Students Seize Opportunities To Have Their Say
5 December 2012
To understand our students' needs better the Big Conversation project is currently underway. We'll be engaging with students online, face-to-face, via focus groups and on the phone to create our biggest feedback to date which will help shape the face of the University of Derby's Students' Union over the coming years.
”President of the Students' Union, James Beckett
From USDU President James Beckett
"It's been a busy and hectic time in the Students' Union as we speed towards Christmas and the end of 2012. We have been involved in a multitude of projects to engage and enhance our students' experience; the Programme Representatives Conference, the first Union Council Meeting of the academic year, Demo2012 and our major student survey; the Big Conversation.
"The Union Council Meeting on November 16 gave students the opportunity to have their say on the real issues affecting them. With reports from each Officer Trustee and policy motions including the condemnation of 'Carnage bar crawls' alongside discussions on the expansion of new roles it was a busy agenda. The Programme Representatives (a body of part time, unpaid students) also received a day's training at their annual conference to facilitate their roles within the University's programmes.
"We travelled to London on November 21 to join thousands of students from across the country for the National Union of Students (NUS) Demo2012. This was a chance to stand up and protest against the Government's higher and further education policies. We are in a situation today where many young people are thinking twice about carrying on in education. This is an issue that will continue to dominate the academic arena and we will make sure it remains a priority within the Students' Union so the aspirations, ambitions and dreams of our students remain intact.
"To understand our students' needs better the Big Conversation project is currently underway. We'll be engaging with students online, face-to-face, via focus groups and on the phone to create our biggest feedback to date which will help shape the face of the University of Derby's Students' Union over the coming years.
