“Be the very change”
I came to this university in 2017 and started my foundation degree in film. My classes were alongside students from a number of different courses, which helped me recognise various obstacles that were affecting the students and faculty in different courses. Like most people in foundation year, I was not familiar with the precise influence and function that each department had in the university. That prompted me to seek the one point of influence that we have on the education system we are a part of and found out it was the Student Union.
Throughout my time in UEL, I have worked in these different departments on different roles like student ambassador, SU Heroes volunteer, international pick-up team etc. I created the K-pop society in 2017 and am currently on the committee for Glee Club. But I think one of the most enriching jobs I have done was working as a social media ambassador. This required me to cover even the most obscure events and areas around the campus to represent them on our social media and work almost as a journalist, which has familiarised me with the infrastructure of this university massively and has helped me make many contacts around the university.
An area I want to focus on as an Activities and Opportunities officer is the provision of paid opportunities for students by utilising their individual skills and academic expertise. This could include a language exchange program run by the university which employs students proficient in certain languages to give out lessons in the language of their proficiency. Or internships to work at the university as technicians in certain fields such as architecture, media, biochemistry, or for example opportunities for event management students to work alongside event coordination teams at different university events.
I want to also propose a better collaboration between the running societies and the university departments, for example, reaching out to the catering office for the society meetings, and an easier access to the university rooms to be booked for different society events. This ease of access will lead to a more active dynamic in the societies, which can consequentially result in an increase in the amount of societies at the university as well.
Another area that can improve for students is the exposure to their academic and creative work. By establishing a platform for students to be able to showcase their work, we are ensuring that there is an increase of interest from both the creators and the audience. The AVA building at the Docklands campus is a good example of this; works of students from Fine Art, Graphic Design, and Architecture etc. can be seen showcased around the building. But there isn’t such a platform for courses who aren’t situated at the AVA building. There is also room for improvement for the corresponding media pages for these courses (and their societies) which will result in a more effective way of promoting interest around them.
The residential office at the university organises a number of annual events, but unfortunately (and understandably), they are only exclusive to students living on campus housing. The UEL Student Union, by organising events such as an Annual Ball, or annual Talent shows, open to all and every student, could improve student engagement substantially.
As an international student, I want to work to establish better conditions for us. Our tuition fee rates are much higher than UK/EU students, most of us are self-funded, are living relatively much farther away from home, and yet there is a dearth in support in many areas for us. There are several ways student life can be made more comfortable for international students at UEL. I will work hard to make this happen as an Activities and Opportunities officer, and I encourage you to let me know any suggestions you have for this enhancement.
It’s hard to quantify the effect of the university on the students. Primarily this is our education; but additionally, many students react to their experience in university in a way that impacts their emotional wellbeing and future more than just their career. This is what makes this role so important to me.