Welcome to my latest report on what I’ve been up to, this is everything I’ve done since the last UGM on Tuesday 9th May (6 months ago).
· Keele SU Awards, Society Awards, and Athletic Union awards
o I presented the Staff Award for being Supportive at the Keele SU Awards, the Best New Society Award at the Society Awards, and hosted and presented at the Athletic Union Awards.
· New Officer Team Training
o Throughout July and partway into August, after saying farewell to the previous officers at the end of June, we welcomed Sam and Tom to the team and Education and Wellbeing officers and started our training period. This was a training intensive period in which we learnt what makes an effective officer, bonded as a team, and created our strategic aims for the year.
o At the end of July, the whole of the officer team attended the NUS Charity Lead and Change conference event. We met fellow officers from across the UK, brainstormed ideas together, and discussed the year ahead.
· International student arrival
o After our training period ended, I arranged meetings with members of the university staff within student services to discuss the international student welcome experience. Including what information students get before they arrive, and what support they get from student ambassadors and mentors. The mentors are very welcoming of feedback and changing the program going forward.
· Freshers’ week
o A lot took place during Freshers/Welcome week. Throughout the week I attended club taster sessions, filming content, getting to know committees, and showcasing our diverse range of clubs at Keele linking to the Clubs of Keele campaign which relaunches within the next week.
o I supported staff throughout the week at events such as our Freebies fair, Club and Society Sign up fairs, gave talks all day in Westminster, and attended International and Early Arrivals pizza party.
· Sports Centre building works and Society spaces update
o Throughout the past couple months, I have been liaising and meeting with university estates to discuss refurbishments within the Sports Centre as well as the ongoing concerns with society spaces on campus.
o After many discussions with the Sports Centre last year regarding the astroturf, works finally began on refurbishments, however despite reassurance it would be complete before semester 1 commenced, the work is still ongoing months later. I have sent a proposal to estates requesting funding for the cost to send our clubs off campus whilst the refurbishment is taking place. I have also secured refurbishments for the squash courts for this year and requested cleaning of the tennis courts, which I will give an update on when I have more information.
o The university has also approved use of The Kitchen Table in Chancellors and Chapters Cafe for society use, we are currently figuring out how students will book these spaces.
o We are also working with estates to find dance society new spaces on campus, with the option of funding a portable dance floor for our society to use to increase flexibility with room bookings.
· Access to Activities
o We have approved funding for over 150+ students’ memberships for clubs and societies through our Access to Activities fund. We had 224 applications overall, totaling over £30,000 from our £10,000 pot of funding.
· Keele vs Staffordshire Varsity 2024
o We have had the first meeting with Staffordshire university for Varsity 2024 and have confirmed dates as well as an initial list of competing sports. We are also modifying the terms of reference for the event to reflect a new policy of deadlines for the cancellation of matches. Dates and details will be released once we have finalized more information for the event.