I’m not sure this week could have fitted any more in, with a strategy planning day, three days of NUS National Conference and a day of simply catching up – but it was definitely a darn good week!
Monday was all about next year in the Students’ Union, particularly with regards to the staffing structures within the organisation – a conversation which is a result of us reworking the officer team (2 less sabbaticals, 2 more student officers). It looks like we finally have some sort of model for people in the Union, which involves some moving around, some new faces and the opportunity to focus on our core activities of representation and campaigning.
Also, with the removal of the VP Communications & Media role we are hoping to really use this to look at how we do communications in the Union which, if effective, will be a huge step forward and will make life much easier for many.
Tuesday morning, up at 5am and on a train to NewcastleGateshead where along with Chris Charnley, Izzie O’Brien and Emily Gough I attended the National Union of Students’ National Conference 2010 – which was full of debate, voting, demonstrating and even some emotion, all in all it was quite a productive conference with a number of promising election results for the national officers 2010/11.
As well as being able to have Lincoln’s say in national policy, it was particularly beneficial for me as VP Academic Affairs Elect to get a grasp of the policy issues facing students over the next 12 months and identify where the national union can help us in our local battles, and where we can support the national movement, particularly in Further Education which is a big priority of mine next year.
Friday was all about getting back on top of my course and my inbox – it also saw Kayleigh Turner’s last day as Vice-President Education & Academic Affairs after she resigned her officer role. Kayleigh will now be working two days a week in more of a supportive, non-representational role – providing support to Steven, Beccy & I in the Welfare & Academic Representation Department – until the end of June.
I’m getting a bit more eager to start as VP Academic Affairs now, with a wish list of wins for students now as long as the M1, and having started meeting other Education Officer Elects, the weeks cannot count down quickly enough. Fortunately I only have a few weeks of my course left, so once that’s done I can start writing my plans for the year and putting together papers / campaigns for the things I want to get my teeth into straight away.
That’s all for now, until next week – see ya!
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