Learning from the pandemic to embed empathy in students-as-partners practice

Overnight the pandemic levelled the experiences of students and staff like no other development in students-as-partners (SaP) practice.  While some existing inequities were exacerbated, and some new ones emerged during the pandemic, we all found ourselves going through a collectively-shared trauma and checking in on, and caring for each other, from our isolated bedrooms and kitchen tables.  At the same time, we found ourselves working with tools and approaches that were new to many of us.  This unprecedented and sudden change to the daily running of mass Higher Education created different kinds of dialogues between students and staff, which were fundamentally underpinned by empathy.