Term Three Report

Vice President Student Activities and Development - Emma Packham

Term Three Report
01/05/10 – 30/07/10

Key Campaigns and Projects

Vote for Students
No sooner had students come back from the Easter break, then campus became a whirlwind of media and politicians as the final Leader’s Debate took place at the University of Birmingham. Shrouded in mystery, a number of embargos were placed on the University and the Guild to increase the security of the event. Behind the scenes, we worked hard to make sure when the cameras rolled, students had a presence on campus and it was clear to the wider public that students care about politics and the election, and student issues should be on the agenda. We printed 300 pink Guild of Students Vote for Students t-shirts, which had all been collected before 10am on the day of the leader’s debate! Students received vast media attention and were extremely articulate. Lord Mandelson even talked to the Hunter Court mascot (full blue morphsuit) who was sporting a Vote for Student t-shirt, the photo making its into a number of papers! We signed up hundreds of students to the Vote for Student campaign, which involved receiving an email from NUS a few days before voting with information on which candidates had pledged to vote against a rise in tuition fees if voted into parliament.
Not only did we later show the debate live in Joe’s, but Nick Owen and the BBC broadcast live from Joe’s for national coverage of the debate. Following on from the Vote for Student campaign and Leader’s Debate, we hosted a General Election Results Night in Joe’s which was packed out full of politics-hungry students. Hosting the Leader’s Debate on campus has certainly sky-rocketed the University’s reputation, but has also got the University’s students at the forefront of this media attention.

Community Day
The Community Day took place on Sunday 13th June, and was a resounding success – so much so, the University have announced the event is now annual! The University estimate that 6,000 people came onto campus to enjoy the free funfair, take part in the interactive activities in the Great Hall, and of course, to watch and get involved with the amazing student groups at the Guild! A number of University staff visited the Guild with family, which was fantastic to see, and really showcased the hard work of our students. The University are still collecting feedback, however there are a number of fantastic comments about the Guild.
The Vice Chancellor visited the Guild, talked to a number of student groups, and also watched a performance by BUDS, DCL and Ballroom and Latin Society with his family. In an all staff email, the Vice Chancellor wrote “Both the Alumni Reunion and the Community Day benefitted enormously from the involvement of the Guild and our Students. Their pride in the University and their willingness to support and promote it was exemplary and deeply appreciated”. I would like to say a huge thank you to all the groups involved (especially those who offered to help last minute!), the volunteers on campus who were crucial in creating a continuous flow of people to the Guild, and all the Sabbs and Staff involved behind the scenes. The event has been in the planning since October, and it was amazing to see it come to life before I leave office. I can’t wait to see what the Guild has in store for next year!!

Alumni Reunions
Each year, the Development and Alumni Office host Alumni Reunion Anniversaries on campus. This year I worked with the Alumni Office to organise tours of the Guild and a presentation delivered by Sabbs about the work the Guild and our students currently do. We had around 50 alumni visit the Guild for the tour, including past Sabbs, and a number of other alumni drop in throughout the day!

GradBall
GradBall was back on campus! After initial ticket selling issues, the actual event was a great success and students appeared to really enjoy the novelty of a funfair and live music right in the centre of campus. Old Joe and the Aston Webb looked fantastic lit up. There is a lot to learn for next year, and VPDR Tom conducted some research into student feedback (over 250 respondents) which will really help shape next years planning and event. Photos of the event can be found on the Guild of Students Website.

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 four SGC meetings this term.

Groups Recognised:
• Indie (music)
• Freedom (campaigning and political)
• GIFT/Growing In Faith & Truth
• Humans Vs Zombies (Recreational)
• Live & Unsigned Music (music)
• Orthodox Christian
• Redeemed Christians
• Sexpression (volunteering)
• Interfaith Association

In July, the annual grant for 2010/11 was allocated by Student Group Committee for approval. A total of £51,600 was available to distribute to student groups for 2010/11. A total of £135,073.31 was requested by 87 student groups, 2.5 times the amount available. All the available funds have been allocated.

General statistics

In 2009/10, there have been a total of 30 group recognitions, and 38 group de-recognitions.
At present there are 190 groups (147 societies, 21 volunteering projects, 9 welfare/liberation associations and 13 Residents Associations).

For general information, below is a breakdown of group sizes (approx)

1-20 members: 27 groups
21-40 members: 63 groups – roughly a third of all student groups are in this category
41-60 members: 39 groups
61-80 members: 12 groups
81-100 members: 8 groups
101-200 members: 17 groups
201-300 members: 3 groups
301-400 members: 3 groups
Over 400 members: 1 group
The largest groups, in decreasing order, are:
Dance (479), Brumski, Hindu, Redbrick, Erasmus, Carnival, Dance Club Latino, Indian Cultural, Debating, Pakistani Cultural, Mountaineering.

In 2008-09, Student Development received 9691 membership forms. For 2009-10, they received 9883 (a 2% increase in overall membership) – please note that this is number of memberships, not the number of people involved in student groups.

Student Groups
Some of the student group issues and things I have been involved with this term are listed below.
• Drama Groups - seeking clarity on objectives and how to distinguish between groups
• Carnival RAG– the Sabb team attended Kids Adventure Carnage
• Kids Adventure – Sponge the Sabbs fundraising for Kids Adventure
• I went along to watch The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (Infinity), Alice in Wonderland (Article19), The Crucible (Article 19) and Road (Infinity)
• Kids Adventure – modeled for them to practice their face painting!
• Looked into student group members being paid for teaching/attending events etc
• Group existence issues in relation to the affiliated group on a national scale
• Concerns over differences between student group objectives and actual activities
• GTMG were featured in the Alumni magazine

Good Campus Relations
The final Good Campus Relations meeting took place in June, and subsequently a report outlining the recommendations has been drafted and sent to the University for approval. The freedom of speech form has been updated and clearer guidelines produced, a clear complaints procedure drafted, and suggestions for further work between the Guild, the University and the Chaplaincy to continue. Training for University staff (importantly welfare tutors) and investigating further partnerships with West Midlands police have also been discussed.

G:TV Good Morning Birmingham
GTV produced an excellent, and very professional, live programme every morning for a week, Good Morning Birmingham, in June. The programme was streamed over the internet and also into Joe’s. A number of the sabbs were interviewed on the programme, which was great fun to get involved with! Great work GTV!

Redbrick Awards Nominations
Redbrick created their own awards evening, the Redbrick Awards, and asked me to be part of their nominations panel. The standard of writing and investigative journalism this year has been outstanding, and the judging was a great opportunity to reflect on their year’s work, and also be a part of recognising student contribution.

Inter-Faith Forum and Association
In June, I organised the Inter-Faith forum and election for the proposed Inter-Faith Association. The forum included discussion around the differences between faith, religion and belief’, sharing stories of why inter-faith was important to the students present, and a review of the objectives and committee positions of the proposed association. There were 30 students present, with positive feedback about the forum. The election for the Association was well attended, and only one position, the Sport Officer, was left unelected. The Association got officially recognised at a subsequent SGC.

I later met with the elected committee to discuss future plans and hand over the information I have been working on over the last year. All the best to the new committee, I really hope the association takes off next year and achieves some great things for Birmingham students!

Buzz – Our Students Creating Impact
In the May edition of Buzz, "the University of Birmingham's award winning magazine" for staff at the University, the Guild of Students had an article featured which highlights the amazing work of our students and the impact they have on the community.

The University marketing team happily allowed us to write an article in response to an earlier article (featured in my blog "Disappointing University Article") which I felt did not represent, articulate or recognise Birmingham student’s commitment to volunteering and the community.

This was an excellent opportunity to raise the profile of students, and celebrate their achievements. It is the first article by the Guild in Buzz for some time (if ever!), and marks a great step forward in raising the profile of the Guild and student activities and campaigns with University staff. An online version of the article can be found here http://www.newscentre.bham.ac.uk/buzz/, and a copy of can be found at the end of this report.

Student Employee of the Year and Gold Awards
SEOTY are national awards run by NASES (National Association of Student Employment Services) each year. Students are nominated from Universities across the UK, and this year, there were over 400 entrants. The awards aim to recognise and promote the outstanding contributions and achievements of students who effectively combine part-time work with their study commitments. All five Birmingham student winners were also announced regional winners in their categories. We held a small presentation ceremony to hand out certificates and recognise the hard work of all the students. We also celebrated the volunteering Gold Award winners. Well done all students involved!!

Other Guild Activities

VPSAD Handover
Handover officially began with Matt Lamb on the 1st July, however a number of meetings took place in June which I invited Matt along to, and he eagerly attended! The current team have around 30 hours 1-2-1 time scheduled in with their Sabb elect, to hand over relevant information which will not only help the incoming Sabb in their position, but also benefit the Guild and students through a smooth transition to a new team. We have covered a variety of areas, and Matt has worked extremely hard throughout the training period. Matt is extremely passionate about the role, full of ideas and energy, and it has been a really great month handing over to him – I know he will do a great job next year!

Plagiarism Hearing
Sabbs are required to attend Appeals and Plagiarism Hearings to support students and add a check and balance in the University process. I was required for one plagiarism hearing this term.

Trustee Board Away Day
In July, the Trustee Board had an away day to discuss and outline the priorities facing the Guild over the next three years which will input into the Guild’s strategic plan. The Sabb elects were also present to input into the strategic plan. Some priorities that were discussed were: communication with the membership (all demographics), including Sabb visibility, communicating success stories, and improved IT and website; better reporting and monitoring of Guild activities, to accurately assess the impact of the Guild on students, the University and the wider community; diversifying income streams, stabilising and increasing current under-utilised income streams, rely less on the University block grant; and an increase in resources and visibility of academic representation (increased fees, students as consumers, more to lose in appeal/plagiarism cases, value for money).

Membership Services re-opening
The long awaited opening of membership services area arrived in mid-July! Student Development, JobZone, Representation and Democracy, Community Wardens and the ARC all moved into the newly refurbished area, and are now awaiting the students to make it their own! There is plenty of space for group work, socialising, computer work and meeting space – plus there is a coffee machine and Ben and Jerry’s ice cream machine! I’m looking forward to visiting the Guild next year and see students enjoying the space.

Staff Recruitment
Sabbs are involved in the recruitment process for Guild staff members. We recently recruited for the Deputy Marketing and Communication Manager position, and I was involved in the tours of the Guild, presentations and task element of their interviews. The recruitment of this position will make a fantastic contribution to the Guild, and really develop press releases, communicating with our membership, online presence, collecting success stories, and supporting campaigns.

Guild Student Staff Inductions
Sabbs are required to help with student staff inductions. I helped with a few inductions this term, mainly with new catering and bar student staff.

NUSSL Trade Show
I attended the NUS Services Ltd Trade Show in July at the NEC with the VPDR and VPDR elect. NUSSL is owned by the NUS and student unions, with an aim to create, develop and sustain competitive advantages for student unions, reducing costs and maximising commercial revenue. They provide purchasing, commercial development and marketing services.

Health and Safety Committee
VPSAD sits on this committee. I have attended the final meeting this term.

Vice Chancellor’s Buffet
The Vice Chancellor holds an annual buffet for the Sabbs, Sabb elects, and senior University staff to meet each other. This was held at the beginning of July.

Sports Ball
VPS Katie has worked extremely hard this year to organise a brand new recognition event for students who partake in sports. The Sports Ball was held at the Aston Villa football ground, and despite the evacuation mid dinner, was a fantastic success and enjoyed by all! The event aimed to celebrate students who work hard and participate in both UBS and Guild sports clubs and societies, not just the elite sports men and women.

Honorary Life Membership Nominations
The VPSAD sits on the Honorary Life Membership nominations panel, which recommends nominees to Guild Council from submitted applications. Sam Harrow, Brigid Jones and PC Julie Roberts were all recommended by the panel. Guild Council accepted these nominees, and also awarded Ed Sparkes and James Williams with Honorary Life Membership.

Staff Forum
Staff forum takes place every term. At our last staff forum, the officer team took the opportunity to reflect on the year and thank staff for their support.

University Activities

Graduation Ceremonies
Two Sabbaticals are required to join the procession at each Graduation Ceremony. In July, we each took part in four or five graduation processions, and saw lots of friends graduate!

PSA Awards
The careers service organised a ceremony to present the PSA certificates and awards and invited the sabbaticals who sat on the PSA advance interview panels to attend.

Honeypot Award
The careers service organised a ceremony to present the honeypot awards to successful students. There was also a presentation from a recipient of the award from last year.

Rabbi Cohen 25th Anniversary
I attended an event celebrating Rabbi Cohen’s contribution to the University and its students. Rabbi Cohen and his wife have worked at the University for twenty-five years and have made an invaluable impact on the lives of many students.

David Willetts Keynote Speech
The new Minister of State for Universities and Science at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, visited the University of Birmingham in June to deliver his first keynote speech since being appointed to the cabinet. Willetts discussed the development of education policy, and took questions from the audience. Willetts made an interesting point about those who belittle courses by suggesting they are ‘mickey mouse’ courses. Willets said Golf Management at the University is in very high demand, and is a course which applied business management to an industry – something to be admired. The course also has an extremely high percentage of students going straight into employment – something which we are all well aware is very difficult in the current climate. The sabbatical team went to watch the speech at the University.

Miscellaneous

Training and Conferences
I have attended two training sessions at the BVSC, Supporting Volunteers with Learning Difficulties, and Supporting Volunteers from Asylum Seeker and Refugee Communities. Both of these sessions were free to attend and were extremely valuable. I attended a presentation at the University of Birmingham’s Third Sector research centre on ‘Big Society or Civil Society?’. I successfully completed HSE First Aid at Work First Response training, which I attended when an extra place became available.

If I were here next year…
A number of people have asked me what I would have worked on next year if I was here. I thought it may be useful to communicate a few of the important ones, in case Matt would like to carry on with any of them, or they inspire some new ideas.

DebHall – This year I had planned to do a review of the DebHall and create a report on a refurbishment, talking to staff and students about what would make the room worthy to host the excellent standard of productions that take place there. I would like the work to include new tech, sound-proofing, refurbishment and decoration, new stage and curtains, and utilising the balcony to its full potential – a VIP area possibly? I believe this project would attract funding from alumni of the University and be something the University would support itself. Hopefully this is something which will be looked at now the main refurbishment of the retail and membership services area is complete.

Dance Studio – It would be absolutely amazing if we could turn the old student development space in the basement into a dance studio and drama room. This would have a direct impact on our membership – reducing costs that groups pay to hire the Munrow dance studio, free up rooms on the first floor for groups to book, and encourage and recognise the high standard of arts and performance at this University. The room may have other uses, for martial arts and activities, not just dance and performance. There are alternatives to spring flooring, which are much cheaper, and would make the project feasible in the near future.

BurnFm and GTV – Now that the new membership area has been complete, I would like to ensure that by September we had confirmed BurnFM and GTV can stream into the membership area. This area should be by students for students.

‘Society Spotlight’ online – This year we began featuring student groups in the ‘society spotlight’ in the GOS in Print. I would like to see this extended to monthly featured student groups on the website main page. I began to work on this, but with a member of staff leaving, this was shelved.

Ticket website – This year, following the successful pilot of RA’s using the new ticket website, I would have like to ensure the website is rolled out to student groups which would find the site of use (large/regular ticketed events in particular). I would like to see student group events featured and student group profile pages.

Podcasts – Following podcast training last term, I hoped to create some podcasts of the pick n mixes in Student Development, to support some of the important areas student groups need to understand, and increase accessibility. I would have started with elections and AGMs, finances, marketing and publicity, and event planning (including freedom of speech forms and risk assessments).

Alumni Comms – This year I would have developed the relationship between groups and the Alumni publications that are sent to thousands of past students. This year GMTG were featured in the newsletter, and Carnival have been featured in the past. I would like to see this continued with more groups. Features about Guild campaigns would also be explored. I would also pursue the idea of ‘From the President…’, an annual feature from the Guild President before leaving office summing up the Guild and Officer work from the year. I would also like to see a relationship between alumni and groups form in the form of supporting, advice and contacts from past students.

Guild Awards – I would like to see the ‘Outstanding Contribution’ award become ‘sponsored’ by the Vice Chancellor – ‘The Vice Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Contribution’. This would give the award extra prestige and recognition, and encourage the University to notice of the impact and achievements of our students.

Officer visibility – I would have liked to ensure that posters of the officer team are placed in all halls of residence by September, to ensure students know who their officer team are, and how to contact them.

Redbrick pullout – To increase transparency and accountability, I would have liked for the Guild to fund a monthly pull out in Redbrick, summarising what each officer has been working on, and what they will be working on.

Know Your Guild and University staff – This year I would have organised Know Your Guild again, however with an added element of communicating with University staff. I think it is really important that lecturers and corporate services understand the Guild, what it can offer students, and what students are currently achieving in the Guild.

Noticeboard in Mason Lounge – It has been rumoured that the Guild have a noticeboard for the Guild and student groups to go up in the University, however there are a number of delays in getting the board up. I would have liked to ensure this board went up this year to increase visibility.

Guild Council Leaving Speech

Guild Council,

Unfortunately I’ve written down this speech word for word, and unfortunately this speech probably won’t be as inspirational or political as some of my team mates, despite Ed sending me “40 inspirational speeches in 2minutes” last night! As the sabbs know, I tend to leave the camera or radio spotlight to them as I know my strengths lie in the organising side of things!

But this is my leaving speech and hopefully you won’t be too disappointed. I don’t really want to talk about what I have achieved this year, as ultimately, I have publicised what I have been working on, and you are the ones to say what was or wasn’t an achievement. As for my highlights, if you caught the slide show at the beginning, that just about starts to scratch the surface of my amazing experience at the Guild!

There are quite a few individual students and student groups that I would like to thank, but I feel I should do this in person, those of you that are here, I hope you don’t mind.

There have been tough times in this job, however students have always given me the strength to carry on. Whether it be through watching a breathtaking and professional performance, a small thank you note from a group for something I hadn’t thought twice about doing, seeing students mobilise for extremely worthy causes, such as fundraising for Haiti or campaigning in the Flashmob, seeing an article celebrating our students, or reading the Guild Awards nominations you wrote for each other…I have been blown away by your passion and dedication. There isn’t any way I could start summing up how I feel about the groups and their activities, especially not in 10 minutes, so I will have to speak to you individually. But I will say the standard of talent and the generosity of our students is absolutely unbelievable and I have felt enormous pride in representing you this year. Thank you for making my year so wonderful.

I don’t particularly want to use this time to talk about negative things, as this should be a celebration of the year, but there are a couple of things that I feel quite strongly about.

I’ve made it no secret that I don’t feel the University fully appreciates and recognises the work that you do. They shouldn’t just be pulling out a stat about how many volunteers we have, or what national achievement one of our groups has achieved when it suits, they should be sat watching those performances, and meeting our students that selflessly devote their time to help others. This is something all the team have been working hard on this year, and I really think it is starting to get through to them. Just this morning the Vice Chancellor sent an all staff email about the Alumni Reunions which took place on Saturday and the Community Day which took play yesterday, saying
Both the Alumni Reunion and the Community Day benefited enormously from the involvement of the Guild and our Students. Their pride in the University and their willingness to support and promote it was exemplary and deeply appreciated.

We do have some key allies at the University, people championing your work and celebrating all of your achievements, and to them I am extremely grateful for their support.

To those students who are angry and bitter towards the guild. Take a step back. Look at the guild for what it is – a not for profit organisation that does it’s best for students. It can be frustrating, it’s not always clear why we have certain rules, and we don’t always get it right, but without the guild, this campus and our students would be unbelievably worse off. Please, don’t complain and criticise without offering suggestions or getting involved to make a difference. This is a wonderful organisation, with dedicated staff that go above and beyond their job description. This organisation is hugely under resourced for what it manages to achieve and I am extremely proud of all the work it does. Give the guild a break and enjoy it while it lasts, because you will probably never encounter such a great and well-intentioned organisation again, which is devoted to enhancing your experience.

I’m not really allowed to go into detail about staff, but there are a few things I would like to say. I will thank many of the staff individually at a later date, as right now, I just can’t find the words to describe how lovely they have been to work with, and how much I have appreciated their support. Obviously the department I have worked closest with is Student Development, and it’s safe to say everything I have worked on this year – you can guarantee there was unfaltering support and help from them. For any of you who come into regular contact with them – please say thank you, as unintentionally, I think their hard work and passion sometimes go unrecognised.

The marketing department have had to put up with me a lot this year, asking for one thing after another, but they have never once said no, they have produced materials and support of a fantastic standard, and they always have managed to stay good humoured at the busiest of times!

On a very personal level, there are members of staff that have been real inspirations to me, and I have continuously been amazed at their unfailing dedication, calm and reasoned thought in the face of challenge, and excellent management styles.

Thank you to all the Guild staff.

Now to my fellow team mates.

Fordy has had a tough year, and I hope she doesn’t mind me saying. It’s not easy to be a sabb that is completely split between two different organisations and I’ve realised that I didn’t take the time to fully understand her remit and I didn’t support her enough at the beginning of the year. I think Fordy initially found it difficult to get to grips with how the Guild works, but she is a very committed and passionate about her job. Her commitment to healthy living and sport participation, instead of just the elite few, is really amazing. Fordy is extremely kind, has never forgotten her roots, and has been a much needed member of this team. Fordy has always been someone I can rely on for a rant, advice, or a gossip, and I will really miss talking through the wall to you.

Johnny. I don’t think I have ever met anyone as determined as Johnny. Whatever Johnny believes in, he will fight for it until he has absolutely no options left. Johnny managed to achieve manifesto points before training had even finished. We recently had an appraisal, and he took the feedback on board and very openly and noticeably made steps to improve and develop. Johnny is also the first person to run for re-election, and he got it. Johnny has been less than shy of making his point heard and this is the sort of determination we need in the Guild. I know it won’t be an easy few months for you. But I wish you all the best with the new officer team, and I have every confidence in you. New team – you are gaining an excellent team mate.

Brigid. During the election I talked to a student who has never been involved in Guild politics. They said they would be voting for Brigid despite knowing the other candidate a bit better. This was because of the numerous emails that filled up his inbox from Brigid as her role as Guild Councillor, informing students of motions, asking for feedback and a steer on how to vote in Guild Council. This student never replied to the emails, and I doubt ever actually read the motions, but this sums up Brigid – completely dedicated to representing students and taking a lot of time and effort, on doing her job to the best of her ability. I have been truly inspired by her commitment to the guild, and she has been an excellent Sabbatical this year.

Ed. I don’t want to inflate Ed’s ego too much, but unfortunately as much as it pains me to say it, I have a great deal of respect for him. Ed may be very short, but this year I have really looked up to him, he is an excellent leader, an excellent champion for students, and is an excellent Sabb. He is an inspirational speaker, confident, and will never back down about what believes in. It has been fantastic working with him this year.

Tom. Tom and I have had an interesting relationship this year, we’ve had our ups and downs, but I have a great deal of respect for him. Tom is very black and white about what is right and wrong, which although I may not always agree, I admire his honesty and openness. Pragmatic and practical, Tom always has very sound advice. VPDR isn’t an easy job at all, dealing with complaints, criticism, incidents and disciplinary isn’t a pleasant thing to wake up to and come into work for, but Tom does, and he doesn’t ever complain about it.

Fab. When we first came together as a team, in all honesty I wasn’t sure what sort of President Fabian would be, as he seemed quite a big softy. I was wrong to have doubted him, and I have learnt so much from him. You don’t always need to bulldoze in hot headed when things go wrong or don’t go to plan, and Fabian manages to get the relationships spot on – he can have a quiet word to gently persuade, but can also be very firm about what needs to happen. When I have needed him, he has never let me down. Someone to cry on, someone to banter and someone to confide in, Fabian is one of the most genuine, caring and passionate people I know, and has been the best leader I could have hoped for. He has kept this team together, and I am extremely proud to have been part of his team.

This job is emotionally and physically draining, everyday you feel guilt if you don’t stay that extra hour. My biggest fear has been that I’m not doing a good enough job, and that I will let down my team, the staff, and most important, the students. If you ask any close family, friend or even colleague of any of the team, I think at times they have all been a bit worried about us and told us to go home, turn off that blackberry, or take some time off!

But I have a lot to be thankful for. I can vouch for every single member of this team – we live and breathe this job, we thrive off it, especially the tough times, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Not many of you will know that at Christmas I decided that I was going to re-run. I confided in one person in particular, and he dropped everything to encourage me to do it. He knows who he is, and he has been the most supportive friend I could have asked for this year – Thank you. After spending a week at home away from Birmingham, I realised how exhausted I was after just one term. I realised the time, energy and emotion I was putting into this job couldn’t be sustained, and I would run the risk of not doing the best possible job in my second year. I don’t want to leave, I want to stay and continue making a difference to people’s lives and experiences, but I know it’s time to move on. Being in this position is a real honour and a privilege – the amount of responsibility, the ability to make differences to students, and hopefully being a good leader.

Hopefully I have made a positive impact on the students at this university, directly or indirectly, but in a few years time I know I’ll just be another name on this wall.

So for that reason I want to round up my speech by talking about my successor, Matt Lamb, the future. Your enthusiasm and commitment since being elected has astounded me, I know you are extremely passionate about this job and very excited for it to start. It’s not easy to hand over something you love, but I will do my best and I will see it as my last chance to make a difference to students.

Some advice I do want to give to you now though – relationships are key. You can’t get away with telling the University what you think of them or what to do, if you haven’t first got to know how they operate, who your key allies are and how to talk to them. You can’t push the Guild staff for that extra extra favour if you haven’t thanked them and appreciated them for the last time you asked for a favour. You won’t have your team mates stood by your side for your campaign if you don’t stand by theirs. You won’t be able to both discipline and champion your members if you haven’t spent time getting to know them or gaining their trust and respect. But everyone I have spoken to who knows you have said you are a genuinely great guy, so I know you will be able to do all these things. Good Luck to matt, and good luck to all the incoming team.

I have done my best, but it will never be enough. I just hope I haven’t let down those who I ran against in the election, my fellow team mates, the guild staff who work tirelessly behind the scenes, those students who voted for me and those who were lumbered with me, and of course, my amazing student groups.

Thank you for the most challenging but amazing year, that I don’t want to be over.


Students Creating Impact (Buzz, May 2010)

With the University’s first Community Day taking place in June, the Guild of Students sheds light on the impact our students are making in the local, national and international community.
Taking pride in and giving back to the community is an intrinsic part of modern day student life. Be it through volunteering to support national and community projects, or working to improve the environment and community cohesion in the local area – our students are making an impact.
Today’s students have been described as ‘consumers’ of education, with improved career prospects acting as the primary motivation for entering higher education. But there is much more to being a student at Birmingham than academic achievement alone – our students want to give something back to the community in which they live!
Students tell us not only do they want the Guild of Students to make University life more fun, but they want us to provide extra curricular activities and volunteering opportunities to help them adapt to University life and connect them with peers. To this end The Guild plays a role in facilitating personal development – developing students’ employability, and active citizenship within our community. Emma Packham, the Guild’s Vice President (Student Activities & Development) observes “volunteering is becoming an essential element of the student experience. It allows students to develop personal and professional skills and makes a significant impact on the wider community.”
Students have enormous pride in their community. Through schemes such as the Community Warden’s and the“I Love Selly Oak” campaign, the Wardens, who are all students, encourage residents to get involved with and feel proud of their community. Set up by The Guild in 2005 to improve the environment and support community cohesion, and funded by the University, the Scheme also works with local authorities such West Midlands Police who believe the Wardens are making a positive impact in helping to reduce crime in the local area - contributing to a 6% drop in burglary in Selly Oak in 2008/09.
But giving back to the community goes beyond this. Over 2,000 UOB students are registered volunteers and members of groups and projects designed to make a difference. Supported by the Guild, there are over 200 opportunities which students can become involved with. Our students not only volunteer with established charities and voluntary organisations such as Acorns, Oxfam, and The British Red Cross, but they also set up and run their own volunteering projects.
The Guild also supports 22 student-led volunteering projects, which are run by students. They range from Conservation Volunteers who support local conservation, to Kids Adventure who raise over £20,000 each year to run week long action-packed holidays for underprivileged children. Projects such as Helpings Hands and the Saturday Morning Play Scheme support children with disabilities in schools and by organising trips and activities, and the Monday Night Club, a social club for adults with learning difficulties, provides members with a range of activities from arts and crafts to cooking.
Our volunteers are also active in the International community. Intervol (International Volunteering) send around 100 volunteers each year to support projects which benefit some of the poorest children in the world, working in countries such as Cambodia and Kenya to support Aids Awareness, conservation work and other sustainable long-term initiatives. And it doesn’t stop here - in response to the Haiti appeal Birmingham student volunteers raised over £7,000 in just two weeks organising a range of events across campus and in Selly Oak.
Accomplished fundraisers, students also utilize their skills to deliver a range of fundraising activities. Run and organised by student volunteers Carnival, our Raising and Giving society, have been active for over 50 years and in the last two years alone donated over £60,000 to Birmingham based charities. In 2009 the music festival Vale Festival, also run by student volunteers, raised over £16,000 for Self Help Africa and Fare Share UK.
But this is just a snap shot of some of the activities, schemes groups and projects Birmingham students are involved in. In this academic year alone students have so far volunteered for nearly 15,000 hours - as Student Group members, Committee Members, Student Representatives, Guild Councillors and volunteers on placements and student led projects.
So what does this all mean for our students? Research conducted with our volunteers revealed that 93% believe taking part in volunteering has increased their employability, and 80% felt it had improved their sense of feeling part of the community. But what of those who directly benefit, one beneficiary of the Kids Adventure project wrote to tell us “I've seen first hand how much this scheme can help kids in difficult situations, being one myself. When I was about 11 or so I went on the scheme and all the students involved had such a positive impact on my life.”
Not surprisingly then, our students have volunteered to take part in the University’s Community Day on the 13th June. Activities at the Guild of Students begin at 11:30am, and include showcases and workshops form our performance societies, and face painting and activities from our volunteering groups and Community Wardens. We are incredibly proud of our students and the local community – so come see what we do!
Did you know?
• The Guild of Students, is the University of Birmingham’s Students’ Union, and is the representative body for all 28,000 students;
• The Guild employs over 450 full and part-time staff;
• Our Student Development Department are dedicated to providing students with opportunities to volunteer and develop skills;
• We are a not-for-profit organisation – with income generated being directly reinvested to student services;
• Last year the Wardens reported a 50% reduction on issues such as street litter from the previous year.