When I woke up yesterday, my Facebook news feed seemed to only contain one story: Coventry University is rising! I was happy to see that my friends are as proud as I am to be studying in a university which is now ranked 15^th in the Guardian League Table of Universities.

And we have all the reasons to be proud: we’ve seen it rising; we’ve been here to observe all the changes it has gone through and I’m sure I don’t only speak for myself when I say that I actually feel we’re part of this achievement. It was our voices that spoke when we wanted something done in a different way, it was us who shared our views on what would make our experience at Coventry University better.  And, because they listened, we get to feel the results of it!

The success we’re seeing now is equally owed both to us and to the team of great people who have dedicated themselves to making sure we get the most out of our years here.

For me, this is more than great news, as I’m about to graduate from the 15^th UK University. Just this alone will give me an advantage in front of others on the job market. Adding the fact that, during my time here, I’ve done a lot of professional experience as part of my modules, I have absolutely no doubt that Coventry University has prepared me for the “real world” better than any other university could have. I have become so attached to this place, the methods of teaching and the people, that I’m now in the process of writing my application for a master course with Coventry University, and I would love, of course, to leave the university even higher in rankings.

How can we make sure this happens and next year we do even better than this year?

I believe that communicating our views is the best thing we can do. We all have our own dissatisfactions, but, unless we voice them, they will never be solved, which will, in the end, lead to our frustration. Coventry University goes out of its way to make sure everyone has a say, so whenever not happy about something, don’t just complain to your peers, talk to your course rep or one of your tutors. They will pass the message on and it won’t be long until you start to see things change…#CU15!