Safe Spaces to Discuss Wicked Problems: A Staff and Student Co-Creation Project on Addressing the Awarding Gap

This article discusses the impact of a staff and student co-creation project embedded within a core module, which worked to both explore and seek ways to address the awarding gap. The project established safe spaces for students to share difficult lived experiences at the university, spanning an academic year, and included students in their final year of undergraduate study from a range of disciplines. Student experiences were gathered to inform policy and, with staff, co-created resources were developed and delivered for universities (at both our institution and two external universities) to address the awarding gap, adopting a decolonised and anti-racist approach. The project was vast and, therefore, this article presents only one part of the conducted research, which explored the project’s impact on co-creation students through a participatory evaluation approach known as the world café. The findings highlighted the positive effect of co-creation on students’ sense of belonging, friendships, and connection with faculty, and for the co-creation project to be embedded in the curriculum at all levels of study. Additionally, the students provided clear actionable recommendations for universities to improve student outcomes and address the wickedness of the awarding gap.