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Autumn marks the start of the new school year, and at UU����ֱ��, a new team of superheroes – our student associates. What is a student associate, and what are their superpowers, I hear you ask? Well, read on to find out.

What is a student associate?

A student associate is a law student by day and a masked crusader by night. Fighting to ensure that law students have the support and training they need during their studies, from legal research to commercial awareness.

Okay, so I may be slightly exaggerating here, but part of my role is to manage the team. And it is truly a privilege to see a group of students from across the UK working together and supporting one another throughout the school year. Getting through law school is a tough gig, but the team help other students to feel confident and get ahead in their studies.  

UU����ֱ�� student associates have been fully trained to use our suite of online research services and how to pass that expertise on to others. They run training sessions to help their peers develop key legal research skills, improve employability with our certifications , as well as sharing tips and tricks on using our services to build commercial awareness. They might not have superpowers in the traditional sense (at least, I don't think any of them can fly). But they do have superpowers that help their fellow law students.    

Last week we welcomed the new 2021/2022 team. While there were many new faces, there were also a few familiar ones. I asked our returning student associates to share their experiences and highlights of the job last year.

What does a typical week look like?

Muntaha Rahman, UU����ֱ�� Student Associate at Swansea University

Superpower: organisation

“My week goes most efficiently when I plan and organise well! So, I start the week by setting out my objectives and think of ways to achieve them. I answer any emails relating to UU����ֱ��, and send out emails to societies, employability teams, students that may have an interest in getting certified and my library team. 

After this, I organise my calendar and set any Zoom meetings for the week. I often have society meetings my large UU����ֱ�� sessions. I also create social media posts for societies, or the law employability teams about my sessions to promote on their channels. 

Depending on the time of year, I can also create fun competitions or quizzes. Throughout the week, I also make sure to regularly practice using LexisLibrary and LexisPSL for my own studies and as research for when I run sessions for other students.”

What has surprised you most about being a student associate? 

Jack Mitchell, UU����ֱ�� Student Associate at the University of Bristol

Superpower: networking

“The thing that has surprised me most about the associate role is the amount of connections I have made as a result. In addition to building relationships with students in other years (even postgrads!) I am now on a first team basis with many law school staff – this is something that is quite hard to achieve at university!”

Can you share a highlight with us? 

Sally Ali, UU����ֱ�� Student Associate at the London School of Economics and Political Science

Superpower: legal research

“An especially rewarding highlight for me was helping one student, who is also a friend, navigate through her dissertation nearing her deadline! She was very panicked and did not know where to find credible information but following our session she left feeling very confident and met her deadline! (Pheew!)”

Clearly there are some superheroes at work here. All of our team develop these skills which can save the day (or at least help students get their assignments in on time). I cannot wait to see what this year’s team will achieve and which other heroes will emerge… Keep your eyes tuned! 

If you're a law student and want to find out who your student associate is, .