The planning for this campaign started in term one, and was implemented at the beginning of term two. There are often a lot of activities at the beginning of term one highlighting the services and opportunities available at the Guild, with perhaps less emphasis given in term two. I felt a campaign in term two to raise the awareness of Guild services and departments would appeal to second, third and fourth year students, as term one activities seem targeted at freshers. It would also appeal to first year students who have settled down into University life after the excitement of term one, and want to see what else is available to them. The campaign was term long, and included events and activities already scheduled for the term, and also new activities.

The campaign relied on Sabbaticals and departments organising activities to be brought under the banner of the Know Your Guild campaign. Activities included were the Get Involved campaign, National Volunteering Week, Officer Elections, Healthy Living, Fairtrade Fortnight, Sexual Health Awareness and Guidance Week, Question Time with the Vice Chancellor, National Employability Week, Community Warden Selly Oak photo competition, and the Guild Awards. The Guild is sometimes criticised for promoting only to those already involved in the Guild, so this was something I was keen to address, by utilising traditional channels of communication used by the Guild, and exploiting new ones. Below are the methods used to promote the campaign.

· “Know Your Guild: Your essential guide to Term Two” booklet. Delivered to every halls of residence by the Mentors Scheme, handed out on campus by the Sabbaticals, available at Reception and Guild events

· Student staff and Sabbatical KYG T-shirts

· Redbrick Know Your Guild pull-out, including full list of Get Involved activities. Redbrick is delivered to halls of residence and Selly Oak houses, as well as available at various distribution points on campus

· Lecture shout outs to all academic years delivered by the Sabbaticals

· Email footers for all Guild staff

· Guild of Students website advertisements and online booklet

· Leaflets and posters in departments

· Individual campaign/event promotion with Know Your Guild logo featured

· Facebook events for each campaign/event, branded as Know Your Guild

· Kiosks on campus manned by the Sabbs and student staff. Information and booklets handed out

· Information on WebCT, My.Bham portal and the electronic boards on campus

· Featured in the Guild e-newsletter to all students

Get Involved

Get Involved Fair:
702 people came through the doors, nearly 200 more than last year.
53 students became members of societies on the day, 465 expressing an interest and giving email addresses for further information.

Get Involved Taster Sessions:
1192 non-members attended society taster sessions/workshops
83 students became members of societies on the day of their taster session, a further 62 students became members in the following two weeks after the taster session.

Overall I think the Get Involved Campaign was a great success, it was another opportunity for groups to recruit members following on from Welcome Week. On the whole, feedback suggests groups did not feel it was well advertised outside of the Guild. This is something I am very conscious of (advertising to the converted), so I worked really hard to get the message outside of the Guild. Here’s a quick run-through on what was done to promote the Get Involved Fair and taster workshops: Two page spread in the Know Your Guild booklet, Redbrick pull out, Lecture shouts, posters, my.bham portal, Guild e-newsletter, facebook, electronic display boards, Guild of Students website.

National Volunteering Week

Student Development worked hard to pull off a great National Volunteering Week. 107 of the 150 people that attended the Volunteering Fair signed up to projects, there was a whole host of student led events and activities such as the Pay and Play night, Nightline Campus whispers, and Selly Oak bulb planting. There was also an employability workshop for volunteers which I was asked to deliver.

Guild Awards

The Guild Awards 2010 is a fantastic event which recognises and celebrates the successes of our members. The planning began in term one, and really picked up in January this term. Vice President Student Activities and Development is the lead Sabbatical on the event, and it was great fun to be involved with. There were a few changes made this year, mainly reviewing the awards presented, updating the application form, and using Sabbatical Officers to host the actual event. One of my roles was to liaise with student groups to organise the entertainment and decoration for the event. The theme is traditionally rainbow and ArtSoc did a fantastic job, despite a few budget changes, to create fantastic decor on the night. We held auditions for groups to perform on the night, it was fantastic to get out of the office and fully appreciate the amazing talents of our students. All the performances were fantastic, so we squeezed in an extra performance on the night, and asked two societies to join up to perform together – I think everyone who saw the final performance by Bharat Parivar and Indian Culture society will agree it was an amazing performance to end the night on! Hindu Society opened the evening as we meant to go on, and Ballroom and Latin got everyone excited for the second half – they even convinced Ed and I to have a quick spin with them on stage!! Congratulations to all of those nominated, shortlisted, highly commended, and of course our fantastic winners.

GradBall

GradBall planning has really moved on since last term, we have recruited an experienced Event Organiser to put the event together, and have confirmed the acts on the night – Brit Award winner, Ellie Goulding, and Sheffield band, Reverend and the Makers, who have just toured with Oasis! The event is back on campus this year, and we couldn’t be more excited about it – thousands of students dressed to impress on campus with outdoor stages, silent disco and a fun fair...campus as we have never seen it before! The main reason for being on campus is the convenience for students. GradBall at Coombe Abbey was a great event, but what relevance does a 40minute coach trip to Coombe Abbey have to our experience at the University of Birmingham? This year students will have more choice than ever, they can dine in Selly Oak, town or the Mailbox with those they have shared their time with, or choose from two different menus and locations on campus depending on their preference! One of the biggest challenges the working group have faced so far is the price of the tickets. Initially we hoped that being back on campus would mean the tickets would be cheaper for students, however because the meals are more expensive on campus, and we aren’t sharing site costs with Warwick University (as we have in the past at Coombe Abbey), Dinner tickets have to be the same price to cover costs. GradBall isn’t budgeted to make a profit, but we do need to cover costs, as with any well planned event. For more information about the Gradball, check out my interview with Redbrick at http://www.redbrickonline.co.uk/features/the-end-is-nigh-%E2%80%93-a-campus-celebration. Tickets for Gradball will go on sale at the beginning of term three – so keep an eye out!

Community Open Day

I mentioned the Community Day in last terms report, however things have really come on since then. The event is planned for Sunday 13^th June, 11am-4pm, and is aimed at engaging the local community with the University and highlighting the benefits of having the University on their doorstep. After attending a few initial meetings with the University and putting the proposal to the Sabbatical team, we have now set up a working group at the Guild, and have created our action plan and budget for the event. We hope to showcase student groups and services at the Guild which the community can get involved with, such as performance and volunteering groups. I held meetings with groups to present the event and asked for proposals from the groups of what they would like to do if they were involved on the day. The response was fantastic, and I am really pleased that groups see this as a great opportunity to increase the awareness of Guild activities, whilst also improving the reputation of students with the local community and with the University. The University will begin marketing the event next term to the community, students and staff. Thank you to the Guild’s Volunteering Activities Coordinator for the amazing support!

Student Activities and Development

Student Group Committee

The VPSAD chairs the Student Group Committee. This committee is a sub-committee of Guild Council which recognises and derecognises student groups, and also approves constitutional changes and grant allocations. There have been 4 SGC meetings this term.

Groups Recognised:

· Capoeira

· Envirosoc

· Egyptian

· Northern

· Polish

· SATNAV

· Skatesoc

· Vale festival

Groups Derecognised (incl. Voluntary):

· Back 2 Schoolz (no risk assessments)

· Bangladeshi (only 7 members, no risk assessments, no committee members trained, not attending meetings)

· Conservative Future

· Hellenic (no risk assessments, overdue AGM by more than 5 months, not attending meetings)

· Meditation/Buddhist (no risk assessments, not attending meetings)

· No2ID (no members, no risk assessments, not attending meetings or training)

· Performing Arts Appreciation Society (not attending meetings)

· Persian (not attending meetings or training)

· Politics (no risk assessments, not attending meetings)

· Poker

· Powerkite (not attending meetings)

· Sri Lankan (no risk assessments, not attending meetings or training)

· Student Advice (no risk assessments)-but allowed to continue until end of summer term

· Turkish (no risk assessments, not attending meetings)

· Urban & Gospel (no risk assessments, not attending meetings and training)

· Wargames (not attending meetings)

Note: For these groups, not attending meetings means that they consistently missed all or nearly all compulsory meetings (Guild Council, Miniforums, Megaforums) without sending apologies for their absence. Many of them had required extensions in the previous audit sweep in the autumn term and had promised to improve their attendance/performance.

· Amnesty International (Voluntary)

· Medsin (Voluntary)

· Neighbours Appreciation (Voluntary)

· Theology (Voluntary)

Student Group Issues

To help members understand what sort of issues the VPSAD deals with, I have listed some of them here.

· Improving communication and relationship between groups and the Guild

· Group AGM and election process

· Room booking problems and complaints

· Guild student group accounts

· Leadership skills

· Campus relation concerns

· Event planning

· Contract and Sponsorship checking

· Disputes between individuals

· Conflict and team building with committee

· Islamic Society documentary

Miniforums

The VPSAD chairs eleven miniforums which take place at the end of each term. These are great opportunities to talk to the VPSAD about any issues, successes or challenges your group may have. This term I decided to put the miniforums during officer election campaigning, and invited the VPSAD candidates (and Sport to the Competitive Sport miniforum) to talk to the groups and answer any questions. Hopefully this was a useful way for student groups to engage with the candidates, and put the candidates through their paces!

Megaforum

The second Megaforum was held on 18^th January 2010. A representative from each group is asked to attend, and it is an opportunity for me to communicate a number of useful student group related issues, and for groups to question me, keep me accountable, share challenges and ideas, and also a chance to promote events or seek help from other groups. The agenda is below:

1. Introduction/Welcome

2. How to Contact the VPSAD

3. Website tips and promotion

4. Student Development Comms

5. Know Your Guild campaign

6. Get Involved campaign

7. Membership Services Building Development

8. Officer Elections

9. Democratic Structure Review

10. Community Day

11. Your View Survey

12. Student Group Comms

13. Your Comments

Student Group Constitution

When I came into office in August, a number of issues regarding the student group constitution emerged. It became obvious that the constitution had not been updated in line with other Guild governing documents, and was difficult to navigate for student groups. Throughout term one I began redrafting the constitution with Student Development, whilst consulting with students on a number of occasions. The new student group constitution was approved by Guild Council in March, and will be implemented from the beginning of term three. The main change to the constitution is the quoracy for student group AGMs. This has been reduced from twenty or a third of members, whichever is the highest, to twenty or a half of members, whichever is the lowest. This will make AGM’s much more accessible for student groups.

Room Bookings

A recurring issue raised by student groups is room bookings. I have been in regular discussion with the Room Bookings Coordinator and Facilities Manager to resolve as many problems as possible for groups.

· Room bookings feedback forms have been promoted and emailed out to groups, which are crucial for feedback and improvement of the room bookings service.

· Feedback forms are now collected by Student Development, before being discussed by Guild management.

· A piano option has been added to the special requirements section of the form

· Confirmation of booking Underground now includes a line highlighting the room is a through-access for wheelchair users.

· A standard response has been drafted including adequate explanation to be included if a room is changed or cancelled.

· A trial monitoring system has been introduced for rooms which are booked and then not used. This will be reviewed by myself and Guild management to discuss a permanent monitoring system.

Good Campus Relations

This term there has been a lot of work done on good campus relations. The essence of good campus relations is to ensure campus is a diverse and safe place to be, ensuring that freedom of speech and living without fear are both upheld with utmost importance. There have been a number of activities I have been involved with which have taken place, such as:

· Minister for Middle East Peace Process Ivan Lewis

The University organised for the minister to visit the University and give a talk on ‘Why are we in Afganistan?’ Before the talk, the Minister met with Jewish, Muslim and Palestinian student representatives to discuss campus relations and I was asked to chair.

· Prevent Conference and Act Now

West Midlands police delivered a conference at Aston University for University representatives to attend. The conference was focused on the Prevent agenda, which helps organisations, such as Universities to identify individuals who may be vulnerable to extremist influence. The aim of Prevent is to challenge violent extremist ideologies, to disrupt those promoting them, to support individuals being targeted by them, to increase the resilience of communities to it, to address grievances being exploited by them. The event was very insightful, however I raised the question of what is being done with students and young people as many discussions seem to be taking place which don’t involve students and may be missing valuable input.

· University GCR committee

The University have organised a Good Campus Relations committee, on which the Guild CEO, the Guild President and I sit, along with senior University members. Of particular interest to student groups will be the freedom of speech forms which we have discussed, and are now being redrafted.

G:TV Media Tour

After making contacts at the University Media Centre, I arranged for Guild Television to have a tour around the suite, and also discussed the possibility of volunteering on set during filming for work experience. Feedback suggests G:TV had a great time!

Sabbs on BurnFM

I worked with BurnFM to arrange for the Sabbs to appear on the BurnFM News feature on Mondays and Tuesdays each week. The Sabbs had a great time, however it ended up I was the only Sabb to not do a show!!

Islamic Society Sisters Documentary

This term I have also been working with the Islamic Society Sisters on a project which they created. The aim is to create a documentary which challenges the misconceptions about Muslim women and, in particular, their dress. I felt this was a fantastic project to be involved with and support, as it was a grass roots idea to enhance understanding and relations on campus about a subject which is gaining increased attention and interest. The project has been put back slightly, but the society, myself and the University Equality and Diversity Unit are all excited about its completion.

Chaplaincy

I have worked closely with the Chaplaincy this term to tie up some loose ends with Guild Student Groups, and also create a good working relationship. I have made sure that only elected student group committee members are representing the student groups at Chaplaincy Committee, which discusses important issues and also allocates funding to groups. It was concerning that individuals with no official capacity within student groups were talking and making decisions on behalf of these groups. I have ensured that the Chaplaincy are now kept up to date with recognised Guild societies, and also any religious group recognition. I have also ensured that any Freedom of Speech forms from guild student groups for Chaplaincy room bookings are passed through the Guild as ultimately, we are responsible for the these groups.

DAMSA (Disability and Mental Health Students Association)

I have been attending the University’s Disabled Students forum along with the VP Welfare, to offer support and guidance from the Guild of Students. From this forum, we have helped to promote the Disabled Students Association at the Guild, which has been inactive for a number of years. Along with the work of the Disabled Students Officer and Vice President Welfare, this has resulted in the AGM and start up of the newly named Disability and Mental Health Students Association.

Challenge Emma

I have been along to a number of society events this term, including a number of Challenge Emma’s! I went along to a Dance Club Latino Salsa class, the Rock Soc/Fet Soc/Sci Fi Soc/Film Soc Rocky Horror Picture Show evening, Roshni by Hindu Society, a JSoc Friday night dinner and Carnival RAG’s Ladies Night amongst other great activities!

Student Group Committee Training

Along with Student Development, we have been reviewing the Student Group committee training, and will be looking to implement the new training next term.

Other Guild Activities

Officer Elections 2010 and Referendum

Term hosts the Officer Elections, and this year was even more exciting as we held the referendum on the Guild democratic structure. The amount of interest in running for officer positions was amazing, it was great to see so many engaged students wanting to make a difference and represent students. The campaigns were fantastic and all the candidates worked very hard for two solid weeks on top of other commitments. I would like to say a personal thank you to all those that stood for VPSAD, you were all extremely committed, passionate about the role and what you wanted to achieve, and stayed good humoured throughout the campaign, which is no easy feat! Voter turnout was fantastic; in total 5815 students voted in the Officer Election, which is 21% of registered students and an increase of 23% on last year. And congratulations to the winning candidates:

· VPSAD – Matt Lamb

· VPS – Julz Adeniran

· President – Dora Meredith

· VPDR – Ash Chambers

· VPHC – Jonny Kirby

· VPW – Johnny Davis (first ever re-elected sabb!)

· VPEA – Rob Hunter

The referendum which students voted in their majority “YES”, saw the first change to the democratic structure at the Guild for 90 years! The Guild recognised there was a need to make the democratic structure much more accessible and make student involvement in Guild decisions much easier. The new model proposes to create five open forums for students to discuss and raise issues; Guild, Education, Student Groups, Sport, and Welfare. The sabbs worked hard on a proposed model, of which discussions had taken place before the current team were even elected. It was great fun promoting the referendum, and asking students to engage and vote. For more information on the referendum, please visit http://www.guildofstudents.com/content/266843/your_voice/referendum.

Officer/Management Away Day

The beginning of term two started with the Officer and Management Away Day at Harborne Hall. Here we discussed the democratic structure review, reflected on the year so far and what was still to come, recent Guild market research and implications, and blue sky thinking (where we would like to see the Guild in the future etc) amongst other areas.

NUS Delegate Elections

The NUS Conference elections were held in term two, ready for the conference in April. I decided I would like to run to be one of the eight University of Birmingham delegates, as I felt I had a good knowledge of current student issues, the student union movement, and also felt it would benefit my current work as a Sabbatical Officer. I was really excited to be elected, and I really enjoyed the conference. I was really encouraged and energised to see so much student activism at the conference. During the conference, I also attended an Inter-Faith forum, a Vote for Students seminar, and an interesting discussion around Israel/Palestine. The conference also gave me time to reflect on my own work at the Guild, and think about new initiatives and projects.

Civic Engagement Presentation

I was asked by Student Development to deliver a presentation at the Festival of Social Science held by the University. The presentation was delivered to University and external stakeholders, and highlighted the importance of volunteering, extra-curricular activities, and the impact of the Guild on civic engagement and citizenship.

Podcast Training

The Guild arranged for the Officer’s to attend a podcast training session with the University media centre. This was a really interesting session, resulting in VPS Katie and I creating a Gradball podcast. From this session, I have plans to create podcasts of some Student Development Pick N Mixes to make them more accessible.

Officer Review

The sabbaticals were part of the officer review, which looked at the role of the sabbatical team and individual remit. We looked to see if the roles were too operations, and if current student needs are fully being reflected in the officer remits. This work is currently being collated into proposed models for implementation in 2011/12.

Chaplaincy Committee

I sit on the Chaplaincy Committee with VPW Johnny. This term I felt it was important to address some issues with Chaplaincy groups and Guild recognised groups, and also the representation of groups on the committee, which are outlined above.

Health and Safety Committee

VPSAD sits on this committee. I have attended one meeting this term, which I was asked to chair as VPDR was absent.

Trustee Board

The VPSAD is a Trustee of the Guild of Students. I have attended a Trustee Away Day, and two Trustee Board meetings. This term, we have discussed the democratic structure review, staffing structure and salaries, approved Trustee Board sub-committee papers, received market research findings, discussed moving the sabbatical office space to the HSBC space and much more.

Student Staff Interviews and Training

Sabbatical Officers are asked to help with interviews and inductions for new staff. I have delivered two student staff inductions this term.

Leeds University visit

The Student Activities officer at Leeds contacted me over Christmas to arrange a visit to Birmingham Guild – naturally they want to learn from the best!

University Activities

Outreach meeting

I met the University with VPS Katie to discuss their Easter outreach programme. We advertised for student groups to put on a workshop for school children enrolled on the programme.

PSA Interviews

The Personal Skills Award has been remodelled this year to include an activity pathway, which allows students to gain points for taking part in extra-curricular activities, such as student groups http://www.as.bham.ac.uk/psa/. The PSA advanced was also available to a number of students who are heavily involved in activities. Students are invited to attend an employer-led interview, on which I was asked to sit. As I couldn’t attend all dates, some of the other Sabbatical officers also sat on interview panels. This was a great experience for the students taking part, preparing them for future interviews, and it was great to see how by taking part in the activities, students are really enhancing their employability prospects.

Honeypot fund Applications and Interviews

As VPEA Brigid was unable to attend, I was asked to take her place shortlisting and interviewing for the Honeypot fund, which is generously donated by University of Birmingham alumni. The Honeypot fund provides financial support to students who are undertaking work experience or career development activities over the summer holiday http://www.as.bham.ac.uk/study/support/cec/improve/honey.shtml. I received 50% of the longlisted applicants, and was asked to shortlist those for interview. I then attended two of the Honeypot interview sessions, to listen to students put forward their case for receiving the money. Applications varied from work experience here at the University, to marine biology in Cuba, to PR experience in London and China, to InterVol projects in Africa. VPW Johnny and I also contributed to the debrief to look at how the process may need to be changed and improved next year.

College Quality Assurance and Enhancement Committee.

Each sabbatical is required to attend a college quality and enhancement committee. I have attended one meeting for the college of Social Science this term, however I was unable to attend the second meeting in April due to being on the NUS National Conference. I also attended the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences C-QAEC for VPS Katie as she was unable to attend.

BUAFTA’s

Following the longlisting and shortlisting of the Birmingham University Award for Tremendous Achievement last term, I was invited to the BUAFTA award night in the Great Hall, which was a wonderful event.

Alumni and Development Office

I was asked to attend the first Dinner with a Dozen event at the University by the Alumni and Development Office. This event comprises of several tables of twelve guests, a mix of alumni and current students, and aims to open conversation between individuals who would not normally meet, and enhance the student experience. I was asked to bring my experience as a student to the table, along with my involvement as a Sabbatical Officer and student activities at the Guild. The Alumni Office also put on a Networking Skills session with the Careers Service, for students to learn and then practice their networking skills on alumni, which I was asked to attend. In February, the department organised the ‘Business of Sport’ event featuring Manchester United CEO David Gill. I was asked to read a question, however my big moment was lost when we ran out of time!

Miscellaneous

This has been an amazing term, which has really challenged me and made me push myself. The quality of our students commitment, passion and determination has blown me away, and their talents should be shouted about. Thank you again to the Student Development staff, who have continuously supported and made time for the work I have undertaken. I have needed a lot of the marketing departments time this term, who have always supported my campaigns and produced materials of a fantastic quality, without ever failing to smile – Thank You!

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Monday 17 May 2010

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