senior staff members, including the student experience manager, director of students and director of Edinburgh Futures Institute, helped reinforce the message that feedback is taken seriously, and that the people who can make change are paying attention.
Building on last year’s success, Feedback Fest returned in May with an even more ambitious programme. Advertised on screens throughout the building, the event featured a “headliner” welcome by our director, a lunch buffet, free reusable coffee mugs and a temporary tattoo booth. Meanwhile, Madonna’s Express Yourself played through the speakers.
Interactive boards invited students to respond to prompts such as “most mind-blowing course” and “best course organiser.” These activities offered students multiple ways to share their views and shape the experience for future students.
A collective effort
Feedback Fest is a team effort, and we’re grateful to everyone who helped bring it to life. Colleagues from multiple areas across the institute supported:
- The learning technology team led a sister online event, offering vouchers to students who took part remotely
- Student advisers and teaching administrators were instrumental in setting up and running the in-person event on the day
- Senior staff played a key role in being present and listening.
Tips for running your own feedback festival
If you’re thinking of doing something similar, here are a few things we found helpful:
- Keep it light and informal: students responded well to a relaxed atmosphere where they could drop in, grab something to eat and have quick, low-pressure interactions about their experiences.
- Involve senior staff early: having directors and senior professional services colleagues present (not to lead but to listen) sent a strong message that feedback matters.
- Be transparent about follow-up: students are more likely to engage if they know their feedback leads to action. We displayed “you said, we did” posters from the previous year to show impact.
- Don’t overcomplicate it! It doesn’t need to be a grand production. A combination of food, music and a few creative touches (such as boards with feedback prompts or free mugs) went a long way.
- Time it well: we scheduled the event to coincide with the PTES survey period and promoted it through emails, screens throughout campus and word of mouth via student reps.
With thanks to Neneh Rowa-Dewar, Kirsty Hope, Sara Carter, Emma McAllister, Abby Gleave and the Futures Institute education team. Emma Craigen is student experience coordinator for the Edinburgh Futures Institute.
This resource originally appeared on the University of Edinburgh’s Teaching Matters website.
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