Agenda 14th of October 2019 at 6pm in King’s College Conference Centre
1. Housekeeping 2. Apologies 3. Approval of minutes: March 12th 2019 4. Approval of the Student Council meeting schedule 2019-2020 4.1 Cancellation of November 2019 Council date 4.2 Other questions 5. Co-options 6. Policy updates 7. Accountability session of Sabbatical Officers 7.1 Oral summary 7.2 Questions 8. Motions 8.1 Qatar Campus – Food Prices & Variety 8.2 Qatar Campus – Library motion 8.3 Student Council Chair experience requirement 8.4 NUS Referendum motion 8.5 Climate emergency motion 9. Byelaw amendments a. Societies Union byelaw 7 10. AOCB 10.1 Election Committee 10.2 Aberdeen 2040 10.3 Student Trustee Recruitment Aberdeen University Students’ Association Minutes of Student Council meeting 12/03/2019 King’s College Conference Centre
Sederunt Present: Lawson Ogubie, Victoria Orr Llado, Charlotte Leek, Alexandra Vodentzis, Donna Connelly, Kyle Graham, Ivana Drdakova, Jake Lumsden, Jasmine Paneva, Burhanettin Onur Kirectepe, Harry Chalklin, Martin Le Brech, Anna Lindfors, Julie Claustre, Leah Hillari, Tomas Pizarro-Escuti, Carmen Ensminger, Hamish Munro, Ella Tuominen, Cecilia Wallback, Justus Beekmans, Lisa-Marie Esselmann, Julia Pohjakallio, Alisa Koester, Louise Henrard, Darja Strasser, Agata Kostrzewa, Nathalie Nijs, Sunday Jagun, Isla McPherson, Laura Szabo, Lea Rattei, Max Holmberg, Lina Nass, Antonio Grimaldi-Alcina, Karin Mikusova, Luke Stronach, Michael Crosbie, Magnus Robertson, Berit Braun, Anttoni Numminen, Vera Erbanova, Maxwell Donaldson, Giovanni Militello, Jennifer Murphy, Lilidh Jack, Isabel Del-Pilar Arce Zelada
In Attendance: Dariya Koleva (Chair of Student Council), Rose Lakatos (Vice- Chair), Iina Jaara (Student Representation Co-ordinator)
Apologies: Niamh Barrie, Shona Littlejohn, Isla Mcpherson, Melanie Olesk Ondrej Kucerak, Ross Lunn, Jasmine Lau, Laura Morrison, Andrew Easton Wiktoria Korbecka, Derek Gardiner, Andrea Hernandez, Radeen Moncrieffe, Mikael Fevang, George Bellamy, Mustafa Özbilgehan, Lasse Rasmussen Deil Patel, Grace Bales, Amélie Bonnet Witvoet, Mark Webb, Signe Thye Olsen
Agenda Action Item 1 1. Apologies 1. Action The Chair, Dariya Koleva (DK) opened the meeting and did a point: quorum check, 41 members were present. DK mentioned that two emergency motions has been brought forward which would Both be introduced by the proposers. emergency motions Vera Erbanova (VE) introduced the first emergency motion. VE will be explained that the International Students’ Forum had an AGM heard at recently, where the forum had decided to update the structure the end of of the forum. VE explained that the forum wishes to remove the business. byelaw that restricted the structure of the forum.
DK asked if members want to hear the motion at the end of business. Council moved to a vote. Votes divided 40 yes, 1 abstain and 0 no. Motion will be heard at the end of business.
Harry Chalklin (HC) introduced the second emergency motion. HC said the motion aims to alter the byelaw regarding NUS referendums, to give AUSA more flexibility on when to organise one. Chair moved council to a vote. Council voted 41 yes, 0 no and 0 abstentions. Motion will be will be heard at the end of business.
DK read out the apologies received.
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Aberdeen University Students’ Association Minutes of Student Council meeting 12/03/2019 King’s College Conference Centre 2 2. Approval of previous minutes: February 12th 2. Action Minutes of the previous meeting were sent to Student Council point: beforehand. DK asked if there were any questions, none were asked. Minutes of the DK moved council to a vote to approve minutes. Votes divided previous 40 yes, 2 abstain and 0 no. Minutes were approved. meeting approved. 3 3. Co-options 3. Action A single co-option, Katarzyna Romanska, was presented for point: the Foresterhill committee. The Chair asked if there were any questions or arguments against the co-option, none were Katarzyna presented. Council moved to a vote. was co- opted. Votes divided 37 yes, 5 abstain and 0 no. Co-option approved.
4 4. Policy updates Lawson Ogubie (LO) was asked by the Chair to give an update on policies. LO said the only update is that the Sabbs continue to monitor the policies passed in Student Council. LO also encouraged students to volunteer for the University’s sustainability and development working group.
5 5. Sabbatical elections Lina Nass (LN) was asked to update on the ongoing elections. LN mentioned that there are currently 15 candidates for the 5 positions, which is more candidates than in recent years. LN mentioned that all manifestos are available online and voting starts on the 19th. LN also asked people to volunteer for staffing the election polls and mentioned the voting incentives, such as Dominos vouchers and University shirts.
6 6. Sabbatical Officers’ work reports 6. Action Chair asked the Sabbs to summarise their work reports. point:
-Student President Lawson Ogubie (LO): LO presented an All work extensive work report and highlighted a few things. LO reports mentioned the digital strategy committee meeting, where the approved. University is working on combining abdn and Aberdeen email addresses to ease data management. LO mentioned the new science teaching hub, for which construction is to be completed by 2021 and use to start in September 2021. LO also mentioned a new AUSA space secured in Foresterhill and the scrapping of Elphinstone Hall booking fees for student use.
Donna Connelly (DC) raised concerns over possible disruptions caused by the construction which might affect the student union building and Fraser Noble. DC asked if this has been taken into account? LO responded by saying that the issue has been raised and taken into account and they will try their best to ensure noise is minimal.
Chair moved council to a vote. Votes divided 43 yes, 0 abstain and 1 no. The work report approved.
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Aberdeen University Students’ Association Minutes of Student Council meeting 12/03/2019 King’s College Conference Centre -Communities Officer Lina Nass (LN): LN presented an extensive work report, but highlighted the ongoing elections, and a recent meeting with the University finance manager to finish up the Fossil Free policy implementation. LN also mentioned meetings with the trade unions on campus and the Go Green week and Fairtrade Fortnight events that took place recently. LN also said she also spoke at Level Up! event.
No questions were asked. Council moved to a vote. Votes divided 41 yes, 1 abstain and 1 no. Work report was approved.
-Education Officer Donna Connelly (DC): DC highlighted numerous aspects from her work report. DC mentioned the founders’ day service and the removal of graduation fees. DC mentioned that this was possible with the help of LO, HC and the Education Committee. DC also mentioned meetings with Education Officer candidates where she has given insights to her role. DC has had meetings with education officer candidates to discuss the insights of her role and is working with one of the School Conveners and the University widening access officer to set up a mentoring society for the students at Machar Academy.
No questions were asked. Council moved to a vote. Votes divided 44 yes, 0 abstain and 0 no. Work report approved.
-Welfare Officer Harry Chalklin (HC): HC mentioned from his work report that the telecoil leaks had been addressed, and lecturers now need to use microphones to make sure students who use them hear the lecturers. HC also mentioned outside events he had attended.
No questions were asked. Council moved to a vote. Votes divided 41 yes, 5 no and 0 abstain. Work report was approved.
7 7. AOCB 7. Action 7.1 Granite City Challenge point: The Chair mentioned that this update was meant to come from the Sports Officer Niamh Barrie, who unfortunately Both was not present. DK asked people instead to check out the emergency Facebook page. motions passed. 7.2 AUSA Alumni Day LO mentioned the Alumni Day taking place on the 24th of May in the Sir Duncan Rice library. LO asked members to invite any alumni members might know, and to let LO know if someone wants to volunteer to help out with the event.
7.3 Emergency motions VE introduced the first emergency motion. VE said the motion aims to remove byelaw 6 point 3.13, due to the constrictions is puts on the forum’s function. VE argued that the forum feels that removing this point will give the forum more freedom to structure itself each year.
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Aberdeen University Students’ Association Minutes of Student Council meeting 12/03/2019 King’s College Conference Centre Isabel Del-Pilar Arce Zelada asked why the Americas had been lumped together in the byelaw. VE responded that the current forum did not write this byelaw and it is yet another reason to remove it, as it is inaccurate.
No speeches were made for or against. Council moved to a vote. Votes divided 41 yes, 2 abstain and 2 no. The motion passes.
HC introduced the second emergency motion. HC said the motion was prompted by conversations around NUS membership at the second General Meeting. This motion would allow AUSA some flexibility in the organising of an NUS referendum, so it would not always have to be organised simultaneously with Sabb elections. The motion would allow a referendum to be organised anytime between April and September.
The Chair reminded members that this motion would need 75% majority to pass. No speeches were made for or against. Council moved to a vote. Votes divided 42 yes, 3 abstain and 0 no. Motion passes.
The Chair asked if there were any additional matters anyone wanted to bring up.
Tomas Pizarro-Escuti encouraged members to take part in the global climate change strike this coming Friday. LO also mentioned that he and others would be attending the NUS conferences in the coming month and asked that any students wanting to pass matters to NUS, should contact LO. HC said that if the April council meeting does not meet quorum, him and the other Sabb team would like to thank everyone for the work done in the past year.
Date of 23rd of April. Next Meeting
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Student Council 2019 – Co-Options
Disabled Student Forum Angus Hepburn (Co-Convenor)
Qatar Campus Committee Fayyaz Abdul Sattar (Business Management Program Rep) Jana Hamdach (Accounting & Finance Program Rep) Lulwa Kinfe (Ordinary Member) Najlah Mohammad (Ordinary Member) Arwa Pervaiz (Ordinary Member)
Welfare Committee Anna Karoliina Lindfors (Vice-Chair) Julia Marcinkowska (Ordinary Member) Maria Annasdatter (Ordinary Member) Matias Pietari Osipow (Ordinary Member) Leah Luise Hillari (Ordinary Member) Magnus Høgenni (Ordinary Member)
Raising and Giving Committee Maha Abdelaall (Ordinary Member)
Societies Union Committee Paul Senoyuit (Ordinary Member)
Communities Committee Natalie Leader (Ordinary Member) Oumou Diallo (Ordinary Member)
Environment and Ethics Committee Mustafa Mabruk (Fossil Free Coordinator)
Sabbatical Officer Work Report
Cecilia Wallback, Student President
1st July – 2nd October, 2019
Submitted: 02/October/2019
Highlights
FoodSharing Hub almost finished. Student Art Exhibition in Union Brew is underway. Students are back! <3
Manifesto progress
No more executive meetings, all that is left is so remove any mention of it from the bye laws. Weekly Brexit meetings, increased Brexit communication regarding implications for students and the support they can receive from the University, as well as setting up an android device in the InfoHub and pre-settled status info sessions. Black History Month is currently happening. It is not as big as I had hoped, but if re-elected, I can start planning much sooner, and this will give many lessons learnt for next year. Doing regular updates on social media about what I have been up to, and have hosted several open sessions, illness and travel have prevented me so far from having them as often as I would have wished – will need to work on this. If Student Council approves it today, then there will be a General Meeting in the first term of the academic year, in November.
Activity Work Done Outcome Name an activity, e.g. What happened? What What were the outcomes? Did you learn event, meeting, work was discussed? What something? Are you going to follow-up on group, conference, sort of work did you do? something? independent work, etc. What was the theme of the activity?
AURORA Attended AURORA Will keep the students updated on this meetings with University matter. staff to learn more about the network, joined in on AURORA Student Council meetings via skype, and will be attending a Bi-annual conference in Amsterdam. With Brexit looming, we are not sure if we will be able to continue to be part of this Network after October.
Black History Month Black History Month, started on 1st October. Worked with ACS and BME Forum to ensure events put on are appropriate. Delivering a series of events during October to celebrate and raise awareness of the history and lives of black students, educate the wider student community. Am personally involved with Film Screening on 3rd, Pub Quiz on 15th, and Braiding event on 23rd. I managed to secure a discounted ticket prize for AUSA members at the Belmont Filmhouse, tickets will be £4 when student ID is shown at the Box Officer in October. A more comprehensive list of events can be found on AUSA What’s On and the AUSA Events App.
Study Spaces Meetings with Angus We will reconvene in a few weeks once Donaldson (Director of things had been tested, trialed, and we had Estates and Facilities) figured out what is possible and what isn't and Richard Lynch possible. (Service Management) to find out what we can do to maximize visibility of building opening times and the availability of study spaces. We discussed a few ideas. Student Partnership Meeting with the Student Agreement (SPA) Experience Team and the Support Services about the Student Partnership Agreement for 2019-20. We all agreed on 5 main priority areas: Communication & Engagement, Sustainability, Inclusion, Accessibility & Welfare, Student Living, and Careers & Employability. Now we are focusing on making sure everyone is happy with how we will work on these areas in partnership and I will be meeting with them later next week to discuss the Sabbatical Team's feedback in regards to how the document will be written and worded. Student Union Worked with Ian Lamb We have now ordered a Charging Locker Building (SUB) – (AUSA Finance Manager) that contains 15 compartments that you can Phone chargers to get phone chargers charge your phone or tablet inside. It is a into the Union Brew. fast charging locker, so while you will need to bring your own charger (or borrow a cable from the Union Brew), you can put your phone away while meeting your friends, having a meeting, or eating your lunch, and come back to a charged phone! The compartments will come with a key so no need to worry about your phone getting stolen!
SUB – FoodSharing Worked on the FoodSharing Shelves are being set up, there is a Hub hub within the Students temporary fridge, and vinyl and artwork Union Building with planned. Communities Officer and the Shared Planet Society. Main focus is getting proper shelves put up, and I managed to secure a temporary fridge for free. I also volunteered several evening to pick up food donations from various places in Aberdeen for the FoodSharing Hub.
SUB – Space usage In discussion with AUSA team and Sabbatical Team.
SUB – Student Art Contacted the University Hooks have been put up. University did this Exhibition to get hooks set up in the for free. Students have expressed interest, Union Brew so that but, as of time of submitting, no one have students can showcase registered. their art work. Worked together with the AUSA Graphic designer to figure out logistics, a typeform has been created to register interest and communications and graphics have been created. For now, if you wish to know more about this, you can either email me at [email protected]. uk. Forum/Societies • Met with Trans Planning meetings with BME Forum and Meetings Forum Convenor, Disabled Students’ Forum. Any other Forum Lilidh Jack. She that wishes to meet to discuss the support brought me up to that is available you, either get in touch with speed regarding me at [email protected] or some Trans Student [email protected]. issues on campus. Have now met informally with member from Registry to find out what they are doing for Trans Students. • Met with International Students Forum, Ivana Drdakova, to talk about the Post Study Work Visa. • Met with LGBT+ Forum Convenor, Laura Morrisons. She asked me about what support AUSA can give to Forums. • Met with Daniel O’Conner, Societies Union Chair, to discuss Societies and the Societies Centre.
Raising and Giving Attended two meetings Will work with Chair of RAG to find out what I Campaign (RAG) so far. can do to assist them.
Clothing Project Met with Samantha Unsure if this will proceed, as some students Jameson from AberGreen have approached me with an interest in regarding a clothing project creating a sort of ‘clothing rental; society. In in which students would be the meantime, if anyone wishes to borrow an able to borrow clothes from outfit to wear to an event, please contact me AUSA to wear for a ball/ceilidh, etc on [email protected]. Complaints Have responded to various complaints by students regarding Freshers’ Fayre (sport + societies mixed, a poorly handled quiet hour, etc).
Open Sessions Hosted various Open Spoke about BHM, space usage and how Sessions at Kings Campus, they think the SUB could improve, student Foresterhill, and Hillhead, to art exhibition project, chargers in UB, what various success. AUSA could do better for FH,
University Meetings – Attended several International fees will be raised. This was Fees & Scholarships Scholarship & Fees decided before I came into office, however meetings. managed to highlight the opposition from students for raised tuition fees and managed to get some degree fees to be raised in stages rather than one drastic jump. Please get in contact with me if you wish to hear more in depth regarding this issue.
University Meetings Attended meetings Highlighted the need to integrate these students – International study regarding the International as having the same status as any other student Centre Study Centre. at UoA, concerns with the class rep system for the ISC, concerns with a new Activities Coordinator role that had been hired by the ISC as they would need to work with our Sport Officer. 26 students so far. All will be integrated as if any other AoU students, and upon completion of programme and criteria will start at AoU.
Students Went to the principal’s This was fun. Hopefully we can do it again. garden with some members from the Chinse Scholar Society and picked berries together with Louise (Communities Officer).
University Court Attended University Court twice. Tomorrow I will be Out of Office as the University is sending me and Dariya (Education Officer) to Glasgow for Governance training (15th).
People Meetings • Met with Esther I have probably met with many more but Robertson, Senior cannot remember at the time of submitting Governor of Court, this. and discussed my manifesto priorities and learnt about her role as Senior Governor. • Did the same with Eleanor Bentley. • Had monthly meetings with the Principal, George Boyne. So far we have discussed the AUSA’s demilitarise campus policy, Gender Based Violence, other welfare issues with Alexander, Qatar, etc. • Met with Jenny Fernandes and another staff member in the Language Office to talk about Chinese Student Engagement. AUSA Trustee Board Chaired my first trustee We are recruiting three new trust meeting.
Brexit I have also been We will also be including relevant attending Brexit meetings information about Brexit in our Newsletter with the University, to from now on, so make sure you go and read keep updated on what them! I will be continuing to attend these the university is doing to meetings (or Scott, Representative Services help their students (and Manager when I am unable to). staff) and to keep them informed. There is now a webpage you can visit (https://www.abdn.ac.uk/ news/brexit/) to find out more about the situation and what it means for you as a student at Aberdeen University. If the page doesn't have the answer to your questions, you can also email [email protected].
Democratic Review Had meeting with AUSA Will continue to work on this. Managers, as well as with the Sabbatical Team to discuss logistics and implementation.
NUS – Lead & Went to Leeds to get Was very good, made a lot of useful Change Sabbatical Officer Training. connections.
NUS – Big Uni Forum Received Campaigning Looking into ways to provide a day or two of training. campaigning training for campaigns active on campus for later during the year.
NUS - Referendum Discussed timelines and At present, it seems this will happen in the potential dates for holding second term of the academic year. the NUS Referendum.
NUS – Aberdeen Visit Met NUS Scotland It was good. We discussed local campaigns. President Liam McCabe, and representatives from other SUs in town, from NESCOL, RGU, and SRUC. University Meetings Attended. Most people were missing so not very useful. I – November will find out why there is a black/white dress code Graduation at Graduation.
University Meetings Attended many meeting – Capital Projects regarding Capital Projects (Science Teaching Hub, King’s Quarters, and MacRobert/Business Department) where I highlighted issues regarding green spaces, need for late opening hours and social spaces, gender neutral bathrooms, wheelchair accessibility, bookable rooms for societies.
University Meetings Attended many meetings Got focus groups created to get students’ – Aberdeen 2040 and Away Days for the input. They were moderately attended. Aberdeen 2040 Strategy, and participated in the International Workstream. Highlighted issues with carbon offsetting and less unnecessary travel, terminology regarding climate emergency, the need for a more international curriculum, recognition of gender and PVG issues, etc.
University Meetings Attended meetings for the If you have any ideas for student events, – 525 Anniversary 525th anniversary of the please let me know! celebrations University planning. If any students have any ideas for events to celebrate this and involve students, please get in contact with me.
Vice Principal Sat on the panel for the New VP Education will start in November. Education recruitment of the new VP Recruitment Education, who will be replacing Peter McGregor. Foresterhill Met with a staff member Very disappointed to hear it is not finished, there to discuss the AUSA months after the promised date. Will keep space in Polwarth. pressure on them to complete the room.
Attened InterFaith Attended and held a It was fun. Very good curry. Kirking. speech, written by Scott, our Representatives Services Manager. This was because I am not an eager public speaker and this has been a very stressful period, so I agreed to give a speech if I got help writing it. University Meetings Have met with different It was useful. – Department departments to learn what Introductions they do – Estates & Facilities, Student Experience, People, different AUSA departments, Heads of Departments, Senior Management Team, University Meetings Attended several Court cub- It was boring. – Court sub- committees, two of which committees were the Resource and Policy committee, and Governance and nominations committee.
University Meetings Met the Student Experience It was snice. – Student Experience Committee where we Committee shared what we have been up to and learnt what other departments (such as Student Experience and Support Services).
School inductions Did a few school inductions, It was very nerve-wrecking. for Erasmus+, education students, and Psychology students.
Sabbatical Officer Work Report Dariya Koleva, Education Officer, 01/07/19-01/10/19 Submitted: 03/10/19 Area Work Done Outcome
MANIFESTO PRIORITIES More Inclusive Attended meetings I met with key individuals within University management and Curriculum with: members of teaching staff in order to discuss what is the best VP Education avenue through which we can explore developing more VP International inclusive course content. We discussed various options, Partnerships including the opportunity to incorporate this idea into the 2040 Director External strategy. That way we can ensure that the goal is built within the Relations key goals we have for the next 20 years as an institution. This Academic staff has not been done yet, currently looking into formulating International, specific wording. Interdisciplinary and Inclusive Strategy An idea that emerged from some of these discussions was to 2040 Workstream reach out to other universities and see how the movement has Leads worked there.
Liaised with Sabbs from I had conversations with sabbatical officers from student unions other UK universities - where Decolonising the Curriculum has taken roots as a Bristol, Keele, SOAS movement. They were able to tell me more about how they have engaged in campaigning, raising awareness, and lobbying.
Currently developing a As a result of these discussions, it seems the best course of framework/manifesto. action is to develop a manifesto stipulating how we at AUSA Working toward envision a more comprehensive, decolonised curriculum. I will establishing work then work to establish department-specific working groups groups consisting of both teaching staff and students where this issue could be dealt with at a discipline level, understanding what is possible to change. The ultimate goal is to collate the efforts of these groups to compile an extensive report to present at Senate (highly likely after my term) which would lead to a University-wide policy on this matter. For the time being, it seems reasonable to try this out at a couple of schools and then roll it out across all departments.
BHM Decolonise the As part of series of events for BHM, I have organized a talk on Curriculum Event the movement. We will host Dr Ritu Vij from the Politics department to tell us more about the normative and educational values driving it. It will be followed by a discussion where I am hoping we can get some more ideas. The event is taking place on October 24th at 5pm in Union Brew, do come along!
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Enhanced Attended meetings with Discussed extensively the need for personal tutors for PG Personal Tutor VP Education students. Familiarized myself with a current scheme run for PGT Support students in the School of Phycology. Discussed rolling this model out to other schools, it should be available to at least five other schools by the end of the academic year 2019/2020.
Careers Service Attended a series of Raised the question of need for more degree-specific capacity Collaboration meetings with: building and skills development, as well as accessibility of Joy Perkins (CAD, Careers Service assistance. STAR award workshop are now being Careers Service) held in Forestershill in addition to the ones on the Old Aberdeen Employability Board campus. STAR/LA Steering Group It was suggested that the University should look into offering more SISA-accredited course. SISA is the Scottish Innovative Student Award, associated with programmes which consolidate theory-based knowledge along with industry-specific skills. Currently there are several of these courses offered in Biological Sciences, Social Sciences, and Engineering. The University is looking into expanding the range of such courses offered.
The University is looking to redevelop the current essential skills set associated with the learning outcomes related to each course. There will be a joint meeting of the Assessment & Feedback and the Positive Outcomes task forces later in the semester to discuss this further.
Mental Health Attended a meeting Discussed the need for extensive training for academics. Awareness & with Debbie Dyker Students may reach out to any member of staff so it’s important Training for (Director of People) that teaching staff have appropriate levels of awareness and Teaching Staff understanding. A more comprehensive set of training and resources will be made available to academic staff during this academic year, as part of the University’s Mental Health Strategy. MHFA training is also being offered. Training will also be delivered in-person.
OTHER AREAS Inductions Inductions inductions Attended a variety of meetings, training sessions, catch-ups, inductions what not. These include internal AUSA training (e.g. HR, finances, budget management, NUS, trustee training, planning, live policies and mandated actions, Freshers’, AberGreen, event planning, student council, media training, Qatar representation, GDPR, complaints procedures) as well as university ones (for instance, University decision-making, student experience, appeals and academic misconduct procedures, meetings with the Rector and Senior Governor, online learning, trade unions, language centre, ISC, employability board, CAD, learning analytics, estates and facilities, etc.)
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NUS A visit from NUS We met with Liam and Dougie and sabbs from other Aberdeen Scotland President Liam institutions – RGU, NESCol, and SRUC. We identified common McCabe and NUS issues and brainstormed ideas for joint campaigns. We also had Scotland Membership a chat regarding NUS resources and support in different areas. Development Manager It was very beneficial to meet everyone and see how we can on 24/07 collaborate in the future.
Excellence Attended meetings This is a joint project of AUSA and the University. Discussed the Awards with: launch of this year’s student-led Excellence in Teaching awards, Duncan Stuart particularly categories and awards ceremony planning. The (Student form is now available online and students are able to nominate Experience) members of staff. If anyone has any questions regarding how to Peter McGeorge (VP go about this, come and have a chat with me about it and I can Education) walk you through the process.
Class Reps Reviewed class rep In collaboration with Iina Jaara (AUSA Student Representation survey results Coordinator): Developed an enhanced set of class rep training materials and resources in order to make sure that class reps have an appropriate level of support.
Discussed results with VP Education and sent out a joint email to all schools, containing information regarding class rep election and responsibilities, as well as summary of student feedback. Suggested recommendations on how to improve certain aspects of communication and how to demonstrate action taken based on student feedback.
Student Council Reviewed student In collaboration with Iina Jaara (AUSA Student Representation council survey results Coordinator): Revised student council training materials and delivery based on feedback from councilors.
Training is now delivered in designated in-person training sessions and additional support is offered at the first committee/forum meeting by the respective chairperson.
Chair training Organized and facilitated council induction sessions with new Chair.
Elections As the Elections Committee Chair, oversaw the Student Council elections. Reviewed procedures, promoted available places (did several interviews with ASR about it, great fun), encouraged voting. Facilitated a session with ASR for candidates to discuss plans and priorities, aimed to raise awareness. Reviewed nominations and election results. Currently looking into co- option regulations.
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King’s College Attended several The University received a capital development grant over the Transformation different meetings: last academic year and is investing the money in two capital Project Board Open forum on projects – Business School/MacRobert and King’s Quarter. I was 22/07 a member of the project board for the latter. Tour of King’s Quarter on 13/08 We held an open forum for students and staff over summer to Project Board discuss how the space could be best transformed to create meetings on 23/07, better teaching and learning spaces. The group had a tour 12/08, 19/08, around the premises in order to familiarize ourselves with some 04/09, 10/09, 16/09 of the challenges around re-designing the space (there’s an observatory at the top of the Cromwell tower you guys). The board met regularly to discuss ideas, primarily focused on flexible teaching space, and break out and social spaces for students.
Student Attended meetings to Meetings were held with Senior VP, Student Experience, and Partnership re-draft current SPA on Student Support for the purpose of creating a revised draft of Agreement 09/08 & 23/09 the current version of the SPA.
It was determined that the previous SPA format was not suitable. A new draft was developed but it is lacking a necessary noticeable partnership and collaboration element. I have taken the lead on drafting the new Employability and Careers section within the SPA, with other Sabbs feeding into other content. I have rewritten it in a way that includes AUSA more actively, particularly with a focus on activities recognized on the enhanced transcript, sports, volunteering, etc.
National Attended a meeting on Met with Senior VP and VP for Education to discuss the 2019 Student Survey 30/08 NSS results. The data indicates that there has been a steady improvement University-wide over the past several years, particularly in terms of students overall satisfaction. Areas for improvement include response to student feedback, as well as timeliness of feedback. We looked at the results as broken down by discipline, which was very insightful. It is also helpful to have this information when discussing certain issues with individual departments.
The results were also discussed at a UCTL meeting. It was suggested that we team up disciplines with high student satisfaction in particular areas with those are not doing so well in order to share best practices and improve student experience across the University. I recommended that we apply caution in doing so in order to avoid implying that the former do not need to improve their performance at all.
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AUSA at Scheduled open I have scheduled in times to host open sessions in Hillhead and Foresterhill & sessions later in Foresterhill in order to make sure that students there have the HIllhead October opportunity to meet in person and chat about anything related to their studies and to raise awareness of AUSA support available. Other sabbs have already held some such sessions.
STAR Workshops in STAR award workshops are now taking place in Foresterhill as Foresterhill. well.
ACADEMIC SERVICES Appeals Attended an appeal I was a member of an academic appeal hearing panel looking hearing on 23/08 into a PGR student’s appeal. The appeal was not sustained.
Gaelic Attended a meeting We discussed the history and recent development of the plan, Language with Frederic Byer, as well as student representation on the group. The most recent Action Plan former student rep on version of the plan was developed in 2018. If you are interested, Group GLAPG on 12/08 in it, it is available online (in Gaelic too). The group meets several times a year to discuss ways of implementing it, though it has not been very active in the past.
I am looking into submitting a byelaw amendment introducing a Gaelic rep on the Education Committee. They would be tasked with representing AUSA at the GLAPG meetings.
Graduations Attended a meeting of The group discussed the feedback from the graduation survey the Graduation Planning and considered different possible venues for future summer Group on 08/08 graduations. Based on feedback from the group, a report was prepared for the University’s Senior Management Team, who will take the final decision. Official communication coordinated by the Student Experience team regarding this will be sent out to graduating students later this term.
The upcoming graduation ceremonies will be held in the third week of November in Elphinstone hall.
Enhancement Attended a meeting of The first meeting of the ET working group for this academic year Theme the Enhancement was held in September. Enhancement themes are a sector-wide theme working group initiative in Scotland to improve a particular aspect of the on 10/09 quality of teaching and learning in Universities. The current theme is “Evidence for Enhancement” and it is focused on ways of encouraging students to use data confidently in their studies and question the objectivity and relevance of statistical data. The group discussed events ideas for the year ahead. If you are interested in getting involved, do let me know and I can tell you more about it!
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Centre for Attended a meeting of CAD organizes this event annually to support teaching staff in Academic the CAD Annual exploring innovative and quality ways of teaching across the Development Symposium planning University. The meeting was held to discuss the theme and group on 12/09 speakers at this year’s annual symposium. Invites to potential keynote speakers were sent out.
STEERING GROUPS Widening Attended the following Discussed the need to increase admissions from 20% most Access Steering meetings: deprived postcodes (as per SIMD). Raised the concern that there Group WA Steering Group is a need to engage with WA and articulation students more and on 25/07 in a more efficient way. The University WA team have since St Machar Academy secured funding for a student intern position to work on Mentoring Project – developing this further. 08/08 I will be putting forward a suggestion through council soon to establish a new section forum specifically for WA and articulation students, to provide them with space to discuss issues and idea particular to their status.
Developed the final stage of the St Machar Academy mentoring project whereby student from the school will be partnered up with a student from the University. The idea is to make sure that students there are familiarized with the University experience and are encouraged to follow this path if they find it interesting/exciting. This is done to tackle to limitations of SIMD measures. If you are keen on getting involved as a mentor, give me a shout and I can put you in touch with the person in charge of the project. Online Attended a meeting on The University is expanding the range of online courses offered, Education 27/08 now including on-demand learning, which seems to be popular. Steering Group The experience of online students differs greatly to the traditional on-campus one therefore explored avenues for representation for online students, as well as possible activities to include them and distance learners.
Looked into the option for online societies and live-streaming student council meetings. Also currently on the lookout for an online rep on the Education Committee.
STAR/ Attended a meeting on The group discussed the recognition of several activities such as Leadership 20/08 a student-led academic journal and CASE. We agreed that it is Academy beneficial to offer workshops in Foresterhill. Opportunities to Steering Group bring in new employers to work in collaboration with the Careers Service were considered, in order to offer student more degree-specific options, which is also a manifesto priority area for me, so will collaborate closely on this in the future. The group is looking into offering careers drop-in sessions there as well.
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WELCOME ACTIVITIES Move-in AUSA Hillhead Building The team were in Hillhead during move-in weekend. We met Weekend Welcome on 31/08 and new students, had many chats about AUSA events, activities, 01/09 support, and representation. It was great fun!
Parent & Family I represented AUSA at the University’s event to welcome Welcome Event on parents and family members. We had a wee stall, many parents 31/08 were excited to see how much the Association has changed since they had been at university here. It was a good opportunity to raise awareness of the safe taxi scheme.
Campus Tours on 01/09 I lead campus tours with new students around the Old Aberdeen Campus. Students enjoyed it, only rained during half of it, so I am counting this as a success.
The sabb team agreed that those could be better planned in the future in terms of accessibility – cobblestones and narrow paths pose challenges to students with accessibility needs. Freshers’ Week Activities: So. Many. Events. 02/09 – AUSA & Principal Welcome; Sabb team delivered a welcome talk with the Principal. We Welcome BBQ; hosted a BBQ the same day, turned out very popular. I attended University two of the University’s orientation sessions on AUSA and spoke Orientation Session to students about the Association. I helped out at both days of 03/09 – University the fayre, it was busy and students seemed very interested and Orientation Session; excited. I took the lead on the postgraduate networking event Freshers’ Fayre at Union Brew, it was quite popular and people seemed very 04/09 – Freshers’ keen to meet other PG students. I also helped out at some other Fayre events and talked to many new students and their families 05/09 – PG throughout the week. Volunteers were invaluable help Networking Event throughout. Overall, absolutely knackering but amazing.
Night buses I was in charge of the night buses on two nights – 02/09 & 04/09. Kids drink a lot. It was busy, some people were heavily intoxicated, some were really rowdy. Majority were having a great time though. No major issues.
School Inductions Participated in a number of school and discipline inductions (UG: Law, Social Sciences, History, History of Art, Philosophy; PGT: Law, Divinity, and School of Biological Sciences). Introduced students to AUSA, the support, activities and representation available. There were some issues with communication from the schools, but this has been noted and hopefully going forward should not be a problem.
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GOVERNANCE Court Court Meetings Meetings of the University Court were held on 02/07 and 01/10. I attended along with Student President Cecilia. We discussed, among other things, the strategic development of the University, particularly how to involve students in the planning of the 2040 strategy, as well as performance at league tables (and their relevance).
Strategy Away Day The University hosted an away day for staff and students on 03/07 at Pittodrie Stadium. We discussed in groups the development of the four strands of the 2040 strategy – Sustainable, Interdisciplinary, Inclusive, and International. Thoughts were fed back to the workstream leads on each of these.
2040 Strategy I attended meetings of the Interdisciplinary workstream of the strategy. We discussed ways of fostering a collaborative and transdisciplinary environment for students and staff. We looked into some possible areas for partnership across disciplines and schools. These have been included in the first draft of the strategy.
Meeting with the The sabb team had a meeting with Maggie in July and several Maggie Chapman, more informal ones later on. We were introduced to the way Rector on 25/07 court works, its remit and composition, and out role on it. We also had a chat about our priorities for the year ahead and how we are planning on implementing these goals.
Meeting with Esther The rest of the sabb team met with Esther while I was on leave Roberton, Senior in July. I had a meeting with her in September to catch up and Governor on 13/09 learn more about her position and the ways in which the University is governed.
COMMITTEES
Student Attended a meeting on This committee reports to both Senate and Court and is Experience 09/09 composed of sabbatical officers and representatives of most Committee directorates of the University. Its aim in to contribute to the development and approval of policy and strategy regarding non- academic aspects of the student experience. We discussed graduation planning and accommodation issues.
Senate Business Attended a meeting on The Senate Business Committee has a primary role to agree Committee 11/09 Senate agendas. We approved term dates and the newly elected members of Senate, as well as the items to be discussed at the 09/10 Senate meeting. Agenda and minutes of this meeting are available online if you are interested in finding out more.
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University Attended a UCTL UCTL is the committee responsible to Senate for the strategic Committee for meeting on 19/09 oversight of teaching and learning matters and the wider Teaching and academic student experience, both undergraduate and Learning postgraduate, and for the development of policies and practices for the assurance of the quality of the University’s educational provision. At this meeting we were given a detailed presentation on and discussed the 2019 NSS results. The committee also approved the enhanced transcript recognition of AberGreen and Shared Planet volunteers.
STANDING APPOINTMENTS Regular Scheduled a series of I have set up regular standing meetings with different people meetings standing appointments across the University and AUSA to catch up and monitor progress on certain issues.
Monthly: Simon Bains, University Librarian – discuss progress on the development of a new loans system and the implementation of a new reading list service; Iina Jaara, Student Representation Coordinator – catch up class rep and school convenor representation and emerging issues; Dr Gillian Macintosh, Director of Academic Services & Online Education and Dr Rachael Bernard, Academic Registrar – discuss Senate and Academic Services and Registry developments; Prof Peter McGeorge, VP Education and Education Committee – catch up with school convenors on current priorities and challenges
Fortnightly: Prof Peter McGeorge, VP Education – discuss manifesto priorities
Before each Senate meeting: Prof George Boyne, Principal and Education Committee – raise issues related to Senate and Senate agenda; explore common goals for the committee and how to achieve them.
TASK FORCES Feedback and Attended meeting on This meeting focused on response times for assignments Assessment 12/09 feedback. We discussed the importance of consistency between Task Force schools and transparency of administration processes. We also had a discussion regarding how to better incorporate important learning outcomes in the assessment and how to foster more self-awareness within students regarding these attributes.
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Retention Task Attended meeting on This meeting was held to discuss how different departments of Force 25/09 the University deal with retention. We each listed different activities and campaigns we organize in order to prevent high drop-out rates. A document containing these and other ideas is being compiled.
Further discussions are to be held regarding redesigning library ground floor space to allow for a more relaxed environment and less pressure on students.
EXTERNAL EVENTS SPARQS That’s Student Partnerships in Attended a conference organized by SPARQS which aimed to Quality! Quality Scotland help new Education Officers from universities across Scotland Conference, Conference, 17/07- familiarize ourselves with our roles and with the wider Dundee 18/07 structures in Scotland whose work is focused on education quality assurance and enhancement. It involved a series of seminars, exercises, talks, and presentations. Overall, it was a very useful event and helped me meet other Education sabbs. We discussed establishing an Education Officer Network in the future.
NUS Lead & National Union of Attended a conference organized by NUS which introduced new Change, Leeds Students Conference, sabbatical officers to our roles and responsibilities. It featured a 30/07-01/08 series of seminars, group discussions, and networking sessions. It focused on the different duties associated with these positions, as well as on how to best represent diverse communities. There was also a lot of useful information on how to run successful campaigns. Overall, it was very interesting and it motivated me to thoroughly consider my goals for the year ahead and plan carefully.
LEAVE Annual leave Was on annual leave I was away for 10 days in July. Went to my sister’s wedding, it between 05/07 & 16/07 was lovely. Have been here since, yay.
FURTHER INFORMATION Further information is available from the Education Officer, Dariya Koleva: [email protected].
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Sabbatical Officer Work Report
[July 1st- October 1st]
Louise Henrard, Communities Officer
Manifesto progress
• NUS Green Impact Award: Signed up, should go live mid-October • Advertising screens in UB: New screens can be shut off while still keeping connectivity, included in building closing procedures • Greener Union: Organising training sessions for societies committee members on how to organize events sustainably + • More information and support on Tenant’s Rights: Organised one Living Rent session (No attendees) + 15/10 5.30PM at Taylor C24 • Contacted Cut The Rent (No response) • Community Fridge: Temporary Fridge + Shelves ordered • More Sustainable & Ethical Food: Plant-Based Options in almost all events for Freshers’ Week, working with Head Librarian regarding healthy options in vending machines • Lobby local government for more funding towards Community Services: Attended two Civic Forums where I met local community councilors, talked about the situation regarding busses in Aberdeen, they will raise students’ specific issues to meetings I cannot attend. • Review Student Council to make it more accessible: Working on democratic Review, drafting a plan to advertise Student Council + motions on Social Media • Bi-monthly drop-ins sessions: since September every week (Foresterhill + Old Aberdeen) Highlights:
Submitted Climate Challenge Fund (CCF) Application Stage 1
Finished my sustainable events training
Survived Freshers Week
Submitted: [01/10/2019]
Activity Work Done Outcome
Meetings:
Meeting with UCU Discussed Post- Forwarded their information to post- Aberdeen Graduate Support, Graduate student rep, had a joint statement potential strikes and in support of the climate strike, agreed on how to communicate it collaboration and good communication in with students, support case of strikes for 20th September school strike Meeting with Discussed Interfaith Attended Interfaith Kirking, supporting Chaplaincy Kirking, Holocaust organization of the Holocaust Memorial Day Memorial Day. Preparations
Court Strategy Day Discussed the Collaboration with Student Experience Team Strategic Plan 2020- and creation of Focus groups to gather more 2040 feedback Working to make communication is effective and accessible
Meeting with Energy Discussed energy Energy Manager position vacant until end of Manager saving measures, December. Will chase up when the new background information person is in post. needed for NUS Green Impact Award
Meeting with Head of Discussed food Agreed to review some of the provision and Catering provisions in particular include feedback for future events by making Grad Ball plant-based sure plant-based milks are available, provisions and overall however no answer to formal complaints yet provision around campus Meeting with Unison Discussed Working towards organizing informal Environmental Rep sustainability across sustainability meet-up for both staff/students. the university and how Climate Action meeting organized (was to engage both unable to attend) staff/students rather than operating separately Meeting with NUS Discussed priorities Focus on partnership and collaboration Scotland President + within Aberdeen in Organizing a meeting with RGU, NESCOL RGU, SRUC, NESCOL colleges and unis. regarding bus prices/provision Student Rep
Big Uni Forum + Lead Training regarding Skill-share, participating and participated in and Change liberation, working groups regarding the climate strike, representation, Purpose-Built Student Accommodation . campaigns Part of the Climate Strike Action Group and PPBS (Purpose Built Student Accommodation) working group
Meeting with Suttie Discussed ways to Better understanding of Foresterhill Center Manager reach Foresterhill societies, different schedules and students commitments.
Open Forum King’s Aim to bring Mentioned the need for green spaces to be Forum Regeneration staff/students together kept and more accessible facilities to discuss plans for the (especially New King’s). King’s Quarter redevelopment
Meeting with Discussed waste Food waste bins should be available outside Waste/Transport across campus. (no definite confirmation yet) Officer (Uni) Discussing menstrual Suttie Center is a collection point for free products provision. mooncups Reusable pads/tampons supplier added to the University suppliers list and should be ordered to be distributed soon
Standing Committees:
AURORA Student Discussed upcoming Signed-up as AURORA Student Council Council and AURORA bi-annual (network Secretary Sustainability Working meets twice a year at Priorities for AURORA Sustianability Group partner universities) in Working Group: limiting business air travel, (AURORA is a network of Amsterdam talking about the climate emergency and European University Aberdeen how universities can declare it, how to Uni is part of) embed sustainability in all areas at universities
Civic Forum (August + Representing students’ Working in collaboration regarding the bus September) + Old interests in the local provision in Aberdeen, working to organize Aberdeen Community community. drop-ins sessions with local community Council Discussed drug abuse councilors to promote local community issues in Aberdeen. councils to students Discussed employability for students especially Oil/Gas Sector. Environment & Ethics Discussed sustainable Relaunch of the Fossil Free Campaign + Committee Meeting + policies and actions. working group on sustainable curriculum Open Committee Focus on what climate started. Meeting emergency means and Started reviewing Green Guide (sustainable what can be done. guide for students in Aberdeen on/off Bringing different campus tips). environmental/human rights focused societies together. Communities Discussed priorities for Started reviewing Workers Guide Committee the year (bus provision, workers rights, healthier snacks in vending machines at the Library)
MacRobert Building Discussions regarding Expressed need for Gender Neutral toilets Board the refurbishment of after refurbishment MacRobert and provide Expressed the need for cycling Business School with racks/appropriate cycling facilities around appropriate facilities Johnston Stressed the need to utilize/enhance/preserve green spaces around Johnston
AUSA Trustee Board Reviewing AUSA Attended governance
Student Partnership Discussed SPA and Changed format to make it more accessible Agreement Meeting reviewed progress and agreed on five key priority areas: Communication & Engagement, Sustainability, Inclusion, Accessibility & Welfare, Student Living, and Careers & Employability.
Activities/Events:
Attended Summer Welcome students part Working with the Summer School team to School BBQ of the Summer School have an induction for students about AUSA Programme next year
Sustainability Quizz Ran a short quiz with a More students aware of student-led initiative during BeWell Week focus on sustainability such as Vegbag, AberGreen during BeWell Week
Participated in the Demonstrate solidarity Great attendance from staff, students and Climate Strike on the to the Fridays for school pupils 20th September Future movement and Local environmental student groups
Freshers Week: Welcome new cohort of AUSA Building undergraduates and Welcome, various post-graduate school inductions, two night buses, Employability and Volunteering Fayre, Jazz Night, Post Graduate Networking Session, Foresterhill Fayre, Orientation Session, Sunday Recharge ASR Interview, Gaudie Talked about the Keeping students up to date with my work quotes, weekly blogs + climate strike, Facebook updates, manifesto priorities, Interfaith Kirking , day- to-day work Climate Challenge Met and consulted with Stage 1 Application done and Stage 2 of the Fund Application various groups (Shared application to continue if Stage 1 successful Writing Planet Society, Garden Society, Cultivate Aberdeen, School of Education, Environment and Ethics Committee, AberGreen, CCF Office etc) to gather feedback for the application of a sustainable food project
Ongoing:
Talked to students who Waiting to hear back were affected by new car/motorbike priority Deliveroo/ Workers policy Rights Contacted Independent Workers Great Britain (Trade Union) for guidance and reach out to local campaigning group
Community Contacted Community Waiting to hear back Engagement Councils Liaison Officer to have stall and talk to students on how to join community councils in their local areas
Useful Links: • AURORA Network: https://aurora-network.global/ • Climate Challenge Fund: https://www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/sustainability-climate- change/climate-challenge-fund/why-apply/ • Civic Forum: https://civicforumaberdeen.com/ • Old Aberdeen Community Council: http://www.oldaberdeen.org.uk/ • Aberdeen University Strategy 2020-2040: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/aberdeen- 2040/index.php • Living Rent: https://www.livingrent.org/
Sabbatical Officer Work Report
Isla Scott, Sports Officer
24th May – 8th October 2019
Submitted: 08/10/2019
Highlights
You may highlight anything you are particularly proud of.
Manifesto progress
Please give a summary of your manifesto work so far, e.g. how you are progressing with specific goals you outlined in your manifesto.
Activity Work Done Outcome
24/05/19 I met with all the outgoing All the Scottish Sports Sabbs work closely Sports Sabb training and incoming sports together over our year. With our jobs being day (SSS). A day of sabbs from all Scottish the way they are, often the other sports induction provided by Universities. We sabbs are the ones we go to for ideas and Scottish Student Sport. discussed what it’s like to advice. The day provided the opportunity to be a sports sabb and foster this relationship and get a head start what to expect for the on the year. coming year. 04,05,07/06/19 We went over my Talked about what to expect for the year and Handover with Niamh manifesto and agenda for started to plan manifesto work. Attended and SSS the year. Sports Liason Group (SLG) meeting. On 7th met with Niamh and SSS RDO to discuss regional plans for the year.
12-14/06/19 SSS annual conference – Furthered relationship with other Sports SSS Conference, went over everything that Sabbs and SSS staff, great opportunity to University of had happened in 18/19, network with sporting people across Strathclyde shared best practice Scotland. between institutions, and attended workshops.
26/06/19 Meeting of ASV SMT, Met the key players within the group and ASV Monitoring Group UoA marketing, was updated on the current situation with (Summer) recruitment, student ASV. experience, finance, and AUSA Sports Officer and CEO.
July Various training covering Various AUSA everything from office Training practicalities, staff introduction, and Trustee Board
09-12/07/19 British University and Networking with English and Welsh Sports BUCS Conference, College Sport annual Sabbs. Learning how BUCS operates and University of the West conference. Heard what how this negatively impacts Scottish of England (Bristol) BUCS had been up to institutions. over the past year and their plans for this year – most notably BUCS Play. 16/07/19 – present Working group of sabbs Ongoing SSS Women in Sport and SSS staff to develop Working Group programmes aimed towards female participation in sport and activity. 24/07/19 Met with Liam McCabe Ongoing – most not applicable to sport NUS Scotland meeting and Dougie Smith to with RGU, NESCOL, discuss NUS Scotland and SRUC and how they can work on projects with us
29/07-01/08/19 An opportunity to meet Ongoing NUS Lead and other sabbatical teams Change Conference, from across the UK. Leeds Beckett Learnt about NUS’ work University and what they have planned for the year.
09/08/19 Reviewed the existing Ongoing Student Partnership SPA and talked about Agreement, first how to re-write it in line meeting with AUSA’s new strategic plan
13/08/19 Meeting of AUSA, Ongoing – discussed regional issues and SSS Grampian RGU:Union, and plans. Regional Forum, NESCOL facilitated by RGU:Union SSS.
16/08/19 Designed and gave talks n/a UoA Open Day – on AUSA and how we AUSA & University facilitate university sport. Sport talks
20/08/19 Attended with Louise and Old Aberdeen Alex. Discussed local Community Council issues and addressed the meeting concerns of council members. Fresher’s Week Attended and ran various We had a very successful Fresher’s Week! (31/08/19 – 07/09/19) events. Saturday – Hillhead welcome and night bus, Sunday – Hillhead, Monday - AUSA/Principle welcome, BBQ, and Fayre set up, Tuesday and Wednesday – Fayres, Thursday – Foresterhill, Saturday – Test your strength event. 09/09/19 Meeting of AUSA, UoA Discussed matters related to student Student Experience Student Experience, etc experience, ongoing. Committee meeting
09/09/19 Meeting of all 55 club Clubs updated on my summer, upcoming SU Presidents Meeting #1 presidents events and programmes, etc
12/09/19 Meeting of AUSU, UoA Discussed operational issue ongoing with Sports Liaison Group SET, and ASV ASV and how to remedy them.
Early September Group with all sports ongoing Created AU Sports presidents for updates Presidents group and information.
Early September Group with all Kings user ongoing Created Kings Pavilion presidents and coaches User group for facility updates and information. 16-30/09/19 Face to face 30 min chat ongoing Individual meetings to see talk about club with all Sports ambitions for the year – Presidents all 55 clubs plus Kickboxing
27/09/19 Presented the issues Ongoing however relationship with ASV is ASV Monitoring Group AUSU have been having improving. (Autumn) with ASV, aimed to resolve them.
02/10/19 Weeks of planning for the Ongoing – successful day despite the Superteams event, running the event weather on the day, following up with social media and results
04/10/19 Meeting of all Scottish Ongoing – recently spoke about campaigns SSS Elected Students Sports Sabbs facilitated such as #fulltimeoninitations Forum, University of by SSS. Glasgow
Sabbatical Officer Work Report Alexander Acheampong, Welfare Officer July to September 2019 Submitted: October 2, 2019
INTRODUCTION It has been a very exciting but challenging experience working to improve the welfare and wellbeing of my fellow students of this great university. Having started work officially on July 1, 2019, together with Cecilia (@AUSAPresident), Isla (@AUSASport), Louise (@AUSACommunities) and Dariya (@AUSAEducation) we have been trained and oriented on various policies of AUSA, as a charity, as trustees, the byelaws, the constitution, liberation forums, Financial Processes & Budgeting as well as planning and other administrative issues. Below is my work report from July to September 2019.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS WORKDONE & OUTCOME - JULY 2019
• The University Strategy Day: I participated in the 20-year development plan and strategy day organised by the university. I contributed to shape how the university want to be like in 20 years from now. With issues of Students learning, wellbeing, safety and other support services at the back of my mind, I contributed so that students will always have the experience they require at this university. • Bewell Program: For your wellbeing and health, the students experience department has put together a program dubbed BeWell Fair’ which will take place both in the fall and spring during this academic year. I’m working with them to offer this great program to students especially during key pressure points of the academic year. • Teaching and Learning Space Re-development Project: As part of a £50 million investment in the university’s estate, there are plans to regenerate areas of the historic King’s campus to enhance the quality of the education that the University provide and to support future growth in student’s numbers. On behalf students and my own behalf, I contributed significantly to the Project Management Board and encouraged other students to do same. • Trustee Meeting: I attended my first trustee meeting. At this meeting, we looked at AUSA’s financial position, AUSA’s health and safety report, the potential risks facing the association, the governance structure, the two main committees for the trustee board where I opted to join the finance committee due to my background, then finally we approved AUSA’s recruitment policy. • Summer School Barbecue: I participated in this year’s summer school barbecue where I interacted with many students to explain what we do at AUSA. Through this activity, together with @Louise and @Isla we engaged with the language centre to be part of their induction for new students. I think this would be valuable for them in terms of generating an early awareness of available help and support here at the university. • Wellbeing App: As the university continues to provide support academically for students to excel, there is the need to also create an enabling environment for students to meet their social, and environmental needs. Thus, this initiative (UniWellBeing app) is designed to help create a culture where every student is engaged in wellbeing and encouraged to thrive, no matter where they sit on the wellbeing spectrum. The app aims to help all students, regardless of age or level of health, to build positive habits, coping skills and resilience. It includes tools to enable students to proactively look after their wellbeing using evidence-based methods including 5 ways to wellbeing, mindfulness and CBT. I have contributed to the development of this app to better meet the needs of students. The app has been created and in the trial stage, I will update you when it will be operational. • Widening Access: I participated in meetings to discuss the Universities strategy to widen access. Over the past few years, the University has been providing free accommodation to certain category of students as part of the widening access program. • Meetings with SMT: During the period under review, I was able to meet key members of the University Management Team (SMT). This is a key step in getting them to know and understand my main campaign issues and how they can assist me to meet my priorities. This is already yielding some positive results, and I have also secured monthly catch-up with two members of the SMT. • Sexual Health Clinic: I am working on getting a provider for sexual health clinic here at the University of Aberdeen. This I believe will educate students on the need to take proper care of their sexual health. The provision of sexual and reproductive health services makes an important contribution to an individual’s health and sexuality • Mental Health Week: A mental health week has been scheduled for October 7-11 to create more awareness on mental health and for students to know where and how to access mental health services. • Mental Health Movie Night: I’m already in discussions to see the possibility of having a mental health movie night here at the University of Aberdeen. I believe this can be an avenue where we can meet and discuss issues relating to mental health. I will update you on the status in my next month bulletin. • NUS: I participated in the Lead & Change program organised by the NUS in Leeds. It was a good event with valuation lessons learnt. From leadership training to campaigning, through to advocacy and creating awareness, organising and monitoring of events.
WORKDONE & OUTCOME - AUGUST 2019
• Light at Seaton Park: As part of my campaign to be elected as the welfare officer for AUSA, I promised to ensure that we have lights at Seaton park to improve security and visibility at night especially during the dark winter days. This is because the thoroughfare between the university’s Old Aberdeen campus and its main students’ accommodation at Hillhead where we have more than 1,500 students living prefer to use this route due to it closeness or shortness to the campus as compared to using the other alternative route which takes longer. I believe that provision of lights and/or other security measures can be put in place to ensure students’ who use this route are safe. Again, with sustainable mode of transportation as an option, students with bicycles can use this route at night.
Since assuming office, I have written to and engaged stakeholders on this, but unfortunately, the response hasn’t been positive. The reasons they gave a broad ranging from security, cost and environmental. However, I will continue to engage them to sustain the security arrangement they have for the park. • Aberdeen Mental Health Network: I joined the Aberdeen Mental Health Network this month. This group is made up of mental health, and wellbeing officials as well as people who have interests in mental health in general. The objective of this group is to support each other in dealing with rising mental health issues by sharing ideas, creating awareness and providing support. • Mantel Health & Wellbeing Week: I am excited about the upcoming mental health & wellbeing week from October 7-11. It is going to be activity parked event throughout the week to showcase some support services we have here at the university as well as offering support to participant. There’s going to be a workshop on mental health & academic matters, painting lessons, BAME & mental health awareness, Penumbra- wellbeing powwow and a movie night where we are going to show a documentary on “Resilience”. Again, there will be stalls at union brew throughout the week. • NUS Big Uni forum: Together with three (3) other Sabbatical Officers we participated in the National Union of Students (NUS) Big Uni forum beginning of this month in Edinburgh. This forum was largely attended by sabbatical officers and students’ leaders across Scotland. The focus of the meeting was to discuss NUS priority areas for 2019/2020. At the end of the forum, six key priorities areas were identified as follow; Student poverty & Student support, Mental health, and Climate change & Sustainability, Purpose Built Student Accommodation & Student halls, Rent Guarantor Schemes, and too expensive/poor quality laundry facilities. At AUSA, we fully support these priority campaigns and have plans to raise more awareness and make the change that we deserve. • NUS Action Group: Following from the NUS Big uni forum, I joined two action groups i.e. mental health and disability. Initial meetings on skype have been had on both action groups. The focus is to share ideas and recommendations for improved mental health and disability support. • Student Accommodation & Guarantors Scheme: As part of the NUS priority campaign for this year, I am already engaging some uni staff on cost of accommodation and guarantors scheme. I believe some of the prices are high and could be reduced going forward, and on the guarantor’s scheme, my view is that it must be expanded to cover private student accommodation. The discussions are not concluded yet, hopefully we make some progress to excite students. As part of the engagement, I took a tour of Hillhead halls of residence during the summer and saw the improvement being made to facilities including but not limited to replacement of fridges, sofas, carpet and painting. • Students Partnership Agreement (SPA): Together with my fellow Sabbatical officers we participated in our first SPA meeting with the university. We agreed to structure the current SPA document to focus on key areas that are achievable and measured. Again, it was suggested that the theme for the key areas to focus on should reflect common manifesto promises. Thus, some of the key areas as suggested including welfare & wellbeing, students’ life, sustainability, communication, and employability. • SAD Lamps: I am excited about the introduction of SAD lamps within AUSA. At the moment, students use SAD lamps at the multi-faith chaplaincy and so it will be a good add when AUSA finally launches its own SAD lamps. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is seasonal in nature, and usually comes and goes depending on the season and how one reacts. Thus, some refer to it as winter depression, due to fact that it is more common during the winter as a result of short days and longer night. This depression sometimes affects the mood, loss of pleasure or interest in daily activities, irritability, feelings of despair, guilt, worthlessness, feeling lethargic, feeling sleepy during the day, gaining weight. A document is been put together to administer this initiative which is likely to start in November 2019. • Committees & Meetings: As a welfare officer, I represent students views on key university committees. Below are some of the committees I participated in during the month; Inclusive Workstream steering Group, Students Marketing, Events & Communication, BeWell event and Action Group on Disabled Student.
Furthermore, I took part in various meetings including a visit to Robert Gordon University (RGU) to learn about their monthly mental health movie night and explore the possibility of having our own movie night here at the university of Aberdeen, I had a meeting with the university’s counsellor, mental health advisor, meeting with the Rector on the role and workings on court, Again, I had a meeting on the Dean of Student support role as well as discussions on National Union of Students (NUS) referendum which will come up next year. Finally, I attended the Old Aberdeen council monthly meeting with two other Sabbatical officers. • Training & Inductions: I participated in trainings and inductions during the month under review. Technically, August was my second month of working and so trainings and inductions were key in order to properly execute my mandate as an officer for AUSA. Some of the inductions include, AberGreen, Belbin Team building, handling compliant & investigations and media training.
WORKDONE & OUTCOME - SEPTEMBER 2019
• Freshers week: We welcomed freshers during the first week of this month. Several activities were organised by both the university and AUSA during moving in weekend as well as throughout the week ending September 8, 2019 including Airport bus pick- up, AUSA building welcome, Night buses to ATIK, welcome barbecue, Foresthill barbecue, quiz night, postgraduate welcome event, freshers’ fayre etc. Students engagements in these programmes were very high, and AUSA Sabbatical officers were deeply involved with all these activities, sometimes as leaders of the event. Apart from these activities or events, Sabbatical officers were again involved in schools and department inductions during the week. Finally, Sabbatical officers together with the principal had a welcome event to welcome all freshers which was also available online to Qatar students as well as students who were yet to arrive in Aberdeen. • Student Partnership Agreement: Progress have been made in agreeing to the full content of the restructured SPA documents. As indicated in the August report, the key areas which have been agreed are welfare & wellbeing, students’ life, sustainability, communication, and employability. It is instructive to note that there are performance indicators which measures the progress or otherwise of the agreement. • Support for International Student: At AUSA, we pride ourselves as an inclusive and diversity organisation. Thus, I successfully engaged the student support unit to assist an international student who needed mobility device on campus. Through my engagement, the student in question has been bought a mobility device. I am very excited about this because at the NUS Action group on disable students, I learnt the need to push for some of these supports. • Democratic Review: We (Sabbs) met and had some discussions on the AUSA democratic review documents. • ASR Interview: I had an interview on ASR to share my priorities for the academic year. In summary, the focus for the term will be on mental health, personal safety, gender- based violence, sexual harassment and abuse as well as organising inclusive events. • BeWell Week: I participated in the BeWell week from September 23-27, 2019. I was a speaker during the fakebook live events where I spoke on the importance of selfcare. The feedback has been good as students are now more concerned about selfcare than before. • Post Study Week Visa (PSWV) Meeting: Together with Cecilia and Louise we met with Ivana Drdakova the convener for International student’s forum and an advocate for PSWV on the announcement on the reintroduction of the two-year PSWV. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the reintroduction and explore the possibility of engaging students who were confused about the details of PSWV. At the meeting, it was resolved that we seek advice from student’s advice and advice office (SASO) on the engagement of students. This meeting has been had with Michele from SOSA, however, she advised that we wait for the full details of the PSWV document, because this was just an announcement without much details. • Gender Neutral Toilet: As an inclusive association, we strive to be advocate for minority groups. Thus, the need to have more gender-neutral toilet at the university is a priority. I have engaged the university estate on this and can report that the commitment to increase GNT has already been welcome by them. • Committees & Meetings: I attended some committee and other general meetings during the month under review. This includes; ✓ Meeting to discuss rent at university accommodation: it was a very good initial meeting with plans to have ongoing meetings. This is to ensure we have students view on fixing rent going forward. ✓ Meeting to discuss redevelopment of the ground floor at the library to make it more a relax space for students and staff, with new furniture and lots more power sockets. There will also be a presence of the City library, which a chance for students and staff to borrow books from the city collection. ✓ Together with other Sabbatical officers, we had a chance to meet with Madam Eleanor Bentley, the newly appointed independent court member on her plans and strategy as well as briefing her on our roles as Sabbatical officers. ✓ I also attended the diversity and inclusion strategy group committee meeting during the period. ✓ I had a meeting with two of the newly recruited wellbeing coordinators who work under the health and safety unit. This was to understand the work and explore the possibility of collaborations in future. Currently, these wellbeing coordinators operate from the students experience office and support all students and staff including post graduate research student. ✓ We (Sabbs) had a meeting with estate unit of the university to understand the future estate strategy and current projects being done by the university. They talked about the safe app, GNT, university accommodation, campus catering etc. ✓ Again, I had a meeting the Natasha Dee Rennie who is a Scottish executive committee member at NUS Scotland. We discussed issues on GNT, mental health and inclusion. ✓ We (Sabbs) participated in our first students experience committee during the period under review. ✓ I had series of meetings in preparation of the mental health & wellbeing week including meeting with MEDSOC, Nightline, students for global health, Australian student’s society, Aberdeen 70/30 group etc. ✓ We had a lunch meeting with the multi-faith chaplaincy to understand the work and explore the possibilities of collaborating with them on programmes. We used this opportunity to briefly catch-up on the multi-faith and kirking of the students’ association. ✓ Finally, I had two meetings with two students on some projects they wanted to embark on. One was meditation section which successfully took off on September 23, 2019 with weekly meditation sections on the calendar, the second was on a sexual harassment project. Another meeting has been arranged for further discussions.
Finally, plans are far advanced for the mental health & wellbeing week. Below are the details of planned activities for the week.
DATE EVENT DISCRIPTION Oct 7 Mental Health & An assessment of mental health and its related issues and how it can Academic Matters impart academic matters negatively. Dealing with the challenges to be successful academically. Oct 8 Painting Lesson An activity-based event which would enable participant to learn new skills in painting and colouring. Acquiring this skill and using it properly is key selfcare. Oct 9 Mental Health & A talk on how people from different cultural background react to mental BAME health issues and recommendation on how to properly provide support to cover all demographics of the university. Oct 10 Penumbra Penumbra PowWow service will identify activities and goals to move Wellbeing-PowWow towards mental health improvement using innovative Individual Recovery Outcomes Counter. Oct 11 Movie Night The Biology of Stress & the Science of Hope,” “Resilience” attempts to (Resilience) illustrate the gravity of bad life experience with on-screen text showing percentages and comparative life expectancies. A must watch movie.
In conclusion, the Welfare Officer position is instrumental in ensuring that students’ safety, health and social needs are addressed adequately. Over the years, AUSA have been involved in welfare campaigns to raise more awareness leading to improvement on sexual health, personal safety, Gender-based violence (GBV), sexual harassment, housing, mental health, alcohol and substance abuse, inclusive campaigns, students funding etc. We continue and are committed in ensuring that these and many others will be key in promoting the overall welfare of all students at Aberdeen University.
Your Welfare, I Care
Alexander Acheampong [email protected] [email protected] Food Prices & Variety
Proposer: Haneen Deeb
Seconder: Mohammad Annatshi
Council Notes:
1. That, the only cafeteria present in the entire campus is Lina’s. The cost of having a full meal ranges between QR30-QR50, equal to £7- £11 (above the average marketplace) which is not practical for students. As a result, people are discouraged to stay on campus. 2. That, Lina's cafe only sells Evian water which costs QR 7 which is equal to £2 (local water costs only £0.22). 3. That, the options available within the cafeteria are very limited. 4. That, the cafeteria is open only between particular timings, limiting the student’s will to stay back on campus and spend time on campus beyond 7:30pm (the time the cafeteria closes). 5. That, despite this being brought up on several occasions with relevant staff (in Qatar Campus) and in different SSLC meetings, there has been no action taken by them with regards to price and variety.
Council Believes:
1. That, students feel their needs and demands with regards to price and variety are not being respected and are being ignored. 2. That, students feel their needs must be considered and should be provided with more than one food outlet. 3. That, the university has a duty of care to students and proper food is a right that students are entitled for.
Council Resolves: 1. AUSA should lobby the university to provide an additional cafeteria with cheaper food options as well as a wider variety of options. Alternatively, AUSA should lobby the university to decrease the prices of Lina’s cafeteria for students as well as offering more food options. 2. AUSA should lobby the university to install vending machines with basic snacks, drinks and water on campus, if the cafeteria cannot always be open. 3. AUSA should lobby the university to install microwaves around campus for students to heat their food.
Library Motion
Proposer: Mohammad Annatshi Seconder: Haneen Deeb
Council notes:
1. From Sundays to Wednesdays, the campus library closes on 8 PM and at 4 PM on Thursdays. 2. Students are relocated to classrooms after the library is closed, which causes interruptions, and frustration, and several students have lost their files that caused them to rewrite their assignment. a. Students are usually not allowed to stay on campus after 8pm. Occasionally, some students are allowed to stay longer to work on their assignments, however, they are forced to leave the library and relocate to another building (Villa 5), which causes interruptions and uncertainty since students do not know whether they will be able to stay longer. Many students have mentioned to the committee the fact that they lost their work files on multiple occasions and were forced to start their assignments from scratch. 3. Students that attend evening classes are unable to use access to library resources or study inside the library since their classes finish late.
Council believes:
1. That students should have access to the library until 12 AM (midnight) to study without having to relocate to another building as it is the most important building for students. 2. That there should be clear rules for the library working hours, and not determined by the security’s will. 3. Since the security guards work 24/7 on campus, either extend the librarian’s hour from 8 PM till 12 AM or have security guards regularly checking the library every hour or so to ensure safety. 4. To ensure safety, only students should be allowed on campus at night. They can show their student ID before to enter the library.
Council resolves:
1. AUSA will lobby the university to extend the library hours until 12 AM between Sundays and Wednesdays, until 8 PM on Thursdays, and open during the day on weekends. 2. After 8-10 PM, instead of locking down the library and other buildings and relocate to Villa 5, students should be able to relocate to the library instead.
Requirement for Chair of Student Council to have one year experience on Council.
Proposer: Anttoni Numminen Seconders: Tomas Pizarro-Escuti
Council Notes: 1. That currently any student may stand for election to be Council Chair regardless of whether or not that student has experience on Student Council. 2. That, under Bylaw 3.3, the Council Chair has a responsibility to “arrange induction training for all Council members prior to the first meeting of Student Council following elections.” 3. However, there is nowhere in the bylaws or constitution a check and balance of ensuring that the person elected to the role of Council Chair has the experience of Council required to maintain procedure.
Council Believes:
1. That, in order to stand for election to the position of Council Chair candidates should have at least one year of experience in some position on Student Council. 2. In requiring at least one year of experience in some position on Student Council, this will ensure that Council Chair has the experience of how Student Council has operated in the past thereby ensuring a Council Chair with the authority of experience to maintain meetings of Student Council and AGM in an ordered fashion. 3. That, ensuring election candidates for Council Chair have at least one year of experience on Student Council, will ensure that the successful candidate has a minimum ability of the competencies expected of them.
Council Resolves: 1. That, in order to stand for election to the position of Council Chair, candidates must have had at least one year of experience in some position on Student Council. 2. That, any candidate who does not meet the criteria of having at least one year of experience in some position on Student Council is therefore ineligible to stand for election to the position of Council Chair. 3. That, the definition of “one year of experience” shall be that the candidate has been present to 75% of Student Council meetings within the academic year prior to their candidacy for Council Chair.
Referendum on National Union of Students membership Proposer: Derek Gardiner (Societies Union) Seconders: Daniel O Connor (Societies Union), David Sjoblom (Sports Union), Casimir Debbonneval (Societies Union)
Council Notes: 1. By law 2 4.1 requires that a referendum shall be held every four years on AUSA’s membership of the National Union of Students (NUS); 2. That more than four years have elapsed since a referendum was last held in AUSA’s membership of the NUS. Council Believes: 1. That AUSA should adhere to its own by laws; 2. It is in the interests of Student Democracy that a referendum be held. Council Resolves: 1. To hold a referendum on AUSA membership of the NUS in November 2019 in accordance with by law 2 4.1.
Declare Climate Emergency
Proposed by: Tomás Pizarro-Escuti (Communities Vice-Chair), Alisa Koester (Environment & Ethics Vice-Chair), Caroline Beaumelou, Mustafa Mabruk, Natalie Leader, Jack Boag Seconders: Cecilia Wallbäck (Student President), Alexander Acheampong (Welfare Officer), Anttoni James Numminen, +112
Council notes 1. That, according to the latest IPCC report, we have 12 years to limit the effects of climate change before we enter into a runaway state which poses existential threats to the future of humanity and that we need to act accordingly1. 2. That the British Government is not honouring its commitments to the Paris Agreement by failing to meet its INDCs234.
Council believes 1. That students are the main drive to demand policy change. 2. That a declaration of climate emergency is necessary to increase the pressure to take action. 3. That our governments are failing us and are failing to deal with this existential issue by neglecting the necessary changes required to mitigate the effects of climate change. 4. That declarations from higher education institutions (HEI) are important and impactful on public opinion, discussion, and political debates. Therefore, HEI in each country can have an impact by making a public declaration. 5. That the climate emergency is an essential topic and serious consequence of policies that affect our generation.
1 IPPCC, 2018: C2: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2018) Global warming of 1.5 °C: an IPCC special report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty. Geneva, Switzerland.
2 https://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/3063879/no-country-is-decarbonising-fast-enough-to-meet-paris- targets 3 https://environmentjournal.online/articles/uk-government-accelerating-climate-breakdown-due-to-fossil- fuel-investments/ 4 https://institutions.newscientist.com/article/2194422-uk-is-failing-to-meet-almost-all-of-its-climate-action- targets/
Council resolves 1. That AUSA as the union representing students should declare Climate Emergency. 2. That AUSA should lobby the university to do the same as an educational and scientific research institution and recognise the gravity of the issue of the climate crisis. 3. That AUSA should take action that reflects their declaration of climate emergency by form a climate crisis policy and strategy on how to follow it to do their part in fighting the greatest threat that mankind faces today. To do so, AUSA should form a strategy group, stronger supporting green initiatives on campus and lobby the university to go fossil free. Bye-law 7 Change
Proposer: Daniel O’Connor, Societies Union Chair Seconders: Emily Cope, Societies Union member
Council Notes:
• Bye-law 7 deals with the operation of the Societies Union. • Bye-law 7 is 11 pages in length and contains information that is out of date or directly conflicts with other parts of the bye-laws. • Bye-law 7 is a mess that does not reasonably govern the Societies Union and has been neglected with poor upkeep over several years.
Council Believes:
• Bye-law 7 is a rambling mess. • Bye-laws should be clear and concise documents which make sense. • Bye-law 7 requires an immediate and total overhaul in order to allow the Societies Union Committee to function.
Council Resolves:
• Bye-law 7 should be scrapped in its entirety and replaced with the following:
Byelaw 7
AUSA Societies Union
1. Introduction
The Societies Union is the branch of the Aberdeen University Students’ Association (AUSA) that governs all Societies and Group activities led by AUSA. The Societies Union Chair is the head of the Societies Union.
The Societies Union bye-laws will always be available on the AUSA website or upon request from anyone in the Societies Union staff team. They will also be brought to the attention to all new Committees during the affiliation and re- affiliation processes and at committee training.
2. Societies Union Committee Structure
The Societies Union Committee will be made up as stated in bye-law 5 including a Chair and Vice-Chair who lead the committee. The remaining positions shall be occupied by Ordinary Members who will be assigned roles. The roles shall be decided by the Chair as needed and a description of the remits of each position shall be made clear to the Committee in a separate document.
3. Recognition of Societies
3.1 Affiliation
Affiliation occurs monthly, application deadlines will be the last day of each month; all applications received after the deadline will be reviewed during the following affiliation session.
Any new group wishing to affiliate must meet the following criteria:
i. They must not be duplicating any current affiliated Society and are offering something new. ii. They must submit a request in writing to be affiliated as a Society, detailing facilities, financial procedures, development and anything else that might be relevant. iii. They must have ten potential member’s names, matriculation numbers and their signatures (lowered to 8 for Qatar Campus Societies). iv. They must submit a draft Society constitution. v. If deemed a high-risk Society, they must also provide the draft of a safety code. vi. If the Society in question is a Qatar Campus Society; all documents regarding the Society must also be submitted to the Qatar Campus Committee an addition to the Societies Union Committee
The Activities Development Coordinator will pass all applications and relevant information to the Chair who will then check that the possible new society fits all the criteria and then take the application to the Societies Union Committee for a final vote. Should there be the need of further investigation or questioning, applicants will be invited for an interview with the Committee.
3.2. Post-Affiliation
i. If the Societies Union Committee approves the application, the Society will be a probationary member for academic year. During this time the new Society shall be ineligible to apply for grants and other funding. ii. After the trial period, the Societies Union Committee will review the new Society to determine if it can support itself and has adequate student engagement. If this is found to be the case the Society is granted full membership of the Societies Union.
3.3. Recognised Societies
i. Recognised Societies shall be an integral part of AUSA, which accepts full responsibility for the activities conducted by Societies within its Constitution and rules. ii. Societies shall conform to the bye-laws, Constitution and rules of AUSA comprehensively. iii. Recognised Societies shall have the right to request use of rooms and relevant facilities in the AUSA Student Union Building and University of Aberdeen. This will be subject to availability and compliance with Health and Safety Policy. iv. Each Society shall hold an AGM before completing the re-affiliation process for that year and submit minutes of the AGM to the Chair no more than two weeks later. v. All Societies are able to determine their own membership fee subject to the Society’s Committee approval.
3.3.1. Requirements
1. In order to remain affiliated, all Societies are required to meet the following criteria at all times: 2. Societies must have a minimum of ten Ordinary Members (lowered to five for Qatar Campus Societies) and three Committee Members at any given time; which must include President, Secretary, and Treasurer. 3. A minimum of 51% of Members must be Aberdeen University students. 4. A minimum of two minuted meetings must be held each term.
3.4. Re-Affiliation
Re-affiliation occurs every year; all Societies must apply to re-affiliate before May 1st in order to remain affiliated, Societies which submit after this deadline will cease to be affiliated. All Societies must also:
i. Have shown activity since the start of term, including but not limited to attendance at AUSA-led trainings and meetings. ii. Submit the required documents for re-affiliation as set out in 3.4.1
3.4.1. Required Documents
1. Society Constitution as approved at the AGM 2. Development Plan 3. Budget 4. Safety Code of Practice (High Risk Societies only)
4. Disaffiliation
i. The Societies Union Committee may suspend or disaffiliate any Society that breaches the bye-laws, Constitution or their own Constitution, or in circumstances where the activities of the Society cannot continue safely. ii. If a Society does not meet the criteria outlined in 3.3.1 or fails to re- affiliate before the deadline, the Society may be disaffiliated. iii. In the event of the disaffiliation of a Society, the assets and property of that Society shall be held and preserved in the respective Society’s name by AUSA for a period of one year. iv. In the event of such a disaffiliation any liabilities outstanding shall be the responsibility of the Society Committee members jointly.
4.1. Disaffiliation Procedure
i. The Societies Union Committee must contact the Society of concern, explaining why they are under review, and deemed to be at risk of disaffiliation. If the Society’s executive officers fail to respond within two (2) weeks, disaffiliation will take place. ii. The Societies Union Committee will meet and vote on whether there are sufficient grounds to justify the disaffiliation of the Society. Should the disaffiliation occur, the Society in question will be immediately notified again, and a final report will be issued to the Society which will include the details of the disaffiliation; making clear the reasons and procedure. iii. Should a previously affiliated Society wish to re-affiliate after being disaffiliated, they must go through the process as set out in 3.1.
5. Constitutional Procedures for Societies
All Societies must:
i. Compose a draft Constitution which must be approved by the Committee of that Society, this must then be sent to the Societies Union Committee for approval. If approval is granted the Constitution shall become the governing document of that Society. ii. Never change the Society Constitution to contradict the AUSA Constitution or any bye-laws. iii. Ensure all members pay the minimum Societies Union fee that shall be determined by the Societies Union Committee at the beginning of each academic year. iv. Have at least two Committee Members attend the AUSA AGM each year.
5.1 Officers and Committee
i. Only current Members of the Society shall be eligible for committee positions in that Society. ii. Committee Members must comply with and have signed a copy of the Society’s Constitution. iii. The Officers and Committee shall be elected at the AGM of the Society; they shall then take up office after the handover meeting with the previous Committee. In the event of a vacancy arising in the Committee of a Society, an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) may elect another person to fill the vacancy. iv. The Officers of the Society shall comprise:
• President • Secretary • Treasurer • Safety Officer (high risk societies only) • Other (as deemed necessary by the Society)
v. The composition of the Committee shall also be stated in full, to all Members of the Society and a record kept by AUSA. vi. An AGM may remove any Committee Member, including any Officer, provided that ⅔ of participant members vote in favour, and that the matter is submitted as business to the meeting, which appears on the agenda of the meeting and the notices advertising the meeting. vii. Upon election, each Officer of the Committee shall register their name, and any contact details required, with the Societies Union Committee. viii. A handover meeting shall take place within the two weeks following the Society’s AGM. Following the handover, the newly elected Committee shall take over responsibility of the Society. ix. Each Committee member shall notify, in writing, the Societies’ Union Chair of any change of contact details whilst in office.
5.2. Annual General Meeting (AGM)
i. The AGM shall be held as specified in 3.3. ii. No fewer than seven days notice shall be given to Members for all general meetings of a Society. iii. The quorum shall be no fewer than 10% of the Ordinary Members, or 40 Ordinary Members; whichever is fewest. iv. Minutes shall be taken of the AGM together with a record of the names and matriculation card numbers of those attending. These shall be submitted to the Societies’ Union Chair no later than two weeks after the AGM.
5.3 Extraordinary General Meeting
i. Extraordinary general meetings can be called to discuss a particular question and may be called by: 1. A simple majority vote of the Committee. 2. A petition by 10% of Ordinary Members. ii. The Secretary shall publish notice of the meeting with the agenda within two working days of the receipt of a request for such a meeting. iii. The meetings shall be held no later than seven days from the day of publication. iv. The quorum shall be as for the AGM.
5.4 Amendment to the Constitution
i. Amendments to the Constitution must have the approval of two-thirds (⅔) of the Ordinary Members of the Society present at the AGM or EGM. ii. Notice of the proposed constitutional changes must be published in the agenda and cannot be brought up under the item ‘any other business’. iii. Any amendment to the Constitution is subject to the final approval of the Societies’ Union Committee. 6. Societies’ Financial Procedure
i. A statement of accounts for the Society’s financial year shall be presented at the AGM signed by the Treasurer and one other Officer, who certify that the accounts are accurate and complete. ii. The Society shall only hold bank accounts with AUSA. iii. AUSA retains access to all Societies’ bank accounts, yet each society still holds responsibility for their own funds. Any expenditure will be the sole responsibility of the individual or Society committee. Prior the AGM, the Treasurer shall submit the annual financial report to the Societies Union Committee for approval. iv. The Society and its Members shall comply with financial procedures and rules made by AUSA.
7. Sponsorship and Endorsement
i. All Societies are responsible to ensure that any sponsorship or endorsement received adheres to AUSA policies. ii. Societies Union does not take any responsibility for any legal agreements made by individual Societies with sponsors and/or speakers. iii. Societies are required to submit a list of sponsorships/endorsements to Societies Union at the beginning of the academic year or prior specific events.
8. Facility Usage
i. All affiliated Societies will be eligible to book university rooms and AUSA designated spaces. ii. External hiring of rooms for Society use will not be paid for by AUSA and all associated costs will need to be met by the Society. iii. The Societies Union Chair will keep an up-to-date database of all rooms, equipment and resources available to societies from AUSA and will have request and booking forms for said facilities available for societies to request.
9. Disciplinary Procedures
i. The Societies Union adheres to the disciplinary procedures outlined in the AUSA Constitution. Please refer to bye-law 16 for details. ii. The Societies Union Chair may, with the support and consent of the Societies Union Committee temporarily suspend and person from an AUSA Society or suspend a Society Committee as it is deemed necessary in the instances where a violation of the Society Constitution, bye-laws or AUSA Constitution has occurred.
10. Grant Procedures
Societies Union Grants will be run according to the following procedure: i. Applications will be opened in the first semester and again as soon as reasonably possible, where there are still funds to distribute. ii. Application forms for grants along with guidance notes will be sent to societies in advance of applications opening. iii. Applications must be submitted to the Societies’ Union by the deadline advertised. iv. A meeting of the Societies Union Committee and the relevant Association budget holder will be held no later than one week after the closing date and final committee decisions will be made at this meeting where possible. v. Societies will be informed of final decisions within five working days of the decision being made. vi. Where additional information is required from an applicant society, requests will be made within two working days and the society must reply within two working days or the application will be refused.
DRAFT DOCUMENT
ABERDEEN 2040: OPEN TO ALL AND DEDICATED TO THE PURSUIT OF TRUTH IN THE SERVICE OF OTHERS
OUR PURPOSE
The University of Aberdeen was founded in 1495 and we are proud to be the fifth oldest university in the English-speaking world. The University was founded to serve the North East of Scotland, based on the model of the great European universities. A dual focus on our region and the wider world are as important to us now as they were at our founding.
The University’s Foundational Purpose is to be Open to all and dedicated to the pursuit of truth in the service of others.
As we celebrate our 525th anniversary, we reaffirm our commitment to that Foundational Purpose. It shapes the character of the University and it underpins a collective ethos which inspires us.
It is the responsibility of each generation to shape the future of the University while remaining true to our Foundational Purpose. Over the centuries, the University has served its purpose and sustained itself through unparalleled intellectual, societal and historical changes to thrive as a global leader in higher education into the 21st century. In our age, as the digital revolution brings new opportunities and challenges, and climate change presents existential threats to us all, the University’s belief in its Foundational Purpose will be its driving force.
The core activities that fulfil our Foundational Purpose are Education and Research. Through our Education and our Research, we have a profound impact on the futures of our students and on the world. We are open to all, locally, nationally and internationally, and our pursuit of truth is shaped by our determination to act in the service of others. For the years ahead we confirm our commitment to bringing tangible benefits to the world around us through outstanding education and research.
OUR GOAL FOR ABERDEEN 2040
Our ambitions for the University are high. Inspired by our Foundational Purpose, and acutely focused on the challenges of our time, we have identified four key characteristics that will define us over the next 20 years. Based on these, we set out our Goal for the University, which is that by 2040:
We will be truly Inclusive, Interdisciplinary, International and Sustainable
These characteristics are distinct and yet interwoven. This collective goal will shape everything we do, including the education we deliver and the research we undertake. The strategic actions we take, and the strategic commitments we make as a University, will be guided by our pursuit of this ambition.
DRAFT DOCUMENT
OUR EDUCATION
We will remain true to our roots as an ancient Scottish university in the education we provide. We will therefore continue to ensure that our curriculum combines breadth and depth, drawing its strength from the quality of the research that underpins it. The University of Aberdeen is already distinctively innovative in the flexibility of its curriculum and the ability for students to tailor their learning experiences. We will build on that strength and pivot our curriculum further towards innovative, exciting, challenge-led, truly interdisciplinary learning pathways for our students. Our interdisciplinary education will prepare new generations of our students with enhanced employability. They will be able to thrive in challenging roles in the diverse workplaces of the future.
A University of Aberdeen education will have clear relevance to broader societal issues. We will work with our students and external partners to ensure that our curriculum delivers both the knowledge and the skills that are relevant to their aspirations and needs. It will have intellectual rigour, analytical skills and employability at its core, preparing our students to be change makers across the globe, with enhanced opportunities for work-based learning across the curriculum. We will foster a spirit of creative thinking, innovation and entrepreneurship across the University.
We will work in close partnership with our students and the Students’ Association. We will be recognised as providing a curriculum and student experience that is amongst the very best nationally and internationally. We will provide an environment in which all students have the opportunities that allow them to achieve equal success, independent of their background or personal characteristics. Exemplary support will be available for our students whenever they need it, through effective coordination and team-working between our academic Schools and Directorates.
We will ensure that our education is open to all. This means that we will be fully committed to widening access, working closely with our education partners to support both aspiration and attainment, and setting and achieving ambitious targets as an inclusive University. We will also expand the ways in which people can study with us. We will be a major provider of online, flexible courses and continuing professional development. Our education will be available to people wherever they wish to learn with us and at whatever point in their development and career journey.
2
DRAFT DOCUMENT
OUR RESEARCH
Generation of fundamental knowledge and understanding has been at the heart of the University of Aberdeen since its establishment. Throughout the centuries we have provided new insights across medicine, law, the natural and social sciences and the arts and humanities. This has included Nobel prizes for the development of insulin and for the pioneering work on the nutritional requirements of the nation, major advancements in the fields of physics and chemistry, for example through the work of Maxwell, major contributions to the shaping of the Scottish legal system, to the development of the first MRI scanner, the first colour photograph, and the first greenhouse gas calculator to allow industry to minimise its carbon footprint.
Our Foundational Purpose dedicates us to the pursuit of truth in the service of others. This provides a compelling rationale to ensure that, whilst we continue to seek and celebrate the generation of knowledge, we will ensure our research excellence and innovative flair is also applied to solving the intractable challenges being faced by our society. Our research must be globally excellent and locally relevant, promoting the economic and societal prosperity of our region and our nation.
Reflecting the ethos of our re-affirmed foundational purpose, we will proactively develop our research agenda together with our external partners to ensure the relevance and applicability of our research. The boundaries of our campuses will be open, allowing business and civic partners to be integrated and fully engaged with our research endeavour.
Responding to a challenge-led research agenda often demands an interdisciplinary response. We will be a global leader championing the development of interdisciplinary solutions, rooted in disciplinary excellence, to address the challenges faced by our society. We will champion the recombination of disciplinary ideas to generate interdisciplinary solutions. In this, our University community will collectively direct its research excellence and innovative flair to emergent global economic and societal problems.
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OUR GOAL
We will be truly Inclusive, Interdisciplinary, International and Sustainable
Our Goal for 2040 reflects our Foundational Purpose of 1495, with four overarching characteristics woven together as a collective: Inclusive, Interdisciplinary, International and Sustainable. These characteristics provide a framework through which we can honour our mission in a 21st century context, and they will underpin everything we do; shaping the education we deliver, the research we undertake, and the ways in which we interact with and serve our communities. And it is on these characteristics that we base our vision for 2040, and the strategic commitments we make as a University, as we continue to fulfil our Foundational Purpose in the next two decades.
INCLUSIVE
As a truly Inclusive University, we will provide a welcoming and vibrant environment for all members of our broad community. We will have an Inclusive First approach across all areas. The University of Aberdeen will recognise no campus boundaries, being open to all, locally, nationally and internationally, including staff and students of all backgrounds, our communities and our partners. We will ensure our commitment and ethos of inclusion is embedded through our people in all our activities, including the education we offer, our research, and the projects we deliver. We will be a sector leader in inclusion, with an approach that extends beyond protected characteristics. We will take steps to ensure the health and wellbeing of our staff and students, while placing value in and celebrating the multitude of diverse characteristics and perspectives within our community. A central principle of our approach is that of intersectionality: the recognition that people have multiple characteristics and that the combination of these attributes results in varied lived experiences. By recognising, adapting to and celebrating these diverse perspectives, we will deliver inclusive, high-quality, relevant support.
As well as being internally inclusive, we will be outward-facing and embrace partnerships with individuals, communities and organisations in the public, private and voluntary sectors. As a truly Inclusive University, we will:
• have a diverse set of pathways into our University that support the widest access, with diverse qualifications and modes of delivery, where outcomes are independent of personal and social background;
• have a broad outward facing and open access research portfolio that promotes national and international collaboration across stakeholder groups including companies, organisations and governments;
• be recognised nationally and internationally as providing exemplary levels of support for the wellbeing of our diverse community, with physical and digital facilities that are accessible to all;
• have achieved highly-rated accreditation across multiple equality and diversity strands and lead the sector in considering intersectional identities;
• have eliminated pay gaps across all protected characteristics, leading the sector in championing the removal of disparity between groups. 4
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INTERDISCIPLINARY
As a truly Interdisciplinary University, we will pursue a concept of One University, where we represent not a collection of semi-autonomous disciplines, schools or campuses, but an interconnected, vibrant network of people – students, staff and partners – working as a collective across structural and geographical boundaries. We will have an institutional ethos that celebrates our disciplinary strengths, but which also champions the application of disciplinary insights to develop new, creative, interdisciplinary solutions to complex societal problems. This dynamic, networked, educational and research environment will be greater than the sum of its parts, providing a synergistic ability to create new knowledge that can help to solve practical problems.
As a truly Interdisciplinary University, we will:
• be a highly networked organisation that catalyses interdisciplinary interactions across the breadth of our subject research strengths, driving new understanding;
• provide an innovative student experience where all educational provision will include strong elements of cross-disciplinary, challenge-led teaching involving external stakeholders;
• ensure that our organisational structures and ethos support the recombination of our disciplinary excellence to promote interdisciplinary challenge-led innovation;
• be a listening and consultative organisation that serves its stakeholders, through partnership delivery of innovative interdisciplinary solutions to societal and industrial challenges;
• be an innovative research and learning University whose campuses promote physically and digitally enabled interdisciplinary interactions;
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The University is well positioned to grow our interdisciplinary base. We will do this initially by building on key focal areas where we already have depth and breadth of interdisciplinary excellence, where we can be truly world leading in the excellence and impact of our research and education.
We have identified1 the following as the primary areas for initial interdisciplinary focus:
All disciplines within the University have the expertise to contribute to these interdisciplinary topics. The topics address major societal, industrial and environmental challenges which we face collectively, and many are interwoven. They also have direct relevance regionally, nationally and internationally. They are therefore demand-led and can attract governmental, industrial, charitable and philanthropic funding at scale. These focal areas will then provide a springboard for the development and building of new areas of interdisciplinary study as the nature and shape of societal challenges evolves.
1 These areas of interdisciplinary strength where the University is, or has, the potential to be world leading were identified through triangulation of a range of evidence sources to calibrate the strength and depth of our interdisciplinary expertise. These sources included: University-wide citation analysis; analysis of academic outputs against the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); REF-based metrics benchmarked across the sector; and, School-generated identification of areas of inter-school, interdisciplinary strengths. The citation analysis included all 15,000 University publications from the previous five years, from which all examples of inter-School interdisciplinary research were analysed. Evidence from the InCites database was used alongside other measures of broader impact, including the Altmetrics database. [N.B. This footnote will be deleted in the final version of the strategy, where we will be able to provide links to examples of the excellence and impact of our current portfolio of interdisciplinary research.] 6
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INTERNATIONAL
As a truly International University, we will build on our heritage as a Scottish University that was founded with a European outlook. This heritage is underpinned by outreach and exchange of ideas and this will give us the basis to strengthen our ability to deliver and undertake education and research internationally. As a university with a proud global standing that is open to all, we will expand our international networks and partnerships across the globe, and actively seek and pursue opportunities for international and intercultural exchange.
We will enhance opportunities for staff and students to have an international experience, whether this involves travel or not, and provide mechanisms and support to facilitate this. We will expand our delivery of transnational education, delivering education across the globe with key partners. Driven by our global outlook, we will work tirelessly in the service of others to deliver impacts internationally by addressing the key challenges of our time.
As a truly International University, we will:
• Be a more diverse and multicultural community that provides a truly international education, available to all learners wherever they are in the world;
• Be a leader in international education with provision of a curriculum delivered through diverse pedagogical approaches that equips graduates for global employment;
• Be a supportive and caring environment that is alert to cultural difference, recognising both the opportunities for growth such diversity represents and the need for support it requires;
• Offer all students an international experience during the course of their studies;
• Be an international university that harnesses our research excellence to form global partnerships and networks in order to meet the challenges of our age.
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SUSTAINABLE
As a truly Sustainable University we will be a sector and societal leader in pursuing the sustainable future of our planet, while at the same time securing our own financial sustainability.
We will undertake research that has tangible impact, addressing objectives such as the United Nations sustainable development goals. We will generate interdisciplinary solutions to the global challenges of our age. We will be a key agent in the energy transition to a net zero carbon economy, and make a major contribution to the long-term prosperity of our region and the civic life of Aberdeen. Our education will prepare our students to be responsible global citizens, inspired to make a real difference through their own actions and the leadership they will provide in their future careers.
The University itself will ensure that its own activities support sustainability, evaluating all our actions for their impact on the environment. We will frame our ambitions and assess the impacts and consequences of our actions against a long-term horizon, while fostering an ethos of agility in responding to opportunities and challenges. In order to fulfil our Foundational Purpose, the University itself must be financially sustainable. We will ensure this by delivering education and undertaking research that is of high value to our students and our research partners and focused on their needs. We will accelerate the diversification of our income sources, growing our postgraduate and online student populations and attracting research funding from a wider range of sources.
We will preserve the heritage of our built environment whilst investing to ensure that our physical and digital environments meet the diverse needs of people, inspiring creativity, inventiveness and excellence. We will invest our resources in people and infrastructure to support the achievement of our goal to be truly inclusive, interdisciplinary, international and sustainable.
As a truly Sustainable University, we will:
• be an international leader in research that enables energy transition, net zero carbon solutions and the preservation of biodiversity;
• be a key player and partner in ensuring regional prosperity and civic development;
• embed sustainability literacy across our programmes of study;
• adopt sustainable practices across all our activities, meeting stretching environmental targets, including net zero carbon emissions by 2040;
• consistently generate surpluses that allow us to continue to invest in the people, physical and digital infrastructure needed to fulfil our Foundational Purpose.
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