Vote for me!! Pretty please?!
Why should you vote for me?
My Involvement so far…
• International Student Assistant (2010/2011)
• ED Unit Researcher: The Personal Tutor System Review (2010/2011)
• Visa Renewal Assistant (2010)
• Academic Officer Union Parliament (2010/2011)
• University of Leicester International Study Centre (ISC) Ambassador
• Leicester Ambassador (2010/2011)
• Course Rep (Pharmaceutical Chemistry) (2010/2011)
MY TEN POINT AGENDA
WELFARE OBJECTIVES:
1. Increase publicity and functionality of university welfare services
• The “Survive and Thrive! Guide:
The union has a duty to provide well publicized, easily accessible information, on student welfare services. I intend to introduce a free, fun and easy-to-read student survival guide written by students containing an exhaustive list of all the support services available. This will be distributed in welcome packs and available campus-wide. All students should know where to go if they encounter problems.
• ABODE:
The student union accommodation service is yet to realize its full potential. It needs to offer more varied accommodation to cater to the tastes of different students; as well as more high quality, budget-friendly properties with student-friendly landlords.
2. Increase campus job opportunities and funding for students
• Lobby the university and liaise with the strategy and communications officer to ensure that as many campus jobs as possible are filled by students.
• Recreate projects such as the ED unit’s Personal Tutor Research Project that provides meaningful campus-based employment opportunities (e.g. have paid student contributors to the aforementioned survival guide).
• Publicize the student union’s hardship fund.
3. Provide on-campus CV building opportunities
• The ‘English café’: Liaise with the English Language Teaching Unit to provide training for students on English degrees to host informal sessions for students hoping to improve their English language skills –an easily implementable project which could provide invaluable CV building skills for student volunteers as well as an immense potential for learners involved to benefit from a peer-to-peer learning environment.
• Ensure adequate training is given to volunteers and publicize such groups as the Student Run Health Group for eating disorders and the Pro Bono Clinic.
· Seek accreditation for student volunteers.
4. Ensure the union supports the welfare of all student demographics:
• Utilize the potential of societies to tap into the needs of students by working alongside the student activities and campaigns & involvement officer (CIO) to introduce Society Reps to parliament. This will empower more students to have their say on union activities and make student parliament a reflection of the diversity that our university embodies.
• Hold focus groups and introduce committees to ensure the union caters to the welfare needs of under-represented demographics such as part-time, medical and PG students and distance learners.
• Work with faith groups and the chaplaincy to ensure the university is respectful of religious and cultural differences and physically accommodates the various faith communities represented on campus.
5. Promote ‘welfare through activity’
• Liaise with student activities officer and media groups to better promote societies.
• Work with media groups and societies to create a ‘Societies’ Welcome Magazine’ to go in the welcome packs for all new students. This is hoped to enthuse new students to get involved in even before Fresher’s week.
6. Health issues:
· Liaise with the CIO and the NUS to support sexual health week and promote sexual health awareness across campus; publicize the Choices Clinic and lobby to make its services fully available to all students.
· Publicize and continue the previous sabbatical officer’s weekly welfare sessions to provide help for students with issues such as depression, alcohol/drug addiction and gambling.
· Work with the university counselling service to ensure students dealing with these issues are quickly seen to.
INTERNATIONAL STUDENT OBJECTIVES
1. Work with the welfare and admissions office to improve international orientation programmes
• Lobby the university to provide more considerate accommodation arrangements during the International Student Welcome Programme (ISWP): Home students are not yet back during the ISWP which means many accommodation sites are vacant. During the last ISWP a significant number of new international students were assigned to uninhabited blocks. Having all students in a central location would both ensure that no student lives in isolation during this week and would also help cut costs as there will be no need for conflicting events (i.e. campus events catering for city living students and common room events for students in Oadby halls)
• Spring semester orientation: Ensure students joining the university in the January semester also have a fun, well-organized orientation week.
• Work with the ISA, ERASMUS and study abroad society to develop ideas for orientation events and feed this to the welfare office.
2. Improve awareness on international student issues
• Bring both international and home students together to join forces with the NUS to voice our opposition to recently proposed immigration reforms: These reforms have the potential to severely adversely affect both international and home students and result in the removal of the post-study work visas system, severe unemployment of UK citizens working in institutions offering access to higher education courses and increased competition or even monopoly of on-campus jobs.
• Work with the welfare office to ensure there are well-advertised guidelines for university visa renewal procedures so all students can benefit from the professional advice offered and also to help students avoid the more expensive personal application route.
3. Provide representation for students with dependants:
• Increase representation at society level and parliament level.
• Dependants Evening: Work with the chaplaincy and the welfare office to organize social evenings for students with dependants (spouse/child). Provide a meeting place for international students with dependents to meet other students and their dependents; particularly to provide a networking opportunity for spouses of these students, as they are often by relocation.
4. Stimulate increased international student integration
• Liaise with CIO to encourage greater international student involvement at society, department and parliament levels
Hi guys! Thanks for visiting. I’ll be posting more shortly! x
