Modasar Rasul

Connector, Educator/Teacher, Global soul, Idea generator, Life mentor, Photographer, World traveler

I have over 20 years’ experience of managing student development programmes within schools, further and higher education institutions in the UK. I currently work at Aston University where I lead on advanced level student development programmes including mentoring for postgraduate students and chairing the Advisory Boards of TEDx Aston University and Enactus Aston. My experience includes launching highly successful and innovative mentoring programmes at an inner city college and establishing a ground-breaking ‘Learning Space’ where I introduced experiential learning to student cohesion. I was the chair of the Birmingham & Solihull Aimhigher Training Development Group where I led on the development of a regional mentor-training programme. I also coordinated the Brightside e-mentoring programme which was successfully integrated across 44 schools across Birmingham and Solihull. I have served as a Pastoral Manager in a large inner city secondary school and as a Director in a primary academy where I led the strategy on parental engagement. I was also a lead Mentor with Mosaic and sat on the Mosaic national education panel, where I supported national programme development and more recently sat on the West Midlands Advisory Board for The Access Project. I hold a postgraduate certificate in Mentoring and Coaching and an MA in Education which focused on the social and cultural nuances around the aspirations in young people. As a qualified tutor, I have taught on a number of communication courses and on a wide range of mentor training programmes across the UK. I have presented and led workshops at numerous conference across Europe on areas related to widening participation, understanding aspirations, mentoring development and student engagement. I am currently undertaking the Team Mastery coaching programme with Akatemia – an innovative Finnish learning philosophy which uses team coaching and experiential learning to develop students in Higher Education.

I have been an advocate and champion for student equality and student development for over two decades and continue to support others by sharing my research and experience, particularly around understanding young peoples’ aspirations, student development and education project management.

I would like to see the national health services of each county linking people to nature as a way of healing. The data and research from Forest Bathing for example, is compelling. Nature can heal us if we let it so my idea would be to reconnect to nature.

Coaching, Education, Intercultural Communication, Mentoring, Student Development

I attended TEDx London in 2011 and have been hooked ever since. https://www.ted.com/tedx/events/2315 I was so inspired, I shared this passion with a student at my university in 2013 who then went away and applied for a license. This was the beginning of TEDx Aston University. Since then, I have worked with 100s of students to help them to create TEDx events. I have been co-organiser, volunteer, adviser, usher, cleaner but most importantly I have chaired the TEDx Advisory Board which ensures that our TEDx events are consistent and of high quality. The journey continues...

Many people don't know that I was a keen amateur photographer and learned my craft in an active war zone (Kosovo). I subsequently traveled and took photos around the world which culminated in an exhibition in the UK.