Impact

The impact of SACHA on students

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Since 2019, the Students as Change Agents programme (SACHA) has:

• Seen approximately 1,200 students from across different disciplines and years of study participate in the programme.
• Worked with 31 organisations from the non-profit, public and private sectors. 
• Received over 86% satisfaction rate and 90% said they would recommend the programme to their friends. 
• Empowered students to address 13 of the Sustainable Development Goals.

We value diversity and welcome students from any degree programme and year of study. As such we are proud to have Change Agents coming from the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (CAHSS), College of Science and Engineering (CSE), and College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine (CMVM).

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Students' main takeaways from the programme

After each programme we ask students to provide feedback and share their greatest takeaways from the programme.  

The most recent survey shows that the students' main takeaways were:

• Skills development 

  • Over 90% of students said they developed confidence in communication, design thinking, digital communication, inclusive leadership, problem solving, public speaking and teamwork skills.

• Working with diverse people

  • Working in an intense team environment on real-world challenges has helped students make meaningful connections with peers from across the university and often establish long-term friendships.

• Getting inspired to get involved

  • SACHA was born out of a need to cater for students who are are interested in social impact and sustainability, working with others beyond their discipline, and with organisations whose values they share. The programme has helped students to realise their potential to have impact, empowering them to become Change Agents for Life.

Change Agents' Journeys post programme

We asked some of our Change Agents to share their experience with us. Now you can check out the links below to find out how previous participants are continuing with their Change Agents activities.

To learn more about James' experience in the programme and how he has used SACHA to explore his interest, read the blog below.

Jule returned to the SACHA programme as a host and posed a challenge question the aviation industry is trying to tackle. The SACHA team interviewed Jule about her experience on the programme. Click the link below to watch the full interview.

Jule's SACHA Experience - Full interview (Media Hopper)

Carole joined SACHA in 2021 and since then has used the connection she made in the programme and went on to secure an internship with the host organisation. Read her Change Agents for Life Journey blog below to find out more.

Through their involvement in SACHA our host organisations gain an amazing insight into how creative and committed our students can be when they work together and see students’ passion to make a difference in the world.

Challenge hosts can:

• Experience design thinking and data informed innovation in action.
• Benefit from fresh thinking about endemic challenges which is presented to them in 5 minute videos and short, highly visual reports which bring each group’s ideas to life and can be shared more widely in the host organisation and beyond.
• Benefit from approximately 200 hours of student time per challenge topic.

SACHA allows host organisations to evidence their commitment to contributing to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Many of our hosts have taken the students’ ideas forward, allowing them to influence policy and service delivery. For example:

• The Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children has incorporated students’ ideas into a framework which was presented to the United Nations.
• Alcohol Focus Scotland used their groups’ ideas to contribute to a collective response to the Scottish Government Alcohol Marketing consultation.