PPE Freshers’ Survival Guide 2013-14
By the PPE Society Find Us:
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Contents Page 3: Welcome to the PPE Society Page 4: The PPE Committee Page 7: Socials Page 8: Academic Events Page 9: Our Alumni Network Page 10: Mentoring Scheme Page 11: How to Get Involved with the Society Page 12: Student Hints and Tips Page 13: Important Contacts and Websites Page 14: Campus Map
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Welcome to the PPE Society!
Hello and welcome to Manchester!
This booklet is to give you a little heads up on what university life will be like, which will be descending on you all too soon! The transition from home to university can be a slightly bumpy one: with all your new found freedom, the combination of drunken nights and politics essays can be particularly interesting. The PPE Society can help you through this transitional stage - after all, we've all been through it ourselves! Not only that but, given the diversity of the course, the Society acts as much-needed focal point for all years, leading to friendships between your own and inter-year groups. This is fostered by our peer mentoring scheme, socials and Society fundraising events. There's so much you can get involved in at Manchester and I wholeheartedly encourage you to grab the bull by the horns and give everything a go. If you ever have any questions or worries, whether in the run up to starting here or the night before your first exams, please don't hesitate to give me a bell.
Elizabeth Mitchell, President 2013/14
elizabeth.mitchell-5@student.manchester.ac.uk
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The PPE Committee President Elizabeth Mitchell: As President of the PPE Society, my role is the general organisation of the society. This includes liaising between the department and students, being the first port of call if anyone has any issues and organising the committee meetings. I'll most certainly be at all the socials and am also taking part in the peer mentoring scheme. As well as being involved with the PPE Society, I am a keen dancer and can often be found doing a pub quiz.
Chair Maisie Boggild-Jones:
As Chair, my role is to work alongside Liz in making sure that the society runs smoothly, by coordinating meetings and communicating with the Union. One of my major roles will be establishing links with ex-PPE students and maintaining this alumni network, and I'm also taking part in the peer mentoring scheme. I definitely recommend that you come to as many PPE Society socials as you can, as they are the best way to meet like-minded people from all years of the course, and they are genuinely great fun!
Vice Chair Benjy Stanley: Hi I'm Benjy Stanley and I’m the Vice Chair of the PPE society. I mainly deal with organising PPE merchandise and helping the Chair with the PPE alumni network. I'm a second year who has a radio show on Fuse FM and I am also in the University's American Football team.
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The PPE Committee Secretary Nikky Tyrer: As Secretary of the PPE Society, my role is to organise PPE Committee meetings and to take minutes to publish to the rest of the society! I'm really excited to be a member of the Committee in my final year as I have loved being a part of the society throughout my time at Uni. It really is the most welcoming of societies and everyone is always up for a good time. My words of wisdom to a first year would be: get involved in as many things as you can in your first two years! Make friends in halls, go out, get part-time jobs or internships, volunteer, join societies and of course attend the PPE socials. You want to make the most of your time at university as it really does go too fast and the PPE society is one of the best ways to do so!
Social Secretary Tom Danaher: My job is fairly simple: to make sure you all have fun this year! I will be organising a variety of socials throughout the year - from curries to balls, through comedy nights. You will be able to find out about them through the PPE Society Facebook group so make sure you join it!
Social Media Officer Alex Whitmore: My role in the Committee is to manage all PPE social media; including the website, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn sites. I will also receive information from the course administration as well as getting involved in the running of the society. So if you want to keep up to date with the goings on in the PPE Society, get connected! The best bit of Freshers is trying out new stuff in the uni, such as fencing club. 5
The PPE Committee Treasurer & Peer Mentoring Coordinator Peter Werner: As the treasurer of the PPE society, I ensure we have the money to keep the society running to the highest of standards and manage sponsorship for the society. I thoroughly enjoy being a member of the PPE Society, so I encourage everyone, especially first years, to attend all the social events. If you have any great ideas about how we should spend our money or make more money let me know.
Fundraising Officer & Peer Mentoring Coordinator Will Chambers: We will be badgering everyone at society events for their money (in a fun way) in order to generate some cash for a local charity (which we are currently in the process of deciding). Events will involve a pub quiz, raffle, PPE do the great north run, and other bits and bobs! I will also be co-coordinating the mentor scheme, so pairing you up with your mentor and ensuring they help you in every way possible! My Top Tips would thus be to pester your mentors about stuff (to make my job worthwhile) and don't feel rude! Make an effort to become friends with your PPE family/ coursemates early on, you won't regret it. Also to go and see your tutor about 2 weeks before essay deadlines because they'll help you loads.
Fundraising Officer Kieran Carty: My plans for the forthcoming year are to launch an annual sports day fundraiser that will involve all 3 years of PPE. Also, I hope to run an election to decide & promote PPE’s designated charity, this way we may target the issues that you care about most. I would love to hear your opinions. My words of wisdom are get involved because everything is catered for you! 6
Socials Welcome to UoM! My name is Tom Danaher and I'm this year's Social Secretary for the PPE Society.I was elected First Year Social Secretary last year and I will be chief in charge of organising every social this year. There are some events that have become annual traditions. These included various nights out in both the city centre and Fallowfield, a Curry Night just after Freshers Week, laser quest, bowling, careers events with our sponsors, a Christmas Meal, a trip to the Comedy Store, a trip to and our End of Year Ball to name but a few! I will be looking to build on the successful new socials introduced for the first time last year. Particular successes included a society outing to the Student Union's Beerfest (where our President and Social Media Officer won the danceoff!), Friday casual drinks and the PPE Society does Canal Street night out. I also want to introduce some new socials this year - watch this space! Of course, there is plenty of room for manoeuvre - if you have an idea for a social you think the society should be hosting, please get in touch with me and we'll see what we can do. There will be elections in the first semester for a First Year Social Secretary so if you fancy taking over the reins from me, please stand! My general advice for you this year: 1) Don't be afraid to talk to anyone at the beginning (remember that everyone's in the same boat) 2) Get friendly with other PPE students - it's so important to have course mates as well as your flatmates 3) Try new things, get involved with your society and don't be afraid to ask for help! If anyone has any questions, find me on Facebook or drop me an email. PPE students are a really funny and sociable bunch so be prepared to enjoy yourself... Enjoy the rest of your summer. I look forward to meeting you all in September! Tom Danaher, Social Secretary
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Academic Events As well as hosting a variety of socials, the PPE Society will also be looking to organise academic events especially for PPE students on and off campus. These range from essay workshops help by members of staff in different disciplines, to trips to other universities. Before your first essay hand-in date, there will be an essay writing workshop (organised specifically for PPE first years) with members of the politics and philosophy departments. It is important for students to understand what internship and placement opportunities are available; this can be a bit daunting at times, especially for first years. Over the year, the society hopes to hold a variety of talks, inviting staff from the university – such as the Careers Service – to offer advice and information on how to go about applying for internships and other career related advice. We will also host career panel events, where there will be a number of people whose occupations are related to a PPE degree and including Manchester PPE alumni. Last year we held a special evening with our sponsor Deloitte’s Manchester office, exploring the world of consulting. University-wide careers events are also flagged up on the Facebook group and through your university email so keep an eye out. The PPE Society is closely affiliated with other academic societies such as COS (Challenging Orthodoxies Society), Libertarian League and the Post-Crash Economics Society as many PPE students are actively involved with them. They host a variety of intellectually stimulating events throughout the year, which the PPE Society encourages its students to attend. The big academic event of the year is Warwick Economics Summit held at Warwick University. This annual conference runs over a weekend and includes a variety of expert speakers in the field, networking opportunities for students as well as the chance to socialise with students from other universities. Every year a number of students from the PPE Society attend this event, and it has always been a great success. A new and exciting event in PPE this year is the first European PPE Conference taking place at Hamburg University, to which the Manchester PPE Society are hoping to send a small delegation. 8
Our Alumni Network The PPE Society is setting up an alumni network which will help past students keep in contact with each other, as well as enabling them to stay updated with the goings on of the PPE Society and current committee members. At the moment, this consists of a network through which PPE graduates and current students keep in contact through the group ‘University of Manchester PPE Alumni’ on Linkedin. This group enables students and graduates to share contacts and work experience that will help guide other PPE-ers through the world of work. This year, the Chair, Maisie and Vice-Chair, Benjy, will be concentrating on expanding this network. They will work to ensure that there are many different channels in which PPE students can keep in touch with each other and also the progress of the PPE Society. This will be done through a biannual newsletter written by PPE students. Once the Alumni Network has been established, we hope to further explore the opportunities that it may hold for the PPE Society in the future. New avenues could be opened such as reunions, funding, career advice and potential sponsorship opportunities.
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Mentoring Scheme The aim of the PPE Peer Mentoring Scheme is to make sure that all first year students have one or two established PPE students as mentors, who are there to help if you have any questions or problems about the course or university life in general. Mentors are there to help you with a wide range of issues be it social, academic or anything else that’s troubling you. This year, there are two Peer Mentor Coordinators – Will and Pete – who will be in charge of assigning mentors to all the first years or ‘mentees’. All Peer Mentors have undergone training on how to assist first years in matters that are most likely to be of concern for first year students. Also everyone who is a Peer Mentor has volunteered to do it, so they’re happy to help even if you just want a chat. Peer Mentors will work in pairs, and will be assigned 4 or 5 students per pair for the duration of the year. Each group of first year students will be assigned their mentors within Welcome Week, after the PPE introduction talk. As well as the Mentoring Scheme, most PPE students use the PPE Society Facebook group and the group for their particular year (which will be set up once you arrive in September) to ask general questions about any modules or other academic issues you may have. All Mentors will be wearing an ‘Ask Me’ badge in Welcome Week, so if you have any questions, just ask someone and they will be happy to help.
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How to Get Involved with the Society
Getting involved with the PPE Society, either as a participating member or by having an active role on the committee in the running of the society, is a great way to get to know other PPE-ers. Throughout the year, the PPE Committee will have meetings about the organisation of socials, merchandise, sponsorship and other matters. These meetings are open to any student within the PPE Society to attend, and if you’re interested in possibly running for a position on the committee at a future date, it’s useful to see how the society works from the inside. Dates of meetings will be posted on Facebook and emailed to your university accounts via Lynn Dignan, the course administrator. If you’re already keen to get involved with the PPE Society, there are positions that will be specifically available for first years. These include course representatives for your year group in which it is your responsibility to report student feedback on modules to staff members in meetings that occur throughout the year. This is an important role and often very popular as it is a great starting point for a Fresher to get involved. Alternatively, the society will be looking for a First Year Social Secretary to work alongside Tom throughout the year. The main responsibility is to help Tom organise and run socials, as well as planning your very own socials tailored exclusively to first years. Most importantly, the best way to get involved is to go to socials that the Society will host, in order to mingle and get to know your fellow PPE-ers!
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Student Hints and Tips Don’t leave your module selection to the last minute. If there’s a popular module it will fill up quickly, if you leave it too long you’ll miss out!
The best cheap cocktails are at a bar called ‘Font’ – there’s one in Fallowfield and one by Oxford Road Station. They do delicious cocktails for as little as £2!
For tickets for club nights all around Manchester go to ‘Gaffs’, it’s opposite the Owen’s Park entrance.
If you’re a footie fan, the Union sells discounted Man Utd and Man City tickets just for students.
The best student pubs are definitely The Friendship Inn or 256 in Fallowfield. They both have great pub gardens for soaking up the rare Manchester rays.
Twice a year, the Union hosts a massive party called Pangaea from 8pm – 6am. It’s always really popular, so book early and get involved.
Check out the Freshers’ Fair, there are hundreds of society stands and a lot of free stuff (including pizza!)
Get a bus pass! Stagecoach does one for the whole year, which you can buy online. OR buy a bike! Hundreds of students cycle into uni and back every day.
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Important Contacts and Websites
Contacts: PPE Programme Director: John O’Neill – john.f.o’neill@manchester.ac.uk PPE Course Administrator: Lynn Dignan - lynn.dignan@manchester.ac.uk Head of Philosophy: Thomas Uebel - thomas.e.uebel@manchester.ac.uk Head of Politics: Andrew Russell – andrew.russell@manchester.ac.uk Head of Economics: Ken Clark – ken.clark@manchester.ac.uk
Websites: PPE Society Website: http://www.ppe.manchester.ac.uk/ PPE Course Website: http://www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/2013/cou rse/?code=00154&pg=all Social Sciences Website: http://www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/ Philosophy Website: http://www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/disciplines/philosophy/ Politics Website: http://www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/disciplines/politics/ Economics Website: http://www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/disciplines/economics/
PPE Society Social Media: Twitter: @UoMPPE Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/ppesociety LinkedIn: University of Manchester PPE Alumni 13
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