The Power of Student Volunteers: How we created massive impact with minimal risk

Three UX master's students from Loughborough University joined The Human Aspect as volunteers—full of enthusiasm, brimming with ideas, and, frankly, having no clue how our systems worked (to be honest, does anyone fully?) But their eagerness brought something special: a design system that has simplified our processes and will serve The Human Aspect (THA) for years.

Our strategy to make this a win-win

1. Failing is Learning.

We gave them space to experiment, with clear guidelines for success but no micromanaging. Worst-case scenario? If things didn’t go to plan, we’d still learn how to improve our student support and feedback systems. And learning from failure is often more valuable than getting it right the first time.

2. A Clear Win for THA.

We identified projects with high upside—those "nice to haves" or "we’ll get to it later" ideas. This way, the students could make a meaningful impact without jeopardizing our core objectives.

3. Space to Shine.

I’m not a design expert—and that’s exactly why this worked. By stepping back and letting them express their skills, we unlocked creativity. Sure, we brought in mentors when needed, but giving them autonomy almost always results in something innovative.

4. A Win for the Students.

This was their moment to showcase their talent and walk away with a tangible portfolio piece. We ensured their work would be something they could directly use to land future jobs—and in some cases, we’ve even hired them ourselves.

From left to right: Maxie Earle, Viktoriia Buchynska, Kham Basu and Moeka Nakamura

"It makes me feel so lucky to be part of a team where raising your hand means getting the chance to make a real impact!"

Moeka, Master Student

What did these master students actually do?

The Challenge

At THA, we face constant volunteer turnover, which creates a noisy, inconsistent development environment. Despite attempts to streamline our processes, onboarding new teams required more effort than it was worth.

The Solution

We shifted a lot of our work to Wix—allowing for no-code/low-code solutions that can be implemented quickly. The students took this even further, creating a native design system in Wix Studios. This system, complete with reusable components and templates, drastically reduces onboarding time and empowers new designers to hit the ground running. In short, they built something that’s going to make everyone’s life easier, from current team members to future volunteers.

What that means for The Human Aspect

For THA, our priority is delivering value to people facing life’s toughest challenges—not getting bogged down in complex tech. Thanks to the students, we’ve moved closer to becoming a low-resource, high-impact organization that can adapt quickly. Some key wins include:

• Ready-to-go web templates for new platform launches.

• A full design system with colours, typography, and elements that can be instantly applied to new pages.

• A copy-and-paste component library to speed up development.

• Simplified onboarding for new designers.

What I look for when choosing volunteers

• Curiosity: Always eager to learn.

• Resourcefulness: They find solutions, even with limited experience or resources.

• Shared Values: A genuine desire to connect and help humans.

• Passion: Their work with us should energize, not drain, them.

• Great Communicators: This is non-negotiable. Communication is the foundation of any good collaboration.

What’s Next?

We’re putting this design system to work immediately, starting with a revamp of The Lived Experience Library and some cosmetic upgrades to the Team and Partners page. This is just the beginning, but with this new framework in place, we’re set to deliver even more value, faster.