Meet your president

Francesca Miller ECA

As the appointed student president of Edinburgh College of Art I hope to upkeep the atmosphere which I so much enjoyed whilst a student at the college. I graduated last year in Intermedia Art and am very glad to continue to be a part of ECA. I hope to be an enthusiastic and encouraging representative of ECA students. Edinburgh College of Art has a great community spirit and I want all new students to find themselves totally immersed within it, kicking off with a great week of Freshers' events!

Aims for my year in office include the bringing together of the three schools through improvements to cross-disciplinary access, major improvements to the recycling facilities and raising issues of consumption and the environment. I am proposing to hold a ‘big green event’ to inform students on what they can do to help the environment in and out of college, with interesting and inspiring talks from visiting speakers and local businesses to help you do your bit and discover more. I am also looking at how student opinion is gathered and evaluated, with the view to be out and about in the studios. I want to be a person that all students can come and chat to, so they always drop by to the SRC Office too. We’re a friendly bunch so come and say hello.

Blain Murphy QMU

It’s been a long time coming for me to find a position that suits me like this, and trust me I’ve tried a few positions in my time at QMU.

Myself and Christie McMonagle (the Vice-President) have a lot of goals for the year ahead but the most important is that the students of QMU start to feel as though the union is theirs and not just an add-on to the University.

We started out by making the environment more friendly and enjoyable by introducing a sports ‘Wall of Fame’ and a photo ‘wall of shame’ (mainly of the big events in the union, such as Freshers’, Paddy’s Day etc).

Working with the SU staff we’ve targeted issues that are impacting our students, such as feedback and health. To overcome these issues we’ve started working with the University to enhance the feedback process, which is coming on leaps and bounds. Also in March we’re running a whole month long campaign on health, that is sexual, physical and mental health.

So now we’re just looking forward to having the students back and have them start enjoying the new Students’ Union.

Simon Eltringham HWUSU

The year ahead is extremely exciting for the Student Union. Following a complete review last year by an external consultant and working group, we are now in a position to move the organisation forward.

In the past, staffing structures and spending have been allowed to diverge too far from our core values. We have just completed the implementation of our governance review which will mean every student has an opportunity be involved in decision making in the Union through ‘Student Voice’. We’ve also started to build our strategy for 2010 and beyond and are in the process of recruiting external trustees to help us achieve this.

This Semester we are opening a brand new bar in partnership with the University which will see a modern social hub created on campus. Our new Advice Hub will open later this semester which will see us in a more prominent position next to University student services with extended opening hours and a dedicated team of trained advisors. Throughout the year we will be consulting with students about the planned relocation of the Student Union building.

Kasia Bylinska

As last week was Edinburgh Napier’s Freshers’ Week, Kasia was unavailable for comment.

This is Kasia’s second year as president of Napier Students’ Association (NSA) and she is determined to continue the great work she began last year.

Her achievements so far include setting up student-led teaching awards especially for tutors and personal development tutors. She also organised a ‘Swedish Day’ in order to integrate Napier’s many foreign students. Originally from Poland herself, this was a big campaign pledge of hers which she has done her best to fulfil.

She has worked closely with NUS and last December travelled to Brussels to the European Students’ Union. She also plans to keep fighting for her students amid the debate on lifting the cap on tuition fees.

There is still much more she wants to achieve which is why she ran for re-election. She wishes to involve as many students as possible in the association and to continue with her successful social nights which she helps organise.

Liz Rawlings EUSA

Welcome to Edinburgh and to the University.

EUSA is here to make sure you have the best possible experience while at university. As part of this we run four Union buildings - Teviot, Potterrow, KB House and the Pleasance, we also run an Advice Place where you can go if you have any problems or queries.

We campaign to defend and extend the rights of students at both university and national levels through the work of our Student Council, your elected representatives. We’re always looking for more students to get involved – there’s an election in October so come into our office in Potterrow to find out more about standing to represent your fellow students.

This year, we’re facing huge challenges. Universities are enduring budget cuts and as a result of the recession, students have less money in their pockets than ever before. We’ve got to make sure that these challenges don’t have a detrimental effect on your education or your university experience.

That’s why our priorities this year include a university-wide feedback campaign making sure you’re getting the feedback you deserve, a big push to organise students to attend the National Union of Students’ Demo against cuts in November, and continuing to campaign for a better DoS system and more funding for student support.

Edinburgh is one of the best universities in the world and I know you’ll have a fantastic experience here. If you want to get in touch just drop me an email on president@eusa.ed.ac.uk or come and say hi if you see me around.