The University Experience

Expectations are likely to rise post 2012 and it is important that the university experience meets both these expectations and provides value for money. There is an exciting opportunity to build upon what the University of Sheffield does well to provide a university experience which is truly exceptional and sector leading.

Update on this objective (last updated: 5 March 2012)

-‘Taster lectures’ are slowly moving forwards. I’ve had a meeting with Jon Narcross and Chris Howett (SU entertainments department - handles the Flash! programme) about how to progress this and how it may look. Chris is in the process of drawing up a budget proposal to run a series of 10-12 lectures based on the TED or Pecha Kucha format next year. As an important part of this students would be able to vote on the topics and lecturers.

-The University has expressed interest for the Students’ Union to run a series of inspirational lectures. Will be following up on this.
- The University has a huge range of expertise and knowledge in a diverse range of areas, yet people for the most part stay focused within their own area and aren’t given the opportunities to benefit from a wider learning experience. The University has indicated that it is interested in cross course modules though there are clearly challenges timetabling wise.
- The Personal Tutor review is currently being conducted at a departmental level and we’ve been feeding our views into senior University figures. There were some really interesting stats from the International Student Barometer regarding contact time, with people generally feeling they don’t get enough personal contact time or small-group contact time.

A Creative Students' Union

It is important to be flexible as an organisation in order to adapt to changing markets. Our student members have a wealth of creative ideas and as a student led organisation we should draw on these in order to flourish and provide a fantastic student experience.

Update on this objective (last updated: 5 March 2012)

- The outstanding part of this section is the Opinion Panel, but something I’d really like to implement. I’ve revisited my original ideas to try and be clear on what I think this should be, so that when implemented it proves useful. I’m aware that Hallam have some form of Opinion Panel. I’m going to look at this and see whether it delivers the functionality I’m seeking.

- With nominations for the Officer Elections now open, planning for the elections themselves is underway. I've looked into Vote Match and having discussed ot with elections committee we are going to go ahead with it.
- It's really important that we stay student focused as Officers, so decided an 'Opinion Panel' to gather student views would be a good idea to extend ways to communicate. I've been working with marketing to get it set up and should be launching before Christmas.
- Although the Officer Elections are still quite some time away, nominations actually open during December! Working to make the elections more engaging, and importantly that they are about students was a key point of my manifesto. I've got a lot of ideas which I'll be feeding into elections committee over the next few weeks as the planning process kicks off!

Developing Relationships

It is important to develop positive relationships with the media, the local council and politicians to improve our ability to influence decisions. It's equally important to have develop an engaged relationship with Students' Union staff.

Update on this objective (last updated: 12 December 2011)

- We are currently progressing plans to host a Q&A session with the VC on the 19 March. More info: http://www.shef.ac.uk/union/events/vc-qna/
- The IPPR has launched a Commission on the Future of Higher Education in England. The Commission is intended to address how higher education can respond to the challenges it will face over the next twenty years and develop a policy framework to strengthen the position of our higher education institutions. The Commission will meet every couple of months with the first meeting in late March. I was offered a position on the commission as a student representative, which I have accepted.

- Had a joint meeting with Jake Kitchiner, Sheffield Hallam Union President and Nick Clegg. We covered a number of topics including housing, the white paper, international students and student finance england.
- There have been lots of meetings recently with key University staff. Pleased to have been able to work with the University to reach a positive outcome on the injunction.
- Have been on and off BBC Radio Sheffield, Hallam FM, and ITV as well as doing interviews for the Star. WE picked up a fair bit of coverage for the demo in London including national coverage on ITV.
- Organised shifts around the Students’ Union for the Officers including shifts in Coffee Rev, Bar One, Union Shop and shifts with Security and the Porters. I did a shift in Coffee Rev and Bar One; they were good fun, though very tiring. Picked up some great ideas from the staff as well.