NUS Awards 2011

Northumbria Students’ Union was the winner of the Community Relations Award at NUS Awards 2010. Read on to find out what made them stand out.

Northumbria Students’ Union has had a breakthrough year in developing relationships throughout the University and local communities.  

The Union launched its first community strategy after it was approved by the Student Council. The strategy set out ambitious plans to ensure that the Union’s current and future work has a positive and long lasting impact upon its local communities. It was featured in the NUS publication Living Together, Working Together as an example of good practice.

The Students’ Union secured funding from local council wards to launch a new community rep scheme, recruiting four Reps that attend local ward meetings, engage with local community issues and champion the rights of students as members of the community.

The Union has worked in collaboration with the University of Northumbria on a flat finding day before the start of the academic year to assist students to find private accommodation for students who had not secured a place in halls of residence.

Northumbria had two places on the Student Housing Strategy Working Group. The group worked with landlords, councillors and residents groups to ensure the strategy was fair and useful for both students and long-term residents.

The Union worked with local residents on a joint campaign to implement a mandatory code on the removal of letting boards, targeting letting agents which had not signed the voluntary code to join the code.

By joining forces with Newcastle Union Society, they successfully got a motion passed by the local council on formation of an independently chaired students in the community forum.

The Union worked tirelessly with the University of Northumbria to manage and respond effectively to complaints and issues around disruptive behaviour and ran a year-long SSHH (Silent Students, Happy Homes) campaign to encourage students to respect local residents.

Northumbria Student Community Action (NSCA) continues to be the real ‘jewel in the crown’ of the Union in engaging with the local community.  It has successfully operated on just £35,000 funding.  

Major outcomes for NCSA since September 2009 include:

More than 400 student volunteers participated in at least one (NSCA) project or event
More than 65,000 community members have been involved in NSCA projects
One NSCA student volunteer has won a place on the National Vinspired Student Advisory Board
NSCA to become one of ten UK Universities involved in creating volunteering constitutions for HEIs
Two volunteers have won regional volunteering awards
Four volunteers were presented with Volunteering England Awards
One volunteer, Claire Sedgwick, won a national volunteering award
Overall, Northumbria Students’ Union has significantly enhanced its stock within the local community and is actively engaging the community.

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Students’ Union University of the Arts London was the winner of the Equality and Diversity Award at the NUS Awards 2010. Read on to find out what made them stand out.

Helen Gimber, President of Students’ Union University of the Arts London, said: “To be recognised by NUS is quite amazing. We have prioritised equality and diversity this year by brining in a dedicated member of staff as well as making it part of our everyday activities like risk assessments and health and safety. We have also trained up all our staff so they can train all our student volunteers.”

Equality and diversity has been a key area of development for Students’ Union University of the Arts London (SUARTS) as it has gone through a rapid organisational development over the past few years.

SUARTS has introduced a number of initiatives to form a strong and sustainable foundation to its long-term quality work, these include:

Introducing ‘assemblies’ for black & Asian students, disabled students, foundation and FE students, international students, LGBT students, mature students, part-time students, postgraduate students, student parents, and women students.

Creating the position of Equality Coordinator, on a fixed term basis, to kick start SUARTS’ work on equality and diversity.

Changing all toilet signs across its bars and venues, so accessible toilets do not de-genderise users with specific access needs and do not solely refer to wheelchair users.

All areas of SUARTS have been equality impact assessed with actions taken including, creating guideline for print and web content, action taken to monitor involvement more closely and equality and diversity training for staff and student volunteers. The impact assessment also generated a strategic statement, on which all future activities will be based.

An inclusive freshers’ festival introduced more than 20 new nights including, ‘Girls Night In’ for women students, ‘Kids Party’ for student parents and a mature students networking event.

All course representatives were canvassed to find out if they are interested in equality and diversity issues. Many reps subsequently became involved in assemblies, campaigns and lobbying.

SUARTS has become “more vocal” on University committees, particularly in Disability Working Group and the Diversity Committee. This has lead to the University addressing a number of problems including accessibility, gendered violence, no senior manager with responsibility for disability and access and student parents. 

Diversity has been monitored including participation in sports clubs, societies and ‘buddying’ and showed a “good level of diversity”.

A part-time researcher was brought in to support the Parents’ Assembly to undertake research into student parents. The report’s recommendations will be included in the University’s strategic plan.

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University of Exeter Students’ Guild was the winner of Higher Education Students' Union of the Year at NUS Awards 2010. Read on to find out what made them stand out.

The University of Exeter Students’ Guild has demonstrated best practice across all areas of their activities. This was underpinned by a new strategic plan and ensuring student feedback is obtained and acted upon.

The Guild has put into place a strategic plan with a renewed focus which directs its activities and has allowed them to deliver for their members.

Student feedback is at the heart of everything the Guild does. They have analysed more than 12,000 responses to polls, surveys and focus groups. Students are actively encouraged to complete comment cards on all areas and receive responses from sabbatical officers. Mystery shoppers regularly visit the Guild’s outlets with results actioned and incorporated into the business plan.

All results and recommendations of the research are communicated to students using a number of communications channels.

Within the scope of the Guild’s website development, they are creating a bespoke system to help improve feedback mechanisms and measure impact. This will link in with the University of Exeter’s system.

In order to continue to represent their ever changing membership the Guild’s sabbatical roles were reviewed. Students were fully consulted, and outgoing officers and staff were also involved.

The result was a new structure with four full-time officers and a forum of part-time officers. The subsequent elections attracted 27 candidates to the four sabbatical positions and a record turnout of 36 per cent.

The Guild’s 147 student societies boast over 10,000 memberships and all are encouraged to stand for committee elections. In academic representation the 620 course representatives contribute to the Education Officer’s work.

This year there has been a number of achievements through the representation system. These include an extension on library opening hours, increase in periods of short-term library loans, a reversal of charging Business School students to sit exams and launching teaching awards.

The University of Exeter also agreed in principle to a block grant funding formula, which would increase funding by around £500,000 over five years.

A survey of University of Exeter students revealed that nearly 90 per cent of students believe that the Guild makes a positive difference to their University experience.

Other examples of Exeter’s outstanding success this year include:

•    Encouraging more than 800 students to register to vote. 2300 students were automatically registered via Halls of Residence
•    Hosting a PPC question time, attended by 400 people
•    More than 500 people signed their postcard petition against increased tuition fees. These were delivered to Exeter Labour HQ on May 5th
•    More than 1100 people attended their Chinese New Year celebration in February, which united international and home students with members of the local community
•    As well as £30,000 compensation for halls residents disrupted by construction work, the Guild also secured a long-term reduction in halls fees
•    They arranged for 15 students to meet cabinet ministers. Issues raised featured in the post-event report
•    Advice Unit enquiries are up 101 per cent on last year.
•    7014 students registered with The Works, the student job shop, compared with 5612 last year. Student satisfaction with The Works is 99 per cent
•    They established a lettings agency which 89 per cent of users believe is a valuable service

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Ian King picked up the Lifetime Contribution Award at the NUS Awards 2010. Read on to find out how he has contributed to the student movement over his distinguished career.

The lifetime contribution award recognises the outstanding achievement of an individual who has dedicated their life to the student movement and who has made a remarkable impact on NUS, students’ unions and students’ lives. There is no one who embodies that description better than this year’s recipient of the lifetime contribution award - Ian King.

Ian has dedicated his entire life to the student movement - his first involvement in the world of students’ unions was as an activist. He was so absorbed by the student movement that he moved on to a career in students’ union management, latterly becoming General Manager of Birmingham University Guild of Students. During his time at Birmingham, the Guild was widely recognised as one of the best students’ unions in the country, physically transformed and widely respected, with outstanding officers and staff.

He was involved in both the establishment of the purchasing consortium NUS Services and was a founder of the students’ union superannuation scheme.

Ian is a pioneer and trailblazer. He was developing strategic plans at a time when the consensus was that students’ unions were unable to think beyond one year. He conceived NUS Extra and saw it through to fruition saving students millions of pounds, whilst simultaneously generating much needed income for students’ unions and NUS. And five years ago Ian was predicting the monumental impact of social networking and how it would transform student lifestyle and social interactions before anyone else had even heard of the term.

Under his leadership, NUS Services became a dynamic, professional, forward looking organisation generating thousands and thousands of pounds for students’ unions and accelerating commercial leadership across the UK.

Ian coined the phrase commerce with a conscience and NUS Services’ ethical and environmental work flourished under Ian’s leadership. He not only ensured the student movement was greener and more ethical but so were its suppliers – positively changing the working practices of Coca-Cola and Coors amongst others.

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The Nottingham University Dance Society was the winner of Students' Union Sports Club or Society of the Year at the NUS Awards 2010. Read on to find out what made it stand out.

The Nottingham University Dance Society has had a year packed with successes in terms of the number of participants, raising revenue, building links with the local community and winning dance competitions.

The Dance Society has had more than 300 students attending its weekly sessions in tap, ballet, street, jazz and lyrical at both beginner and advanced levels.

The Society has offered of termly master classes from professional London-based dance instructors. This was made possible from the revenue raised from sponsorship and selling a clothing range to Society members.

The Dance Society’s competition teams, selected from the society’s advanced classes, have had a very successful year. The Society picked a several awards at the UK’s largest inter-university dance competition in Loughborough. It won first place in both hip-hop and jazz and was runner-up in tap. The winning hip-hop routine, Rubix, has been performed by the team at night clubs, balls and sports matches.

Another huge success for the dance society this year was its annual show, A Night at the Movies. The show was performed by a cast of more than 100 students in a local community theatre for three nights to sell-out audiences.

The dance society has also shared its passion for dance with the community by working in conjunction with two local primary schools. By teaching weekly dance classes, the society has introduced school children to unique extra-curricular opportunities and physical activity that they might not otherwise have had. The classes were run entirely by Dance Society members who coached groups of 30 children for an hour a week throughout the academic year.

In addition to attending competitions, hosting events and shows, running five weekly dance classes, teaching at primary schools and performing around Nottingham, the Dance Society has fought for the installation of mirrors in a performance room on campus, something that would benefit every student in a performance society. Thanks to the Society’s lobbying, mirrors will be installed in the performing arts workspace over the summer.

Nottingham University Students’ Union Activities Officer Claire Game said: “Possibly the most impressive quality of the Dance Society this year has been their determination to expand upon what this already exceptionally active society offers its members. The committee work tirelessly to offer an incredible service and the Society’s members are some of the most active and involved in the union.”

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Rachel Colley from the University of Sheffield  Union of Students was the winner of Student Unionist of the Year at the NUS Awards 2010. Read on to find out what made her stand out.

Student unionist and third year University of Sheffield student Rachel Colley has demonstrated a real dedication to her students’ union and student activities in particular.

Rachel started out in student activities in her first year when she joined the Activities and Events Committee, this sparked her dedication and passion for helping others.

Sheffield Volunteering has benefited from Rachel’s dedication. She was elected as Communities Liaison on the Volunteering Committee in 2009, as well as being a member of the Sheffield Volunteering board.

Rachel coordinated a student led sports day for more than 100 children from three schools. Rachel was also a key volunteer through the History Society where she volunteered at a Sheffield museum to create a display on local history as well as visiting a school to teach ancient Egyptian history.

Raising and Giving (RAG) was a big part of Rachel’s involvement - she was elected as RAG Publicity Officer and more recently RAG Chair. Rachel brought to life the Street Teams scheme at Union club nights to engage hundreds of students in the RAG campaign through selling thousands of pounds worth of glow sticks. She managed to sell more than £200 of glow sticks in an hour and a half. Under her leadership RAG is set to raise £180,000 in total.

Despite already giving a huge proportion of her time to the Students’ Union Rachel was elected as a joint New Society Rep on Societies Committee. She helped 53 new societies to be established, personally calling them to offer them advice and to invite them to a society surgery.

After achieving so much for RAG and Sheffield Volunteering this year, Rachel was elected as Activities Officer 2010/11. Rachel won this campaign based on her experience, popularity, but most importantly her unrivalled passion for Activities. She is known by societies, volunteers and a huge proportion of the Union membership. She is also known, valued and respected by staff at the Union, University and by the wider community.

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