Funding was received to attend the annual WonkHE ‘Secret Life of Students’ Conference in London, March 2023. The full day conference was centred around the theme of Belonging and the different ways in which organisations can enhance student experience. WonkHE also introduced their brand-new student insight platform- Belong. Belong endeavours to bring together Student Unions across the country to tackle the NSS, heighten the sense of community among students and really listen to what students have to say about assessments and more. The opening panel of the day involved three SU presidents and officers who discussed the cost-of-living crisis and showed what they have been doing to support students through this- such as Newcastle University who have opened up a Student Pantry and have added cost of living to their mitigation process to support students who have had to make difficult decisions as to whether they attend class and pass or use travel money to put food on the table. The audience had an opportunity to ask questions to the OFS about their agendas for student experience and how they were to increase access and participation. Panels then diversified into areas such as how do we get students to trust us again; does that mean making regulation processes more relaxed (i.e. the removal of the 40% limit on a second submission point- Cardiff Metropolitan) The afternoon brought conversation back again to the concept of belonging, when discussing data with students organisations need to be transparent in sharing data with students and using tools such as a learning dashboard to open up conversations on mental health, this approach combined with a pre-arrival survey can allow for targeted support and make sure students feel part of a community from day one. Discussions also took place around difficult conversations about sexual misconduct and drug taking, and research was shown into how and why students are left wing and the shift in the political landscape.  The final panels of the day looked at the concept of the ‘perfect’ student and how we can look to alter our language and expectations of students, but not to look beyond the person and cater our needs to support them to help them achieve. The whole day was thought provoking and engaging with a lot of questions and ideas that can be brought to the table for CBHE.