Overview of the Big Union Update & third Student Voice Conference
Middlesex students examined our spending and heard what their elected Student Officers have been working on over the past 10 months at the Big Union Update on Monday 25th April.
As students at Middlesex, you are members of MDXSU. Our annual Big Union Update gives you the opportunity to scrutinise our work and spending, ensuring that we're working for you and that students are at the centre of all we do.
This year's Big Union Update took place as part of the third and final Student Voice Conference of 2015/16. These termly events give our community of Student Voice Leaders - who represent each year of each course - the chance to discuss issues that they and their coursemates have encountered at the university and suggest ideas to address these.
April's event included the aforementioned Student Voice Leader discussions, as well as a workshop on prioritisation of funds and a Shouting for Housing workshop.
We then heard reports from our four elected Student Officers on what they've been working on and the progress they have made on their manifesto promises. This was followed by finance reports on our income and expenditure, and finally two motions were presented for Student Voice Leaders to vote on. Read on for more information, or click here for the Big Union Update minutes.
Officer Accountability Reports
This section will be expanded upon in more detail in our end-of-year accountability report, though we've outlined the main points from each Student Officer below.
Aman Siddiqi, MDXSU President:
- Free Graduation: University are unable to provide free graduation as they simply do not have the £300,000 required to cover the costs. However, they have agreed to provide £10,000 for students who cannot afford to fund their own graduation gowns, and are committed to providing free gowns in future years.
- Shouting 4 Housing campaign: MDXSU taking 250 Middlesex students to the London mayoral hustings at the Copper Box.
- Dyslexic students: Met with the Disability Support Service to get more provision for dyslexic international students.
- Hidden course costs: Aman has been pushing the University to clearly detail and publish courses which have hidden extra costs.
Orla Hillary, Vice President Health & Education and Science & Technology:
- Keep Wednesday Afternoons Free campaign: After a huge campaign and 4,000 signatures on the petition, Orla has received confirmation from the University that Wednesday afternoons will be free for sports and extra-curricular activities starting from the 2017/18 academic year. Will be pushing for this to be introduced earlier.
- Study abroad placement: Found four countries that offer overseas nursing and teaching placements for students looking to study abroad.
- Fundraising: Helped raise £38,000 for Future Sense Foundation with RAG and preparing to go to Tanzania in June with a MDX delegation.
- Representation: Represented Middlesex students on a national level at the NUS national conference, where five motions submitted by Middlesex students were passed.
- Elections: Orla was re-elected to her role as Vice President in the MDXSU Elections in March 2016.
André Thompson, Vice President Art & Design and Media & Performing Arts:
- POW! Media: Growing involvement across most platforms and the introduction of paid POW! internships. POW! Media’s online hub website will be live by Freshers 2016.
- Disabled Students Liberation Assembly: Hosted awareness-raising events with the Disabled Students Assembly and is lobbying the University to make the campus more accessible.
- Food on campus: Worked with Chartwells to release a satisfaction survey in the hope that it will expand food options on campus.
- Democratic budgets for courses: In discussions to allow for more democratic budget setting within the Art & Design School.
Sayed Alkadiri, Vice President Business and Law:
- London Living Wage for University staff: Lobbied the University to pay all contracted staff, such as cleaners, security, catering staff the London Living Wage. We're excited to say that the university will be implementing this from January 2017.
- Referendum: Campaigned for students to vote 'Yes' to a referendum policy of not complying with the Prevent strategy.
- Attainment gaps: Working on launching a review with the University on the black student attainment gap.
- Tutoring: A personal tutoring scheme for all students at MDX will be launched next term.
- Refugees Welcome: MDXSU's campaign to resettle vulnerable Syrian refugees resulted in Barnet Council agreeing to resettle fifty Syrians.
- Review of Student Voice Leader programme: Co-chairing a committee with representatives from MDXSU, the university exec and staff from each School. It has discussed potential changes to the School Voice Leader system, looking at the purpose of Board of Studies meeting, the number of students elected for each course, gender balancing on courses and a forum for academic and non-academic issues. The first phase of the review has now been completed, and the committee will continue to meet to discuss recommendations.
MDXSU Finances
Below are our income and expenditure for this year, as prepared by independent auditors. In summary, our gross income was £1,019,945, with a total expenditure (on events, facilities, POW! media, staff wages etc) totalling £985,630, leaving us with a surplus of £54,521.
'Ideas for Change' Motions
There were two motions - or 'Ideas for Change' - submitted by students to the Student Voice Conference on Monday 25th April: 'Time to Act on Mental Health' and 'A Vision to Transform Education at Middlesex'. Both motions were passed by Student Voice Leaders, and the aims will now be worked on by your Students' Union and elected Student Officers.
Click here to read the 'Ideas for Change' in full, including the proposals MDXSU will now be working on within these.
Thank you to those who attended our annual Big Union Update and what will have, for some of you, been your last Student Voice Conference at Middlesex University!
You can find out more about our Student Voice Leaders here. The next Student Voice Leader elections will take place in the next academic year in October 2016. If you'd like to represent your coursemates and actively make change at Middlesex University, nominate yourself! If you'd like more information on the role, please email us at studentvoice@mdx.ac.uk
