September FTO Update

For those of you who want a quick rundown of everything your FTO’s got up to during September, here we go! 

President (Cameron) 

• Big steps made for the housing crisis 

• Eyes still firmly set on becoming more green 

• Freshers’ fun all round 

• Exciting review of the Student Union democracy 

VP Academic (Holly) 

• All hands-on deck during Freshers Week with lots of presentations 

• Campaign Training held at the Student Union 

• Raising awareness of the Student Voice shows no signs of wavering 

VP Community (Sebi) 

• From here to there to everywhere, Sebi’s Freshers Week experience was crazy 

• The first Sustainability Forum of the year was a success 

• 6 brand new societies established in September  

VP Wellbeing (Rachel) 

• Improvements to accessibility on campus are being discussed 

• More transparency with disabled students regarding decision making 

• A big push for more lecture recordings 

• A much smoother process when changing email aliases 

• Freshers Week sets the tone for an exciting year ahead and a happy culture on campus 

• Black History Month is upcoming, and events are in place 

• Keep an extra close eye on the Wellbeing Week programme which is dropping real soon  

With the long-awaited Freshers Week taking place, September was shaping up to be a busy first week. But it didn’t stop there! Throughout September your FTO’s have been involved in training, meetings, discussions and more, on a variety of exciting upcoming projects and changes! So, to find out what exactly they’ve been getting up to, why not give September’s FTO’s monthly roundup a read? 

President (Cameron) 

Your Student Union President has been delivering on his manifesto in September by trying to tackle the housing crisis in Edinburgh. Cameron teamed up with Edinburgh Sabbatical Officers to work towards a city-wide housing campaign, with a planned meeting with the council, toward tackling the housing issues in Edinburgh. Finding and securing accommodation in Edinburgh as a student can be a difficult process and Cameron has been branching out to collaborate with other student unions and the National Union of Students to improve this issue for students in the future. 

Another major focus of Cameron’s is his push toward a greener university, with his eyes set on making Heriot-Watt a fossil-free university. In September he made significant progress toward this goal which was largely contributed to by the students who have been driving this campaign. 

Cameron had a great time during Freshers, meeting and chatting with many new and returning students. He was even involved in discussions of how we can improve next year’s Freshers Week events to ensure they are the best yet. 

Another project which Cameron was working on throughout September was the introduction of an exciting review of the Student Union’s democracy. This will look at how we can make improvements to our democracy to make it more impactful and, most importantly, student-focused! To meet our Student Union value ‘Students first, always’, you as students will have the opportunity to change the future of your student union through various groups, meetings and surveys. Stay involved, stay vocal, and let’s build a stronger Union together!  

Holly (VP Academic) 

Firstly, as mentioned previously, we kicked off the month with the long awaited, Freshers Week! Holly was heavily involved during Freshers Week, from delivering Student Union presentations at School Inductions to hosting School Mixer events. Holly was also involved in welcoming both new and returning student back, down in the Scottish Borders at our Galashiels campus. Whilst it was a very full-on week, Holly did love organising and participating in many of the events across the week. 

During September, Holly has also been participating in Campaign training held by the Student Union. This training was all about the best ways to deliver student campaigns and was offered to staff members, student reps and society leaders. 

Finally, Holly is continuing to spread awareness of student voice by delivering presentations to programme directors. 

Sebi (VP Community) 

Like all our FTO’s, Sebi was heavily involved in planning and executing many of the amazing events offered during Freshers Week, and it’s safe to say, he did a pretty good job! 

• Firstly, Galashiels saw record breaking engagement as we ran out of white t-shirts almost immediately for our white shirt party. Sebi had to make a quick trip to Tesco as a result to buy more for the event.  

• There was also an amazing Watt Welcome Fair event held down in the Scottish Borders. The venue was packed full of students for several hours and even more impressive was that all 3 of the societies present on the day gained over 40 signups each, and there weren’t any societies at the event last year, so that’s just how epic it was! 

• Furthermore, we had a pub quiz, karaoke, battle of the halls, pop bingo, open mic night and day trips, to name a few. So, it was certainly a Freshers Week to remember. 

Sebi was also involved in hosting the first Sustainability Forum of the new academic year, which saw students come together and brainstorm new ideas toward improving Heriot-Watt’s operations to act more environmentally responsible. It would be great to see even more participants joining these discussions at future Sustainability Forum events. 

September also marked our first Society Council as well which saw 6 new societies forming, such as the darts society and events society! So why not consider giving a new society a try this academic year? 

Rachel (VP Wellbeing) 

Rachel was involved in many real conversations and meetings throughout the month of September, all of which she said were very worthwhile in promoting progression. One of the biggest takeaways from these meetings was the planning of a new access audit for HWUnion later this year alongside a new Campus Accessibility Working Group which marks the beginning of tangible improvements being made to accessibility on campus. There has also been an agreement made in September that any decisions made regarding disabled students will be communicated appropriately, directly to those affected. This will ensure a more transparent and collaborative approach! 

There have also been discussions from the entire FTO team who are pushing for a wider use of lecture recordings as an aid for students.  

Rachel is also happy to announce that the process for streamlining changing email aliases is becoming smoother, which is a huge success for our trans students! If anyone is struggling/ having issues with making their email match their preferred initials, please do not hesitate to get in contact with Rachel: Union.VPWellbeing@hw.ac.uk 

Rachel was taken back the amount of excitement that surrounded the remainder of Freshers Week in September from both our Edinburgh and Galashiels campuses. Rachel loved seeing many students meet and chat with new people, and it has been great to see that Freshers Week has laid the foundations for many friendships heading and a positive on campus community as we head into the new academic year. It was great to hear all the positive feedback from students following a hugely successful Freshers Week. 

As Rachel looks ahead at plans for October, Black History Month is something she is looking forward to as initial BME plans are coming together, with significant involvement from our BME advocates to ensure many impactful events being held throughout the month. 

Also, make sure to keep an eye out for the full programme of events during Wellbeing Week which is also shaping up nicely. The full programme is set to be released real soon, and you won’t want to miss it! So, stay tuned!