The October member spotlight is on Steven Altham, who is the Deputy Network Coordinator for our North Wales and North West regional network. Steven is also Student Development Coordinator at Liverpool John Moores University.

Why do you do it?

I have lots of experience of working across LJMU as an institution, both from my current job role, and through being an LJMU advocate over the past year. The North Wales and North West Deputy Coordinator role however gives me experience of working across multiple institutions across the region, giving me an opportunity to learn from and share expertise with others via AUA linked collaboration and networking. It also gives me the opportunity to work on strategies that could potentially affect the development of staff across multiple universities. Ultimately it’s a great way to develop myself and my career, whilst simultaneously helping develop others on a much larger scale than what I’m used to.

What has been the best bit so far?

Simply being able to think and work outside the confines of my institution – having the opportunity to visit, and collaborate with other HE staff and learn about what practices we share and how we may do things differently. That and generally feeling like a meaningful part of the greater HE administrative family.

Would you recommend the role?

Definitely. The attached responsibility could be a great help for any current member who is looking for a future leadership role but who has no opportunity to gain relevant experience at their local institution. It can seem daunting at first, but remember that you have the expertise of some excellent AUA members/fellows from across your network to tap into, and the main Network Coordinator themselves to help out if needed. I’ve only really just started in my Deputy Network Coordinator role, but am looking forward to what more I can learn, and how I can help my fellow AUA members across the North Wales and North West region.