Future Leaders: empowering underrepresented students to thrive

At the University of Surrey, we believe every student deserves the opportunity to lead, succeed, and feel a true sense of belonging. That’s why we created Future Leaders—a transformative, extracurricular programme designed to support the success of students from underrepresented backgrounds throughout their university journey.

Three students work together on a project

Co-created with your Students' Union, Future Leaders is your pathway to empowerment. 

Future Leaders is an extracurricular programme that runs alongside your degree, offering opportunities for personal development to enrich your university experience. It is run by the Student Success and EDI team, who work with students from backgrounds that often face barriers to accessing, and thriving in, higher education.

You can take part in a variety of ways – from joining interactive workshops and in-person events to taking part in paid part-time work opportunities. As Future Leaders is designed with Student Success Priority groups in mind, some opportunities such as Mature Learner Cafes or Commuting Student meetups will be more bespoke to certain communities.

To hear about upcoming events, sign up to our mailing list.

What you'll gain by joining

Future Leaders is a movement for equity, empowerment, and leadership. Look out for opportunities on this page or through emails to:

  • Build confidence, community, and a strong sense of identity
  • Gain essential academic and leadership skills
  • Access tailored employability support and real-world opportunities
  • Inspire younger generations to access higher education
  • Be part of a transformative community experience.
Your Future Leaders journey

Your university, your community

Feeling a sense of community is an important part of the University experience, and Future Leaders brings students together from all different walks of life. Look out for our Future Leaders Lounge opposite the Stag Hill Co-op, which is open Mondays during lunchtimes until 6 November. Here, you will find an inclusive and welcoming spaces to meet people and bond over games and snacks. 

Your skills, your support

Academic literacy and personal wellbeing are important parts of your Surrey journey. Future Leaders can offer chances to boost your academic skills and connect you with the support that you need.

If your course has Student Success Coaches, they will be taking you through a programme of skills development that has been designed alongside the Future Leaders Programme.

Your career, your journey

Future Leaders provides accredited and peer-led training to help you become Unstoppable. Through the Student Employability and Enterprise Team, you can access tailored workshops and support that sits alongside the Future Leaders Programme.

You can use the Employability Hub for finding events, job listings, and career development tools.

Your voice, your future

As the changemakers of tomorrow, Future Leaders gives you a space to influence University policy alongside the representatives of the Students’ Union. This will equip you with the skills to speak out and make change for both current and future generations of students.

What are Student Success Priority groups?

These are groups which we know often face additional barriers and challenges in higher education. This could be because:

  • You received free school meals during secondary school or a 16-19 bursary at college
  • You care for a relative with a disability, illness, mental health condition or addiction
  • You have disclosed a disability or long-term health condition
  • You have experience of living in public care as a looked-after-child, including if you were adopted
  • Are estranged from your parents (i.e.you are not in contact with and supported by your parents)
  • You are a refugee within definite leave to remain in the UK or an asylum seeker
  • Students who are from a black or Asian heritage
  • You are from a Gypsy, Roma, Irish Traveller, Showman or Boater community
  • You are a mature or adult learner who will be aged 21 years or over when commencing your studies
  • You have a parent/carer who has served in the UK Armed Forces or as a Reservist
  • You live in an IMD Q1 or Q2 postcode*
  • You live in a POLAR4 Q1 or Q2 postcode**
  • You are a Commuting Student (you commute to campus from outside of the GU1/GU2 postcode areas)

*Indices of Multiple Deprivation are commonly used datasets within the UK to classify the relative deprivation within smaller areas. We will check your postcode against these datasets to determine your eligibility. However, if you wish to check your own postcode prior to applying for Future Leaders, you can use our own postcode lookup tool.

**POLAR4 classifies the progression rate of young people in higher education within local areas across the UK. We will check your postcode using the Office for Students postcode data to determine your eligibility. However, if you wish to check your own postcode prior to applying for Future Leaders, you can use our own postcode lookup tool.

Hollie Baker

Welcome to Future Leaders - a transformative, extracurricular programme designed to support the success of students from underrepresented backgrounds throughout their Surrey journey.

Where can Future Leaders take me?

By engaging with the Future Leaders Programme, you will have the skills and knowledge to access further development opportunities.

Access and Participation Advisers

Future Leaders is led by our Access and Participation Advisers, who are paid part-time student staff who are from a diverse range of lived experiences and backgrounds:

  • Care-leavers and estranged students
  • Social mobility
  • Student carers
  • Mature/adult learners
  • Commuting students
  • Students of Black heritage
  • Students of South Asian heritage
  • Students with a physical disability
  • Forced migrants
  • Students from Gypsy, Roma, Traveller, Showman, or Boater communities

These champions represent their groups and organise events, advocacy, and informal peer connections. We are still recruiting for APP Advisers for:

Student Ambassadors

This is a student success initiative that offers paid part-time work and professional skill development. Our Student Ambassadors should be reflective of the diverse student population of the University of Surrey, and we welcome applications from students belonging to Student Success Priority backgrounds.

Ambassadors can help with:

  • Widening Participation, working with local schools to improve access to Higher Education such as school visits and summer schools
  • Student Success, helping to bring community and skill-sharing to other members of the student community
  • Global Recruitment, to help be the face of the University such as at Open Days and Offer Holder Days 

Student Money Mentors

This is a paid opportunity for Future Leaders to assist with the Student Money Support team, giving peer-to-peer support to help other students with their financial literacy. This can involve managing budgets and accessing financial support.

Financial pressures can differ based on your background or lived experience, which is why applications from Future Leaders from Student Success Priority backgrounds are particularly welcomed.

Other opportunities:

New roles and opportunities will be developed throughout the year, formed by student feedback. This could include:

  • Sports Activators 
  • MySurrey Hive Ambassadors
  • Wellbeing Ambassadors

Get in touch for more information about the programme: email ssedi@surrey.ac.uk.

The Students Union also has three additional networks as part of the 'Student Equality Network', students are able to join:

  • International Student Network
  • Race Equality Network
  • Disability & Neurodiversity Network

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