Label spoke to your Education Executive Officer candidates for the 2021 Exec Elections!
Thomas Young
What are the main points of your manifesto?
Point one is about engagement. So it’s looking to involve more students and spreading awareness, education schemes as well as services that are available within LSU and just both the Education section. This includes, but is not limited to, department committees, peer support, academic representation and probably most importantly, advice. So it’s just spreading the awareness of those schemes and services that are available to students and researchers. I’d like to do this through an event during Freshers, which name to be confirmed, would be ‘Education Day’. That’s having a stand-alone event that students and researchers alike could be able to come to and able to learn more about the schemes and opportunities available but more importantly the services that are on offer that they can take advantage of.
What previous experience do you have which is important to the role?
I’ve been involved in department committees for four years now. I started my sort of education journey as a Student Involvement Officer (SIO) for my department. I was then fortunate enough to be elected as Department Chair and then for the past two years I sat on the Department Students Federation (DSF) Executive for the past two years as Vice President and as this years Federation President. So, I’ve been quite involved in department committees at all levels there are possible. Especially this year through my work as President, I’ve been quite fortunate to work with other senior volunteers across education and theEducation Executive Officer. So I’ve been in quite a fortunate position to work with those amazing volunteers and Union colleagues.
In what ways will you encourage people to become Course Reps?
One of the main things I want to achieve is to not only raise visibility of the schemes but, also read visibility of the benefits within those schemes. In as far as being a Course Rep goes, it’ll be about promoting the benefits that you get from being a Course Rep. Obviously there’s as a lot of employable skills you can gain and transferable skills you can gain but also the benefits you get for being in the role specifically. For example, you have the opportunity to take student feedback on to the SSL meetings, you are in a position where you can really make a meaningful difference in change of your department. It’s about making students see and recognise these benefits and then they’ll be more inclined to hopefully put their names forward for the role.
How important do you think this role is within the Exec?
I think this role is very important. Especially with higher education as a section within the country has been neglected in the eyes of the government. I think having an Education Executive Officer role in itself is very important and it’s important for there to be a designated lead to not only liaise with the University and work with them but, to also champion the student voice and obviously challenge the University and areas where it is needed. So I think it’s important to have someone that’s fighting for students rights and voices effectively and obviously listening to the University and striking that balance is quite important.
Eleanor Bishop
What are the main points of your manifesto?
So the main points of my manifesto is representation for every student, every community and every culture at our uni. I want to have integrity with how I’m presenting stuff to those higher up and to the students again. Inclusivity, as I have said and transparency – I want everything to be honest and out in the open, I want people to understand what I’m saying and understand what students are saying to me.
What previous experience do you have which is important to the role?
I’ve got lots of customer service experience. I’ve done four years of working in shops, higher management and working as team leaders. Which is important for liaising between management and stuff. And my volunteering which I have done for three years. So yeah, I am ready!
In what ways will you encourage people to become Course Reps?
I think the main encouragement for me is that it needs to be broadcasted everywhere; to have a bigger thing of it, have a big celebration, have a big reveal – all of these kind of things will help people get really involved. And then, with things like during lectures and stuff, have it at the end, have everyone know who their Course Reps are. I know they do do a whole reveal and everything and everyone knows who they are but, to maybe have at the end of every lecture even: “these are the people you are talking to”. And having that will really translate into people wanting to do it as well.
How important do you think this role is within the Exec?
I think this role is extremely important. It’s the one where students will come to you with things they love about the uni, things they hate about the uni. It is so important to have education at the forefront of any university, it’s an educative establishment! To have a person in the Exec where every student knows them and can talk about anything to them, there’s a guarantee that will get liaised with the right people and there’s a guarantee that all of the student issues will be heard. That is why it is so important.
Voting closes on Friday 14th May at 4pm!
Header image designed by Christos Alamaniotis.
