Hey again! Hope you’ve all had a good few months. 

I’m excited to share that we have now opened nominations for our Academic Rep Elections! There are spaces for every course, school and even faculty that you can sign up for. In some schools, we even have Convenor places available who are there to lead the course reps in the school to make change. You can nominate yourself by going to this link and then following the instructions.

But hold on Taylor… why should I sign up? Well that’s a damn good question! Let me tell you. 

We often talk about how so much of what you can get involved in with the SU allows you to make change – it’s the very fibre of who we are. But – it’s genuinely true and in no place is that clearer than as an academic rep. You’ll be representing yourself and your friends in meetings directly with your school, allowing you to tell them the good, the bad and the ugly. And they listen! Our reps make change every year and it genuinely changes your courses and school for the better. This is even more important at a time of strikes, a university that’s both in a financial crisis and completely redesigning their curriculum. The time for you to make changes is RIGHT NOW both for you and future students.  

But don’t worry – you won’t be on your own. We have a dedicated Student Voice team that exists solely to support our reps by providing you training, attending meetings with you and always being on the end of an email. You’ll also have dedicated support staff in your schools. And you’ve always got me! 

As if that deal isn’t good enough, you’ll also gain employability skills in things like leadership, representation and communication that will help you stand out from the crowd. It also contributes to the UEA Award and you could be nominated for Rep of the Month and win prizes.  

All that for just a few hours a semester. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal for me. And don’t feel intimidated by running for “election” – you don’t need to be putting posters up in the hive and campaigning like Full Time Officers did. Just put yourself forward and get some friends to vote for you – it’s that easy! And it’ll take you 30 seconds to nominate yourself so really, what’ve you got to lose?