By Ian Revell, Governor at Milton Keynes College Group

When I first became a governor of Milton Keynes College Group, it was partly because Further Education was a bit of a “blind spot” for me.  I didn’t really know what the College did, or how incredibly important it is to the city. 

My day job is as Chief Executive of the MK Community Foundation.  We have managed investment funds along with a property portfolio from which we raise about two and a half million pounds a year to donate to community groups, charities, local voluntary groups and those from the culture sector.  It’s a servant organisation to the city if you like, joining up and supporting the various groups and organisations that strive to make Milton Keynes a better place. 

Because my job is to manage the Foundation as a whole, providing the tools our brilliant staff use to help our communities, I realised that I didn’t have as much contact as I would like with the people we support, and saw the College Group as a way of connecting more directly with people who live here, especially younger people. 

There’s a way of gathering feedback as a governor called, triangulation, which is about gathering information from different source to get a complete and true sense of what is going on.  Being a governor helps me to better understand the whole MK community.  My work and governorship, and also the time I’ve spent at Camphill Milton Keynes (an organisation providing support and meaningful work for adults with learning disabilities) where I’m a trustee, gives me a really useful mix of perspectives to appreciate how the city functions. 

What I didn’t expect before I joined, is how impressed and proud I would quickly become in what our College Group is doing.  I was fortunate enough to be at the 2024 Students of the Year Awards, and was just blown away at the levels of achievement of the winners, all of whom are so inspiring.  Some words are perhaps overused, but it is no exaggeration to say what a privilege it is for me to be associated with the College Group.  It’s not just about the work people here do, teaching and learning, it’s about the community of which we’re all a part.  When I think of College in the Community Day, when everyone goes out to do something to make other people’s lives better, or the recent fundraiser that our Digital and Business students organised for Age UK which involved a scavenger hunt and bake sale. It’s not just that learners are doing good things, it’s that they realise how satisfying doing something for other people can be, and I’m convinced our students leave us with a greater sense of society than when they first joined.  It’s good for all of us to learn that we can make a difference for the good of other people’s lives. 

As a governor, it’s easy for us to speak to senior staff about what goes on at the College, and that’s all really useful, but the thing that I relish most and that gives me some of the most important insights is having the chance to speak to students themselves.  I’ve had some really thoughtful, informative and frankly, moving conversations with people here.  You are the people we’re here to support, so finding out how you feel about the way things work, how your courses are going, what the social side is like and the challenges you face – these are things we governors need to know to be able to do our jobs properly. 

Another thing I love about the College is the incredible mix of people you meet here.  You are all so diverse, and the way you all get on together, accepting and celebrating each other’s differences, is just wonderful to see.  This place really is about Fairer Futures for ALL, and that ambition is something to treasure.  After all, the future of our city is being made right here at the College every day.  Today’s students are tomorrow’s workforce, business builders, social movers and shakers.  If the College is shaping you, you will one day soon be shaping our community. 

What could be more important and worthwhile than that? 

To find out more about Governance at Milton Keynes College Group, visit Governance – MK College.