July and August has been an exciting time at The Students’ Union with lots of change and progress happening. As a sabbatical team, one of our first major tasks was to conduct a report on Graduation costs and we are now working towards lowering them by presenting our findings to the university.
July and August has been an exciting time at The Students’ Union with lots of change and progress happening. As a sabbatical team, one of our first major tasks was to conduct a report on Graduation costs and we are now working towards lowering them by presenting our findings to the university.
I went to BUCS Conference which took place at Warwick University this year. It was a 3 day event and a fantastic opportunity to network and engage in workshops on some key issues within sport. Mark Sampson (England Women’s Football Head Coach) was one of the highlights as a keynote speaker. He discussed how whilst still very important, tactics, fitness and ability came second to building relationships with teammates. He felt that building togetherness as a team was a major factor in their success at the recent World Cup. Odd Shaped Balls also did a one-man show on the issue of homophobia in sport which was based on a real life experience at a university rugby team. The show was really insightful and highlighted the barriers that liberation groups still face in university sport.
Olivia and I (VP Society and Communication) ventured up to Leeds together to NUS Lead and Change. It was a really great experience to meet other Sabbatical Officers and gain a greater understanding of what other unions do across the country. Building relationships with other unions will help us when looking for support over the year. The workshops were engaging: in our regional networks it was useful to exchange ideas and best practice and discuss some similar issues we’re facing such as women’s participation in sport.
At the moment I am working on sports club budgets for the upcoming year and focusing on what we can do to make this the best year yet for #TEAMUWE.