Entering into a new year is always the perfect time for some self-reflection. A big part of the work the Students’ Union does is led by your Elected Officer Team who amplify the student voice, champion students’ concerns and feedback and work through their manifestos for the year.

We caught up with them before the holidays to share some of the things they’ve been working on and are most proud of so far.

Zuleikha – Students’ Union President
Part of my role is to Chair the Union’s Trustee Board and this semester I’ve led on the recruitment of the new Students’ Union Chief Executive, who will join us in February as well as 5 new Board members, including two new student trustees. I was happy to see so many students turn up to our first International Students’ Get Together so we can better understand highlights and challenges surrounding welcome and induction, academic support and sense of belonging and community. Our analysis is underway to collate recommendations for the Students’ Union and University to consider to improve the international student experience in 2022. Nationally, I’ve been able to contribute to UK wide research and was able to attend a roundtable recently with some MBA students - which they all enjoyed and found helpful. There's plenty more booked in for the new year and I can't wait to continue supporting our International Students' and also chatting to students about getting involved in the Students' Union Elections this spring.

Usman – VP Education
An important piece of work launched this year was the Decolonise the Curriculum campaign alongside Odette. Including the creation of a video and having lots of students complete postcards to send to their Heads of School as part of the launch. There’s lots more planned on this campaign in semester two (including a ‘Diversity Your Reading List’ toolkit) so let me know if you want to be involved! I’ve also been involved in supporting our PGR students and secured laptops for loan from the library as well as helping increase awareness of academic support from WISER. Recently, I’ve worked closely on Academic Integrity and working with those staff involved in casework to identify how to tackle the issues and areas of improvement. Shoutout to all the amazing School Presidents, PGR Reps and Course Reps I've worked with so far, they're all doing great and really helping to shape your academic experience!

Odette – VP Welfare
As Usman has just mentioned, we were both excited to finally launch the Decolonise the Curriculum campaign this year. I’m so happy we’ve been able to really start the campaign and looking forward to what we’ve got planned to keep the campaign moving forward. A lot of my time is spent working alongside the different University Services and getting to better understand the work that goes into improving student life. It’s great to work with everyone from Student Support to the Medical Centre, and even lots of great external services, all which do lots to support our students. I’ve also been attending important committee meetings such as the Suicide Prevention Group to ensure the students’ voice is heard in these meetings. In the new year I'm looking forward to launching some new campaigns as well as working with our LGB Students' Rep, Trans* Students' Rep and members of our LGBTQ+ student community on Pride!

Katie – VP Activities
I’ve really enjoyed seeing all of our Sports Clubs, Societies and Volunteering projects come back to life and host some amazing fixtures and activities – especially after missing out on so much last year. We’ve even had some new, individual sports which hasn’t had any competitors from UCLan in several years start back up this year. I loved popping down to Nottingham to see our two Clay Pigeon Shooters compete! There’s been loads of amazing events happening already and I’m excited for even more to come in the new year. Remember, it’s never too late to join a Club or Society! We’ve also launched some new volunteering projects this year which have gone really well, including our crisps packet donations to help create blankets for the homeless and had students create Christmas cards for those in a Children’s Hospice. Just the other day I was also excited to meet with SafeNet to hand over the tonnes of donations we received for domestic violence surivors and their families over Christmas. Thank you to all of the students who’ve been getting involved and donating! Finally, I’m really pleased to announce I’ve helped secure financial support for a hardship fund to help students struggling financially access sport – more to come in the new year!

We hope you all have a relaxing, well-deserved break over the holidays. We look forward to seeing you all back in the new year and hopefully as excited as we are for all the things we’ve got planned.

Bring on 2022.