Officer Round-up 2024
Your Full-Time Officer (FTO) team have been up to all sorts this year, so we thought we should summarise some of their key highlights for you!
Sadly, as we near the end of the summer term, we also near our goodbyes to the 2023/34 FTOs. But there’s so much to reflect on and celebrate – and equally, so much to look forward to for the 2024/25 academic year.
Team Highlights
This year, they had three collective priorities – which they worked hard on together – and these were:
- Cost of Living
- Academic Experience
- Mental Health and Wellbeing
Each officer has achieved so much in line with these that it’s hard to narrow it down, but some of their team highlights include:
Support during Industrial Action
The Officer team assisted in mitigating the impact of Industrial Action on students, supporting UCU in line with our active policy and maintaining a positive relationship with them.
Nicole led in working alongside the University to ensure the impact of industrial action was transparent to students and that the impact of the Marking and Assessment Boycott would be mitigated.
Cost of Living Support
This year, your FTOs secured the cheap hot meals offer – maintaining the deal's popularity, for both the current and next academic year.
The team also worked hard to secure big events, such as Ramadan Bazaar and the Bristol SU World Cup, which were free to attend. Through their working relationship with the University Executive Board (UEB), they have also negotiated an additional £250,000 funding support for students from the university – an impressive achievement that will positively impact so many students.
Representation at the National Level
Nicole and Bakhtawar represented Bristol SU at the Russell Group Student Unions (RGSU), and brought forward issues that our students are facing at the national level: including visas for international students, and housing prices. The lobbying done by national-level representatives, including RGSU, led to huge wins such as maintaining the Graduate Route Visa.
Saranya, supported by elected delegates also attended the National Union of Students’ Conference, whereby issues faced by students all over the country are discussed and action is taken.
Individual Highlights
Here are some of the best bits of the year captured by each of your officers…
Adam Michael – Union Affairs Officer
In his second year in the role, Adam has continued to work on governance and representational reform, lobbying for more funding directly into students’ pockets whilst supporting and delivering student-facing events and projects. Adam has led conversations with the university about Bristol SU’s team priorities and how they can adapt and support them.
Key outcomes:
Representation Reform
- Led Bristol SU’s ongoing Representation Review findings; connected students with the work and passed all bye law changes through our democratic structures.
- Oversaw the first set of recommendations from the review, including restructuring the networks.
- Supported and advised on both TB1 and TB2 elections to increase the number and diversity of candidates, as well as voter turnout.
Funding the Student Experience
- Negotiated for the Activity Hardship Fund to be tripled and the application cap to be raised to £150, entailing even more students to access the essential equipment, kit and membership costs for getting involved in student groups at Bristol SU.
- Forged a partnership with the Alumni team to give more student groups more funding.
Supporting student events and networks
- Helped to organise the Ramadan Bazaar event that provided free iftars for over 150 students.
- Led Islamophobia Awareness Month, which included a public forum, talks and a social media takeover, as well as Sustainability Month, Interfaith Week & International Students’ Week.
- Co-held the first SU World Cup Tournament with Pat, bringing together hundreds of students from countries across the world.
Izzy Russell – Student Living Officer
In their second year in the role, Izzy has been an advocate for students’ rights, sustainable practice and highlighting struggles in areas like housing, transport and cost of living. Izzy has been a force in SU democratic meetings, passing multiple motions and also engaging with city stakeholders during their time.
Key outcomes:
Spotlighting students’ rights and voices
- Led a My Rent, My Rights series of activism workshops on renters’ rights.
- Fed into the NUS’ work on a student manifesto for the elections happening in 2024.
- Packed harm reduction bags for halls of residences, which included items like condoms, lube and advice on taking drugs safely.
- Worked on a Reclaim Our Buses! campaign.
- Chaired a Sexual Violence Awareness Week panel discussion and co-signed a statement of commitment with other SU’s and universities in Bristol and Bath.
Combatting the housing & cost of living crisis
- Commissioned the SU Housing Survey with the SU Research & Insight Team, which quantified the conditions students are living in and got picked up by various media outlets, including the BBC.
- Secured £1000 travel funds for each University of Bristol student living in Newport halls to relieve some pressure on their commute.
- The Lettings team offered insight into Bristol City Council’s Living Rent Commission report.
Sustainable practice in the SU & University
- Launched Donate/Take a Plate with SU staff to help students cut down on the waste that comes from moving in summer and then help new students with the cost of moving to university – this especially helped first-years and international students and got national radio and TV coverage.
- Led the SU’s Sustainability Month and developed projects such as the swap shop in Living Room 1 and had 35+ events on climate action, social justice, volunteering opportunities, political engagement and activism.
Saranya Thambirajah – Equality, Liberation & Access Officer
As another full-time officer who has dedicated a second year to the role, Saranya has worked passionately on prioritising and getting funding for mental health provisions in the university, steered decolonisation work and has lobbied locally through a trans healthcare and gender justice campaign. She’s also worked closely with our Jewish Society, Islamic Society and Friends of Palestine Society to provide leadership and support for students affected by the events in Israel and Palestine.
Key outcomes:
Trans and Non-Binary Student Inclusion & Healthcare
- Set up regular meetings with the SU’s Trans Network, the University’s Director of Student Inclusion and the head of the Student Health Service. Together they have significantly changed the University and Health Service’s proactivity and approach regarding trans healthcare.
- Created a Trans Action Plan for the University which has been approved by the Student Experience Committee and University Education Committee.
- Wrote a letter to the NHS’ Integrated Care Board for the BNSSG area abou the crisis that Trans Healthcare is currently in, with an ask to consider embarking on creating localised service provision. The letter has been signed by GPs, University colleagues, and other relevant stakeholders across the city.
- Secured funding to create a Gender Expression Fund at the SU.
Anti-Racism, Renaming and Reparative Futures
- Campaigned for and represented student views on renaming buildings linked with the slave trade and more widely on anti-racism in the University
- Acted as a key voice in the creation of the University’s £10 million Reparative Futures Program
- Hosted an event in May, attended by the Vice Chancellor, for students to give their views on the Reparative Futures Program and what they want to see from it.
Mental Health and Wellbeing
- Worked with the Student Counselling service to create a pathway to specialist support for students with eating disorders.
- Advocated for and raised awareness of issues faced by students with eating disorders by presenting to the Mental Health and Wellbeing Steering Group and Sports Exercise and Health.
Pat Gibbs – Sport & Student Development Officer
Pat has spent his year in office empowering student group committees through training initiatives, advocating for funding to increase access to the SU’s student group offer and putting mental health and wellbeing at the top of the agenda. In his year in the role, Pat has been pivotal in a culture shift in our student groups and sports clubs.
Key outcomes:
Developed the planning of, and organised the Bristol Derby Day 2024
- Following several months of planning, negotiating sponsorships and funding, and formulating logistics, Pat delivered this event with the support of SU Staff and Sport, Exercise and Health (SEH) on Wednesday, March 20, 2024.
- This was a significant project that featured 30 sports and hundreds of athletes and supporters from 8 different universities.
Executed the first-ever Bristol SU World Cup Tournament alongside Adam
- The Bristol SU World Cup Tournament was an effort to integrate diverse student communities through a shared love of football. Pat and Adam worked had to make sure 16 teams of students could represent different countries and compete.
- The event was completely free, and students were served free food from Chaiiwala.
- Altogether, over 250 attended the Bristol SU World Cup and its success as an event has inspired other SUs in the sector, with Bath SU set to hold their first ever SU World Cup Tournament in June.
Supported Sports Club Captains throughout the year
- Pat sustained consistent communication with Club Captains, by holding Club Captains' forums monthly to listen to their issues and to subsequently resolve these issues by working with SEH and other relevant colleagues.
- Through collaborating with SEH to secure a 50% for VEO Cams, a costly camera that is crucial for sports teams to study their games and improve their performance, Pat has contributed to their positive performances - as observed at Derby Day 2024.
- Alongside Adam, Pat also ensured that the Activity Hardship Fund(AHF) pot would have a significant increase, which meant that funding for the SU’s Group Grants would not be used for AHF, and that groups (primarily sports clubs) would be able to benefit from the full £20,000 allocated to the Group Grants pot.
Nicole Antoine – Undergraduate Education Officer
In Nicole’s second year in this role, her priorities have been highlighting study spaces, taking a well-being approach to exam periods and representing students’ academic interests in university meetings.
Key outcomes:
Increase Access to Study Spaces
- One of Nicole’s priorities for this year was increasing the access and awareness of study spaces. She worked with colleagues at Library Services and other departments to discuss how to streamline the process of finding study space throughout the year, and especially during exam season. This resulted in a new study spaces finder tool, developed by the University IT Services.
- Nicole even worked with the University to extend the closing times of Senate House during the January assessment period.
Exam wellbeing campaign
- Nicole secured funding for a campaign focused solely on student wellbeing during exam season, and this was launched during the summer assessment period.
- This involved her going to study spaces to give out sweets to students, a free exam breakfast, giving out free ice outside the Richmond Building, and hosting a Meet the Dogs event. Over 1146 students benefited from this event series.
- During her ice cream hand out, Nicole gave away 260+ free ice creams in just over an hour!
Access and Participation Plan
- Nicole has worked with the University Widening Participation team to discuss their work on their Access and Participation Plan.
- Along with Saranya, she participated in the Access and Participation Advisory Group, contributing on a deeper level.
- Nicole hosted an event in May, attended by the Vice Chancellor, for students to give their views on the Reparative Futures Program and what they want to see from it.
Timber Hill – Postgraduate Education Officer
Timber has worked hard to ensure the voices of postgraduates (both PGR and PGT) are heard at all levels of the University, as well as making sure the SU’s work always has postgraduates in mind. In their year as Postgraduate Education Officer, Timber has continuously pushed the University to better support students with health and wellbeing needs that require additional support, as well as support with the cost of living.
Key outcomes:
University committee work
- Timber's feedback within university committee meetings this year has ensured students who leave a PGT course early get the appropriate exit award, and that PGT degree classifications are fairer and easier to understand. Timber has regularly pushed for assessments to be designed for all.
- In the Academic Quality and Standards Committee, Timber has been an important voice in ensuring that they meet the needs of students.
- In the University Learning and Teaching Committee, Timber provided a strong level of student voice to discussions concerning all aspects of students’ learning environment. From challenging attendance monitoring proposals to shaping discussions on support for students such as the Mental Health Charter and the Digital Equity Fund.
- In the University PGR Committee, Timber has challenged proposals that place additional burdens on PGRs with Tier 4 visas.
Academic representation
- This year, the Student Academic Representation Network was formed in which Timber has co-chaired the inaugural year with University Education Director (Quality) Professor Catherine Hindson. This has been a fantastic space for academic representation to be discussed with all the relevant stakeholders.
- With the academic representation team and Nicole, Timber has also been reviewing the effectiveness of the current PGR representation system. The academic experience of PGRs is markedly different to those undertaking taught programmes, and they have been exploring ways to recognise this within the academic representation system.
Bakhtawar Javed – International Students’ Officer
In Bakhtawar's first year in the role of International Students' Officer, she has worked extremely hard to ensure that the interests of international students are represented within the University's academic and professional services. From introducing the first ever International Students' Week to being a consistent voice for International Students to the University - Bakhtawar has made great progress in making sure there is support for all students.
Key outcomes:
First-ever International Students’ Week
- Bakhtawar arranged the first-ever International Students’ Week which included a range of events to celebrate the knowledge, experience, skills and diversity international students bring to the University of Bristol and the wider Bristol community.
- The week started with the International Students Exhibition, followed by volunteering activities, Quiz and Pizza nights and culminated with a grand Global Food Fair which was attended by over 200 students.
Lobbying for Graduate Route
- Bakhtawar has actively lobbied the University, SUs across the UK, as well as the national government to support international students amidst the recent visa policy changes and to save the graduate route. There have been wins in the joint lobbying efforts.
Streamlining processes for incoming international students
- She has also consistently raised concerns with the University on the urgent need to streamline the registration process for incoming international students.
- Bakhtawar is now working with the University to put in place appropriate measures to ensure smooth transitions for international students and to provide extra support to students who might arrive late due to various reasons.
- This year, the University has made several changes to ensure that international students are supported as much as possible to make their transition smooth and easy.
