College of the Arts and Society - Layna Forbes

Hey there! Here is my update from March, which has been an incredible month full of exciting celebrations, diversity, and awareness campaigns.

In February, I launched a campaign to build a neuro-inclusive campus for students, which I actively continued throughout March. To make this campaign successful, I collected student feedback using a short survey, which is currently going through the data analysis phase. I'm planning to share updates with you soon, so stay tuned!

During the month, I attended several meetings to discuss the campaign, share the constructive feedback I received, and provide solutions to these with the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee, the Disability Equality Council, and senior leadership. I'm thrilled to share that we made significant progress during these meetings. Some of the wins during these meetings highlighted:

• Improving communications and services, making them more accessible and decreasing the overwhelming feelings students have been experiencing.
• Staff members also responded positively to discussions about reasonable adjustments, and we plan to continue working together to meet the aims of the campaign to build a neuro-inclusive campus and ensure that adjustments are consistent throughout the university.
• During the meetings, I also received valuable advice for students who feel their needs are not being met. If you ever feel uncomfortable or have concerns, don't hesitate to speak with your lecturers or the health and wellbeing services. They are here to support you!

March was also full of activities and events celebrating success and diversity and spreading awareness to increase a sense of belonging. 

• I also hosted two events during neurodiversity celebration week - a crafting event and a networking event. At both events, I provided students with goodie bags containing a leaflet I created to prevent burnout as a neurodivergent student and pamphlets from the health and well-being and the library to share information on the resources and support available.  There were also free fidget toys to help students relax and break the stigma that stimming is flawed. Instead, it is a fantastic tool for regulating nervous systems and preventing burnout.
• Lastly, there were awards ceremonies held at the colleges, where I had the privilege of co-hosting the College of the Arts and Societies awards ceremony with the education officer. The inspiring night highlighted the importance of celebrating hard work as a great way to increase the sense of community. It was such an honour to recognise the outstanding contributions and dedication of students and staff across the College of the Arts and Societies. Congratulations again to all the nominees and winners!

You can get in touch with your officer on their officer page.

School of Health and Care - Promise Owai
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As your Part-Time Officer, I am excited to provide you with an update on the recent happenings and progress made in our school. Here are some highlights from the past month:

• Meetings: During the past month, I have actively participated in various meetings representing your interests and concerns. I am pleased to inform you that we have achieved some significant wins in these meetings, your feedback on issues pertaining to assessment marking rubrics and features on turnitin were extensively discussed and given the needed audience.
• SHC awards: During the month, we were able to host this year’s student voice award were we celebrated the superb achievement of our student representatives and academic staff at the School of Health and Care whose hard work have been instrumental to improving student experience. 4 reps, 1 student, 3 staffs, and 1 course was recognised for their outstanding contributions to student voice in the School of Health and Care.
• Opportunities for Involvement: Our reps recruitment applications are still open for the new academic year, there are a lot of vacancies available. Get involved and contribute to the betterment of our school.
• Upcoming Projects: I am excited to share some upcoming projects that I am currently working on. We are in the process of organizing an employability workshop. This workshop will equip you with essential skills and knowledge to enhance your employability prospects. I encourage all of you to participate and take advantage of this valuable opportunity.
• I am also planning to implement Health and wellbeing awareness and resource accessibility campaign as this is crucial in helping our students to access support services when needed.

I am grateful for the opportunity to serve as your Part-Time Officer and work towards improving the student experience within the School of Health and Care. I encourage you to reach out to me with any concerns, suggestions, or ideas you may have. Together, we can create a vibrant and inclusive learning environment.

You can get in touch with your officer on their officer page.

College of Engineering, Environmental, and Science – Christopher Eban

In the month of March, I co-hosted the CEES SU Awards, the CEES Mental health panel talk conference, the CEES Student voice working group. I also had the privilege of interviewing several reps (ranging from the School rep applicants to Education rep applicants). Again, I attended the Union affairs governance meeting, EES College Board Meeting, several YCCs, Officers briefing meetings and Education executive meetings.Here is a breakdown of things I worked on in March:

• The CEES Awards: The CEES Award night was such a wholesome and refreshing ceremony, wherein we had the opportunity to celebrate outstanding students and tutors in the college of Engineering, Environmental and Science. I personally look forward to the next Award ceremony as it’s both a testimony of what yourSU stands for and an extremely relaxing event for all the invitees.
• The CEES Mental Health Panel Talk Conference: The CEES Mental Health Panel Talk conference was necessary as it availed the students the opportunity to ask on a personal and collective basis coping mechanism(s) on academic related stress and time management strategies from both SU officers and lecturers. By doing so, students were giving the opportunity to see and know different perspectives on these issues. We also had present the Wellbeing & Support (yoursu.org) team and a Mental Health Specialist who spoke on the theme “Navigating life as an international student and Mental Health”. This event for me was the hallmark of my month because the overwhelming feeling experienced by students towards the end of the semester cannot be overemphasized as addressed in the article “Academic pressure: Causes and Coping Strategies"
• Rep Interviews: I had the privilege of being a part of the interview process of about 18 reps ranging from the School rep roles to the education rep roles across the Coventry University Campus. Meanwhile, reps recruitment applications are still open for the new academic year, Kindly Get involved if you are interested in representing your cohorts.

You can get in touch with your officer on their officer page.