Welcome back another update of my 25/26 elected officer term. Each month, I will be aiming to provide an update about what I have been up to that month.
October has been a busy period having meetings about the student experience. From campaigns to discussions about facilities and resources and running events and activities.
Using my areas of focus to guide the direction I aim to move in this year, I have been having conversations to put plans in place and work to achieve these.
An update regarding the campus consistency focus is that I have been involved with discussions that ensure that all the campus are considered when plans are established and being moved forward. This has been around new resources; at the moment we are in discussions with the university’s estates and facilities teams to establish the best method for acquiring more charging options for students across the campuses. If you would like to share your thoughts on this point, please do get in contact. We are also discussing the facilities and developing different provisions at the campuses (keep your eyes peeled for a more in-depth update soon).
For mental health and wellbeing advocacy, we have plans raised awareness for Mental Health by wearing green on World Mental Health Day (10th October). We ran wellbeing crafts, mindfulness activities and a visit from Betty the Pets As Therapy dog too! Thank you to everyone who took part, we shared our knowledge, and where to find support in the union, university, and the local area. We have more planned on key awareness day across the year – keep your eyes peeled for these days! We are also in discussions to develop support and guidance available and how students can access and find information on the services at the university. We are supporting the Mental Health Provision team with a guide to the services, creating a one spot place to find everything. We are looking for students to feedback on this at current and if you are interested, please get in contact.
For academic experience, I have been involved in discussions about several areas of this topic, particularly around academic integrity. Previously we have raised areas concerns around artificial intelligence and the guidance that is shared with students; we continue to raise this area and work the university team as they adapt and update this to ensure clarity for students and staff. If you have any queries or want to share your feedback, please email surepresentation@bnu.ac.uk. We continue to work with the university’s teams to develop these areas of your academic experience and work to ensure that you are supported throughout your time here.
If you are a student taught at Aylesbury, you would have received an email with an update regarding the catering services and the work currently happening. At current, we are in discussions with the university’s estates and facilities teams. In these discussions we have spoken about the possibility of vending machines on campus. As this would be provided by an external provider, the university is working on finding an option which is beneficial for students but also one that external providers will agree to (e.g. maintenance and stocking) with a relatively low number of people currently using the site. We are also discussing the possibility of a reinstating a café on campus – this is in ongoing discussions regarding funding, staffing and the resources needed. We understand this is many people’s preferred option, but even if this does happen it won’t be an immediate solution.
I have been discussing improving the commuter lounge space, including more microwaves, more spaces to get hot water, cleaning facilities, better standards of coffee. We are also looking to provide free, ‘instant’ food option (e.g. noodles, soup etc.) which should be arriving soon. We are looking at providing mugs or travel flask as a temporary solution. This is to support you if wanted to get a hot drink from the closest café (Waitrose) as this café does not offer a takeaway alternative (unless you provide the receptacle). We are in talks about the return of free lunches and currently discussing the method of this. There were plans involving collection from the main reception, but it is thought that the staff currently do not have the capacity. There is also a potential alternative that this could be provided by Bethany (me) on Tuesdays – but the facilities are needed (fridges, shelving etc.) for this to fully launch. We are waiting for the full details regarding where these would be situated and how this would progress moving forward. At current this is delayed, and we are trying to establish a timeline. In the interim of this delay, free lunches are returning on a Monday and Tuesday from 11:45am-2pm. These can be collected from the main reception/security desk and will consist of a pot noddle, a packet of crisps and water.
Please continue sharing your feedback. We are awaiting a few final key details before providing a full update, but we want to keep you as informed as possible. I appreciate you would like more timely action, and I do hope you’ll see at least some immediate improvements. Rest assured that we are raising these matters, and we are continuing to work with the university to find better solutions.
“Rusty’s Retreat” is thriving. We hope you are enjoying using the space whether that is as a volunteer or just spending some time outside. Thank you to everyone who has gotten involved! If you still want to be involved with the garden itself, get in touch with volunteering@bnu.ac.uk to found out what opportunities are on.
We have built on feedback received and there is a calendar of events planned for the academic year, running during the day at the Uxbridge and Aylesbury campuses. You can view these on the What’ On page.
Taking place at Uxbridge this there is:
Taking place in Aylesbury we:
If you have any ideas for sessions that you’d like to see or want to run a session, please get in contact by emailing bethany.jackson@bnu.ac.uk.
Check out the What’s on page for recreational activities happening in the local area as well! If you have any questions or suggestions, email surecactivities@bucks.ac.uk. Some of these activities are:
Taking place in local Aylesbury area:
Taking place in the local Uxbridge area:
You may have seen the “Post-It Positivity” boards around the Uxbridge and Aylesbury campuses. These are part of the “Placement Positivity” Campaign, which is launching soon. This campaign looks at fostering connections, sharing information, boosting morale, and building community whilst on placement.Throughout the year there will be events taking place in different formats some online and some in person. Keep any eye on the what’s on page and socials for the announcements!
The return of the Uxbridge Fresher’s Fair is taking place on Monday 3rd November! This is an opportunity to meet and speak to different stall holders about what they do and how you can be involved! It’s taking place between 11:30am - 3pm in the Park Room (3.08).
That concludes another monthly update, be sure to check out our socials (@bucksstudentsunion and @buckssuvpew_au) for any quick updates and to see the day-to-day announcement.
As always, if you need anything please reach out.
Until next month,
Bethany