Times Higher Education DMU Visit | Your SVLs and Societies Share their Student Experience

De Montfort University (DMU) has been shortlisted for University of the Year at the THE Awards 2026 - recognition of the genuine impact of its Empowering University strategy, including the shift to block teaching, which has driven real, measurable gains in student pass rates, continuation, and satisfaction since it launched.

As part of the Times Higher Education visit to DMU, we were incredibly proud to be asked to be part of the conversation, giving our students the chance to share their own experiences directly, in their own words.

Real students sharing real experiences

Your Student Voice Leaders (SVLs) and students from your First Love Society, Barbell, Demon FM, The Growth Collective, and Game Soc societies had the opportunity to share what student life at DMU actually looks like day to day.

They shared their experience of block teaching, how it's helped them balance university alongside work, caring responsibilities, and everything else life throws at them. They talked about how easy it is to get involved at DMU once you know where to look with clubs, societies and opportunities genuinely accessible. With sustainability as something that shows up not just as a concept, but as a real, built-in part of the curriculum across several courses.

A look inside the Pantry

We're grateful to have had the opportunity to show off the DSU Pantry, and more importantly talk about the positive impact it has on the day to day lives of DMU students. An initiative we're incredibly proud of being able to deliver which wouldn't have been possible without your feedback, which was taken to DMU, and backed.

Sarah Bradley, CEO of De Montfort Students' Union - "We're incredibly proud to see DMU shortlisted for University of the Year, recognising its ambition to do things differently and create a more inclusive, diverse and sustainable university. It's also a brilliant opportunity to show what can happen when a university and its independent students' union recognise that we're ultimately on the same team. That relationship is brought to life every day by our fantastic student leaders, volunteers, clubs and societies, and by colleagues across DSU and DMU working together to make things better for students."

The THE Awards 2026 winners will be announced in Birmingham this November.

We're all about your student experience, and proud to be the students' union for a university with the same goals.