our year 2016/17 our team 4 welcome 5 big wins 2016/17 6 your voice 8 your opportunities 12 your wellbeing 18 your community 22 your future 26
our team 2016/17 Edward Pollock President (Communication & Democracy)
Michele Collie General Manager
Kerry Harrison President (Education & Welfare)
Stephen Fiddes Advice & Administration Co-ordinator
Katherine Corbett President (Sport & Physical Activity)
Stevie Kearney Student Development & Volunteering Co-ordinator
Ritchie Duncan President (Sport & Physical Activity)
Euan Walker Student Development & Volunteering Co-ordinator
Marty McGouran Vice President (Community)
Gregor Mailer Design & Marketing Manager
Lodovica Avidano Vice President (Entertainment & Events)
Zoe Gove Graphic Designer
Frederick Ferife Vice President (Student Affairs)
David Nicolson Climate Change Manager
Nneoma Okpara Vice President (Wellbeing & Equal Opps)
Dimo Peev Climate Change Engagement Co-ordinator
Boma Fubara Vice President (Environment & Ethics)
Caroline Gausden Climate Change Engagement Co-ordinator
Desmond Ojei Vice President (Sport)
Laura Cristea Climate Change Project Officer
Joshua Okpara Vice President (Societies)
Jo Taylor Union Administrator
Dana Khairi Vice President (International)
Debbie Booth PA / Admin
Nnenna Ogbasonu RAG Chair
Nancy Taylor Finance Co-ordinator Norma Polson Deeview Student Store Supervisor Lynne Fraser Deeview Student Store Supervisor
welcome On behalf of the RGU Union team welcome to our 2016/17 impact report. This has been an exciting year for the Union, with a real focus on driving our strategic plan forward through a diverse range of projects, events and campaigns. One of our main objectives was to enhance the student experience and create change in an everevolving Students’ Union. In particular, this year the Union team have been championing the student voice and responding to their feedback. Student Officers have been leading the way with significant changes, such as the introduction of a new academic calendar which will be implemented in 2018/19, resulting in exams taking place before Christmas. Furthermore, through successfully lobbying, late night buses were introduced during our busy exam periods. Another win was the development of a new student-friendly assessment timetable, and the ability to release it earlier than before. By building on our previous successes and focusing on our internal opportunities, this academic year has seen substantial growth in participation and engagement. We have seen a record breaking number of society memberships with an amazing 16% of the RGU student population becoming members of a society. We have also experienced a significant rise in student participation through our various extra-curricular activities, with 21,800 volunteering hours being submitted.
Another development for the Union has been the launch of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award programme. This saw the Union become a registered provider of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, giving students the opportunity to develop transferrable skills and receive recognition for their achievements. Another project that has been further developed this year is the ‘Live Right’ campaign, where a new rating system has been introduced on our website, giving students a platform to leave feedback on letting agencies and student accommodation. Our environmental initiative, RGU Go Green, has been going from strength to strength and had a remarkable year. Along with their many successes they have secured further funding of £145,000 for 2017/18. Throughout the year they have raised student awareness on sustainability and have engaged 80 volunteers who are supporting their various projects, one example is Aberdeen’s first zero waste community café, which has been extremely well received by the local community. The Go Green team was also recognised nationally, and won ‘Student Opportunities of the Year’ at the NUS Scotland Awards ceremony. A new initiative for the Union this year has been the ability to offer employment opportunities to student interns. These projects involved the introduction of the Duke of Edinburgh Scheme and the development of a leadership programme. Throughout the year we have strengthened our partnership with the university to represent students’ views and opinions in order to enhance the student experience. We worked alongside the university to upgrade Union Way through rebranding, relocating the Deeview Student Store, creating a new flexible meeting space, and investing in The Terrace social area. Our overall objective is to offer a Union social space and build a sense of community for our members.
EDWARD POLLOCK
MICHELE COLLIE
PRESIDENT OF COMMUNICATION & DEMOCRACY 2016/17
STUDENTS’ UNION GENERAL MANAGER
big
social space development on union way
wins
graduation ball
sold out over two nights
2016/17
more than
twenty
seven thousand pounds raised for local & national charities
accommodation
rating system launched
zero waste community cafe launched
duke of edinburgh’s
award
introduced
awarded
deeview student
store relocation
1859 society members
successful campaign for a new
academic calendar nus scotland late night
student
launched
award winners
bus service
opportunities
ÂŁ145,000 environmental grant freshers
welfare
squad volunteers introduced
biggest ever
freshers
events line-up
yourvoice annual general meeting & student voice forum This year, we revitalised our forums and introduced ‘Student Voice’ to bring together students from across the university to raise and vote on ideas, question Executive Officers and feedback to the Union. There were three Student Voice meetings and one Annual General Meeting which engaged students and passed powerful ideas that sets the Union’s direction and the changes students want to see.
move exams before christmas
achieved new calendar launch in 2018/19
Continued Funding for RGU Go Green
achieved Received £145,000 Funding for 2017/18
six
24 hour library access in december
in progress 24 Hour Library will be Introduced in December 2018
healthier catering options
in progress New Outlets Such as Vegan Bar in Health Building Introduced
reduce prices of student accommodation
in progress Secured Price Freeze and Reductions on some accommodation sites
Introduce Gender Neutral Toilets
in progress Library Toilets to be Converted, Proposals to Convert Some Accessible Toilets
number of motions passed at our 2017 annual general meeting
152 number of attendees present at our 2017 annual general meeting
student partnership agreement RGU:Union has continued to work in partnership with RGU to represent students views and undertake projects to improve students experiences. This year, RGU:Union lead the way in rebranding and relaunching the ‘Student Partnership Agreement’ with new logos, documents, webpages, and posters. We launched an ‘Achieved in Partnership’ campaign to celebrate the wins due to student feedback, redeveloped new ‘Engagement and Partnership Awards’ for student representatives, updated our approach to student representative meetings and presented across the University and Scotland about our creative approach to student partnership. We also worked together on two key themes to improve the student experience.
assessment & feedback - Introducing a new assessment timeline for all courses - Increased use of online submission - Consistent assessment information on CampusMoodle
student timetabling - Introducing a New Academic Calendar - Releasing Exam Timetables Earlier and Consistently - Promoting a new student timetabling app
achieved in partnership
rgu:
late night buses Over the past few years, we have been working with First Aberdeen to introduce a late night bus service when the library is open 24 hours during exams. In 2017, First launched the new U1 service running buses from campus at 1:15am, 2:15am, 3:15am and 4:15am during exams in January and May.
welcome project Worked alongside the university to launch a new ‘Welcome’ campaign to introduce students to RGU upon starting university, with a new Student Life Guide, branding, videos and more.
student internships Worked alongside DELTA to introduce new Student Intern Schemes allowing students opportunities for paid jobs working on key projects such as Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, Leadership Programme, Student Partnership and more.
ion
yourvoice academic calendar change In 2016, students passed an idea at the Annual General Meeting to change the academic calendar to move exams before Christmas. We took this feedback forward and worked in partnership with the university to establish a working group, undertake a student survey and got over 1,600 responses. Our Presidents then worked with staff across the university to design a new calendar to take into consideration student feedback. Within the space of a year from the original idea, and within months of the survey, RGU formally approved the new calendar for 2018/19 with semester one moved one week forward, exams before Christmas, and semester two remaining the same.
1622
responses to calendar survey
73%
students in favour of calendar change
rgu:
ion
student elections 7th-10th March
winners michael ife president communication & democracy
kerry harrison president education & welfare
eilidh paterson president sport & physical activity
martin thomson vice president entertainment & events
martha gilmore
the big union survey 2017 Our BIG Union Survey returned this year, polling our membership on their awareness of Union services and to gauge their opinions on university life. A total of 1262 responses were submitted, with some very encouraging results. The questions in the survey were themed around our Strategic Priorities and drew from similar questions asked by the National Union of Students Strategic Planning Survey, which was conducted in 2014.
number of students who knew they were members of the union increased by 27%
80% of students feel that the union has positively impacted their rgu experience
85% of students feel that the union represents their academic interests
number of students who were “very satisfied� with the union increased by 36%
vice president societies
gavin rittoo vice president sport
jennifer ritchie vice president wellbeing & equal opps
gonzalo lara de leyva vice president environment & ethics
6585
1422
Total number of votes cast in this year’s election
number of individual voters
16
12%
number of candidates running across all full time and part time positions
voter turnout percentage
1
4 3
male
student representatives & school officers
female
2
voter breakdown: year of study
Following the academic restructure in October 2016, we have replaced faculty officers with school-based officers, expanding the number of senior representatives. Their role has been enhanced with a clearer communication structure and closer engagement with their school which enables them to make positive changes for students in their school.
voter breakdown: gender
2243 1920 1616 1335
2009
2010
1505
2011
1680 1734 1422
1413
2012
2013
2014
2015
student election turnout figures since 2009
2016
2017
400
12
200
number of registered class representatives
number of school officers appointed
representatives fully trained by the union & sparqs
youropportunities student media groups Once again, Student Media has grown significantly this year, with strong and passionate teams of volunteers pioneering new ideas, engaging more people and producing interesting and popular content. The Union’s contribution to media this year, has included designing and building a new online version of Radar Magazine, refreshing the website and building a player for RGU:Radio, developing a student media policy and introducing media committee training. The individual groups have worked incredibly hard and achieved a great deal for their groups.
radar 3 printed editions produced with 5000 copies printed and distributed
launched a brand new website with regular content updated every week
online articles and features have been read over 40,000 times since launch
won most improved society at this year’s student achievement awards ball
over 50,000 minutes of content produced across 57 different podcasts
brand new streaming platform introduced to provide easier listening options
over 18,000 video views through on demand youtube and facebook platforms
won media team of the year at this year’s student achievement awards ball
more than 30,000 minutes of content watched across 80 different videos
won highly commended at this year’s national student television awards
student internship & placement opportunities As part of our renewed focus on providing exciting internal student involvement opportunities, a number of internship and placement roles were introduced during this academic year. These included Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Co-ordinator, who looked after the launch of the scheme throughout the university, and also a number of project intern positions aimed at developing the framework for a new Union-led leadership development programme. Roles such as these allow us to provide students at RGU with paid on-campus opportunities, which will not only enhance their employability skills, but also provides the Union with direct input and opinions regarding our upcoming projects and campaigns. It was incredibly promising to see the students build confidence and grow into their roles during their time with the Union.
Working as an intern has allowed me to build confidence working within a team not only at the union, but also as part of the larger University community. having student interns means that the views of rgu students are always represented, and I would definitely recommend the experience to others ross leven, duke of edinburgh’s award intern
My time at the Union provided me with a great opportunity to gain project management experience and see a vision evolve into a reality. I loved being part of a great team where I was encouraged to use my own initiative and share my ideas. I am now searching for a graduate role and the internship has given me great examples to use in interviews! caliana jakes, leagership programme project intern
It was a great experience. Being able to work in a role so relevant to my university course, I could see the benefits reflected in my coursework bob mcateer, web development project intern
youropportunities rgu go green Our Go Green team launched a suite of exciting projects over the 2016/17 academic year, with a concerted effort to offer as many meaningful volunteering opportunities as possible. With four project streams covering a wide variety of roles and involvement, we had something for everyone whether it was in our Zero Waste Community Café, Energy Ambassadors Scheme, Veg Bag cooperative or Bike Hire Scheme. We had skills development and experience building at the heart of everything we did, offering the chance to take responsibility on and develop the projects that were funded by CCF into student led and run operations. The response from the student body was fantastic, with over 80 volunteers actively involved in our projects, with many developing leadership roles within the projects to take forward into the newly constituted LivEco Society. 16 Volunteers gained formal qualification with City & Guilds, 6 volunteers undergoing STEPS to Excellence with the Pacific Institute to develop their leadership skills, and a further 16 gaining practical food hygiene training certificates through our extremely popular Zero Waste Community Café. We are delighted to say that our efforts were recognised by NUS, with our project being awarded the Student Opportunities award in the 2017 Student Awards. We aim to continue to offer quality, inspiring and meaningful opportunities in 2017/18 thanks to renewed funding from Keep Scotland Beautiful via the Climate Challenge Fund. With over £145,000 awarded, we will be able to develop new projects offering valuable services to students such as a free clothing and household item swapshop, ‘VegBag Plus’ Co-op, bike maintenance workshop and more, all the while offering opportunities to get involved.
49 people who achieved qualifications through go green volunteering or project work
2017 student opportunities award winner
raising and giving Along with their standard on-campus collections, RGU:RAG (our charity Raising And Giving group) has forged strong links with a number of ‘challenge event’ based organisations over the past few years, including First Aid Africa and Childreach International. The team have again supported RGU students with their fundraising activities as they prepare to undertake internationally based opportunities, such as climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.
£27,088
Looking ahead, the Union has plans to support RAG’s development even further, with succession planning at the forefront to ensure that strong teams are in place to continue the group’s vital work year upon year.
total raised this year
duke of edinburgh’s award The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) is open to anyone aged between 14 and 24, and provides opportunities for students to build important transferrable skills and greatly enhance their CV and employability. In 2016 the Union joined a number of other higher education institutions throughout Scotland by offering the accreditation to our students. Since launching in December, we have had already seen our first two students complete their awards, plus a number of others have successfully undertaken their practice expedition with a view to completing their assessment by September 2017. We look forward to building on this extremely promising start and increasing awareness and student recruitment throughout the next academic year.
22,050
173
total number of volunteering hours submitted by rgu students 2016/17
number of registered volunteers
volunteering This year has seen a change of personnel in our Volunteering department, with Euan Walker joining us as Student Development & Volunteering Co-ordinator. A considerable effort has been made to promote and recruit for a number of the Union’s internal volunteering opportunities, including Edgeworn Bookshop, Nightline, plus Equality Champion and representative roles. We have seen very positive results from this slight, but effective change of focus, with increased volunteer numbers across our internal services.
youropportunities societies We reached a record high for society memberships this year, with 1859 students signing up to engage as part of one of our student-led groups. The figure, which represents 16% of all students at RGU, has also led to the creation and planned introduction of a number of new societies, including cultural options such as the Indian Society and Arab Society, light-hearted social offerings such as the Tennent’s Society, and academic-based groups including the Creative & Cultural Business Society. We hope to see this positive growth continue into the next session.
1859 society members
Societies have been a huge part of my journey at university, and have helped me to develop the skills I need for my professional career. I was able to develop my leadership skills, and became comfortable with managing a team of people. I learned about planning and running events, and to think on my feet to overcome issues as they arose. Four years after coming to RGU, I’m leaving with the ability to apply what I’ve learnt, and a lot more confidence in my abilities. Without the societies, and knowing the union was always there to support me, I’m sure I could not have achieved what I have. charlotte rigden, society person of the year 2017
sports clubs This was another extremely positive year for sports clubs at Robert Gordon University, with a number of league wins and successful championship progress across the board. As well as winning Club of the Year at our annual Bules Ball, Women’s Basketball were crowned champions the top league in Scotland, while GAA won the British Division 1 Men’s Championship. Squash also won their league, along with the Conference Cup and successfully remained unbeated throughout the duration of the season. A full list of Sports Club achievements and successes can be viewed as part of the successful Purple Wednesdays show on RGU:TV’s YouTube channel.
31 total number of sports clubs
award winners 2017 Full Scarlet Award Tom Sadler Rebecca Lloyd Charlotte Rigden Half Scarlet Award with Distinction Annaella Harris Ellen Laird Ross Cowie Ross Robinson Half Scarlet Award with Continued Excellence Emma Diamond Half Scarlet Award Martha Gilmore Adam Johnston Amy Gregor Andreea Alexa Anna Diouri Artemis Giatra Calhounnah Bain Christopher Cowie Claire O’Donnell Corina Andrian Craig Robertson Rima Chaudhry Robert Kandrik Sophie Dolderer Recognition Award (Societies) Amy Fell Ana Costin Caitlin Baxter Ester Laiho Gana Jones-Purdie Gillian Hodge Gyongyi Rozsas Holly Groves Jemma Tansley Katie Alcock Kristin Troppenhagen Laura McMillan Lauren Taylor Mina Stoyanova Monika Kircheva Polina Lukiyanova Ruxandra Avram Sergey Sedounov Engagement Award Andreea Alexa Lodovica Avidano David Munro Charlotte Rigden
Outstanding Pride in Partnership Award Edward Pollock Full Blue Award Dionne Milne Ellen Robertson Jeb Spink Carmen Gammie Thomas Roberts Mark Drummond Rona Stewart Kierran Leith Krzysztof Bracha Half Blue Award Kirsty Reynolds Alex Stevenson Desmond Ojei Caitlin McLoughlin Ruth Horkan David Richardson Dale Bradford Jack Thorn Haaris Ramzan Hazel Sy Ritchie Duncan Scott Murray Kathryn Duthie Gregor Pittendreigh Josh Quinn Claire Johnston Lindsey McDiarmid Margaret-Jane Malcolm Aoife Tangney Angus Cameron Bianca Mourik Maggie Richmond Recognition Award (Sport) Emma Leask Nova Choi Kieran MacKenzie Caitlin McLoughlin Rory Anton Suzanne Harley Nicholas Rodger Kerry Haggerty McKenzie Cairns Jack Bushfield Thomas Roberts Michaela Catchpole Erin Wyness Sandy McAllister Emma Black Katherine Thomson Sophie Schneeberge Angus Grieve Callum Klaassen Greig Stewart Maggie Richmond
Society of the Year Dumbledore’s Army Academic Society of the Year IHI Society New Society of the Year Creative Writing & Poetry Most Improved Society Radar Magazine Most Improved Academic Society Research Students’Assoc Volunteering Project of the Year RGU Film Festival Media Group of the Year RGU:TV Student Leadership Award RGU:Nightline Student Engagement Award Life Sciences Society Student Voice Award LGBT+ Society Community Ambassador Award Gaming Society Continued Excellence and Consistency ESN RGU Special Recognition Award 5710 Architecture Duke of Edinburgh’s Silver Award Rebecca Donn
Volunteer of the Year (Societies and Student Groups) Rebecca Lloyd Volunteer of the Year (Sport) John Anton Society Person of the Year Charlotte Rigden Sports Team of the Year Squash Sports Club of the Year Basketball Sports Club President’s Performance of the Year Men’s GAA SAA Certificates Adam Pake Aileen Walsh Andrew Bannerman Anja Nielsen Boma Fubara Dana Khari Declan Gordon Desmond Ojei Frederick Ferife Jamie Newton Joshua Okpara Kristain Karban Laura Cheyne Linda Larsson Linnea Magnusson Lodovica Avidano Marty McGouran Nathan Dickson Nnenna Agbasonu Nneoma Okpara Robert McAteer Ross Leven Sara Torre Sarah Millar Siobhan Carty Pride in Partnership Award with Distinction Caliana Jakes Frederick Ferife Tamsin Russell
yourwellbeing freshers welfare squad This academic year began with the introduction of the Freshers Welfare Squad. This is a team volunteers that act as a point of contact for welfare issues for students during the 2-week Fresher period. 10 students were recruited and given training on how to respond when someone discusses sensitive issues with them, and who to direct students to for further assistance. 3 members of the Welfare Squad were on shift every night of the Freshers period, and were allocated to one of our partner night-time venues. Here, they ran a stall distributing water, condoms, Freshers Guides, and keyrings with the contact details for Nightline and the Advice & Support service. They also helped make sure students were safe in these venues, publicised the Safe Taxi Scheme and helped students who were alone get home safely. This initiative was a success in freeing the Freshers Team up from welfare-related duties, and proved to be popular with freshers:
10
50
NUMBER OF WELFARE SQUAD VOLUNTEERS
NUMBER OF freshers team VOLUNTEERS
35
100
number of volunteers involved with rgu nightline
volunteers took part in over 100 events during 14 days worth of freshers activities
“I really appreciated the welfare squad being at Institute and Garage with water. It was great to get some fresh air and water without asking at the bar. You guys did a great job” “As a student I feel really safe knowing that there are approved schemes and I know that if I have any problems getting back to my accommodation I would know who to use and contact.” “As a first year student, unaware of the area I feel incredibly safer knowing that if I have any problems going back to my accommodation, I would know who to contact and what services to use. I find this a really good, helpful scheme for students and it’s good to see our welfare is priority.” “I think it was great to have members of the union walking around in clubs on nights out to make sure freshers got home safely, I definitely felt safer with them there.”
Being a part of the welfare squad in this year’s freshers team was an amazing experience which I will never forget. It was a great learning opportunity, allowing me to develop personal skills including team working and communication. Volunteering also gave me the chance to meet both new and continuing students and see how students can work together to help and support one another. welfare squad 2017 member
members of the 2016 freshers team (orange), team leaders (black) and newly introduced welfare squad (green)
yourwellbeing STUDENT ADVICE SERVICE This was a challenging year for the Advice service as the University’s introduction of the Fit To Sit policy meant significant changes to the processes involved in Academic Appeals and extenuating circumstances cases. The Fit To Sit policy means that by sitting an exam or submitting coursework, a student has declared themselves fit to do so. If they are not fit to do so, they should make a Deferral Request or a Coursework Extension Request. It was unclear whether the change to these processes would lead to an increase or a decrease in the number of students seeking advice. There has proven to be a significant increase in use of the service, but it is unclear whether this is due to the introduction of the Fit To Sit policy. Advice was provided to students on approximately 580 occasions, a 66% increase on 2015/16. The most common issues that advice was given were on Academic Appeals (30% of cases) and Student Misconduct (27% of cases). There has been a 67% increase in interactions concerning Student Misconduct cases, and a 55% increase in interactions concerning Academic Appeals. These increases can be partly attributed to the fact the documentation concerning both these issues refers students to the Union for advice. However, the increase in appeals is also likely caused by the elimination of the “Extenuating Circumstances Claim”, which means that an appeal is the only means by which a student can notify the Assessment Board of circumstances that affected their performance in an assessment.
After trying to speak with my module coordinator and my course coordinator about a matter that affected my grades, the Union’s advice was the most helpful
always ready to give you advice and follows up on the outcome of your discussion
100% PERCENTAGE OF USERS WHO RATED THEIR INTERACTION WITH THE ADVICE SERVICE AS “VERY HELPFUL”
94% PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS WHO AGREE THAT THE UNION “SUPPORTS STUDENTS AND HAS HELPFUL SERVICES TO CREATE AN INCLUSIVE AND SAFE COMMUNITY”
safe taxi scheme We continued our successful Safe Taxi Scheme once again this year, which is a collaboration between the Union and Rainbow City Taxis. The scheme, which contributed greatly to Aberdeen City becoming the first city in Scotland to be awarded Purple Flag status, was established in 2015 and allows vulnerable students to pay for a taxi with their student card and settle the balance at a later date at the Union office. The busiest period of usage for the service is generally towards the beginning of the year, between September and October, with the majority of journeys running either to or from student accommodation sites in the city. This year saw verified safe taxis cover around 75 miles, ensuring that RGU students always have a secure and trustworthy way to get home.
23
75
number of safe taxi uses in 2016/17
number of miles travelled by safe taxis
therapets Arguably the most fun day in the Union office, but with a very worthwhile and positive message! Twice a year we work with our Mental Wellbeing Society and open our doors to a team of furry friends from the Canine Concern Scotland Trust. For some years now it has been recognised, more and more, that pets are good for us. Indeed, it has been scientifically proven that the mere action of stroking a dog can slow down the heartbeat, reduce blood pressure and relieve stress. Therapet sessions are open to all students, and provide a break from studying, coursework and exams at an extremely high-pressure time of year.
yourcommunity union way development This year, RGU:Union’s home on the campus was relaunched as ‘Union Way’ after a significant new development of the Deeview Student Store and the introduction of a meeting space. The project was worked on in partnership with the university, and the Union aimed at responding to student feedback around enhancing social space. As a result, the Union introduced new branding and graphics, added music to the area, new sofa, astroturf, TV screens and more. The new meeting space has been highly valuable to the Union and societies, and the new Deeview Student Store highlights the wide range of branded products on offer.
live right campaign In its second year, the Live Right Campaign continued to provide students with support and information on finding accommodation in Aberdeen. During the year, RGU:Union hosted a second Housing Fair as well as producing a new ‘House Hunting Checklist’ to take students step‐by‐step through their housing search. A key achievement of the campaign this year was the development and launch of the Live Right website with information, videos, helpful links and the new Live Right Ratings. The ratings section of the website allows students to find a list of letting agencies and student accommodation providers, find key details and leave a feedback reviews to share their experiences with others. This allows students to sort letting agencies by rating and make informed housing choices. Through the new website and resources, students at RGU have a useful source of information for finding a flat in Aberdeen.
50% of students do not feel their accommodation gives them value for money 82% of students rated ‘cost of rent’ as one of the top priorities when house hunting live right housing fair introduced a new commercial income source for the union
2017 shortlisted for campaign of the year
21
60
commercial freshers fayre exhibitors
non-commercial freshers fayre exhibitors
freshers fayre The Freshers period also saw another successful and well attended Freshers Fayre. Our event takes place on one day only, with over 150 stalls set up from societies, sports clubs, student groups, RGU and Union departments, Noncommercial and charitable organisations, plus a number of local and national commercial organisations. The event has grown rapidly over the past few years, and now takes place across RGU:Sport, Union Way, and Aberdeen Business School, with plans to introduce sections of the Sir Ian Wood Building as demand for stalls increases.
#generationvote Over the past year, RGU:Union has worked with the National Union of Students to encourage students to register to vote and participate in local elections. We promoted campaigns around the Our Community Too campaign on local council elections, as well as voter registration campaigns for the General Election through social media, e�mails and materials to encourage students to vote.
rgu film festival A project devised and delivered by our Film Society, the first RGU Film Festival took place during the spring with support from the Belmont Filmhouse. Nominations opened during the first semester, and saw hundreds of submissions received from all over the globe, with a team of student judges selecting a shortlist and public screenings taking place for the winners. The unique nature of the event coupled with the organising team’s commitment led to the festival being named Volunteering Project of the Year at the Student Achievement Awards Ball.
yourcommunity star awards The STAR Awards are the Union’s annual student-led staff awards, which aim to provide students from all schools to recognise lecturers, tutors, and support staff who go above and beyond to deliver a high quality experience at RGU. This year’s highest accolateds were delivered to Mark Zarb, Marie Goua and Rachel Ironside as Lecturers of the Year. Thorsten Lauterbach received Innovative Lecturer of the Year, while Morgan Adams was awarded the Supervisor of the Year prize. David Blyth and Isla Fairly received Personal Tutor of the Year awards, and Craig Leith was presented with the Extra-curricular Award. Konstantina Martzoukou was selected to receive the Postgraduate Choice Award.
160 nominations received
graduation ball Our Graduation Ball continues to be one of our most popular flagship events, as once again we saw record-breaking ticket sales with over 800 keen graduates queuing outside our newly relocated Deeview Student Store from the early hours of the morning in the hope of securing tickets, leading the event to sell out once again in less than 90 minutes. The nights themselves featured a fantastic four-course meal, plus entertainment from local musicians, live ceilidh band, DJ plus special additions such as a professional photobooth, pick’n’mix carts, candy floss and more. We look forward to continuing this for our 2018 events.
836 grad ball attendees
fresh fest FreshFest was was the newest, and largest Union-run event added to our Freshers line-up in 2016. The idea of introducing multi-stage festival was devised on the back of student feedback and a willingness to provide a headline event of equal standing to our nightclub-based bookings, but one which is also open to our under 18 students. Entertainment included live music, DJs including Dev from BBC Radio 1, comedy lounge featuring Ed Gamble, live ceilidh band, and silent disco. Feedback was extremely positive, and we will continue for Freshers 2017.
zero waste community cafe One of our Go Green team’s major successes this year has been the creation of Aberdeen’s first Zero Waste Community Cafe, which has become a popular feature of the week amongst students and local community members. Located in close proximity to Crathie Student Village, and utilising an enthusiastic team of Go Green student volunteers, the cafe served over 1000 meals throughout the year, whilst also incorporating a number of weekly themes and events. This has allowed more than 18 unique educational and social events to taken place as part of the project, which has ranged from supporting student art projects, to providing a platform for our student election candiates, all the while allowing vital social interaction between our membership and the local community. The desire to be zero waste, shop local, and seasonal has remained strong throughout the project, and has seen the team develop partnerships with suppliers of surplus food and local produce as word of the project has spread.
yourfuture
Financially, the Union has faced a challenging year for 2016/17, mainly due to incurring a reduction in our block grant plus rising costs. Furthermore, a new accounting legislation introduced now requires the Union to make provision in the year-end financial statements for projected pension deficits. This new reporting procedure will result in a deficit on the financial statement ending 31st July. This is expected to continue in the coming years.
leadership programme In order to develop our student members, we have been undertaking a significant project to introduce a student Leadership Programme which will bring together the wide range of extra‐curricular activities on offer, and allow students to track, gain and reflect on skills learnt through these opportunities. The programme will encourage those involved in student activities to understand the skills they are gaining and highlight where they can develop further. The Union will then be able to provide additional skills modules and workshops for all those on the programme to undertake, which will contribute to their overall portfolio of development which will be recognised by Leadership Awards.
To view our published accounts for 2015-16, visit www.rguunion.co.uk
Over the year, we have hired three student interns to undertake research, develop web content, create branding, outline a framework, and make the plans for the programme. The programme will align with the university’s ambitions around student employability and allow the Union to ensure all of our members are developed and recognised to meet their highest potential.
FORECAST INCOME AND EXPENDITURE FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 JULY 2017
collaborative research projects The Union will be taking part in a collaborative research project, which aims to be the largest-ever study of its kind. This will provide us with an in-depth report and recommendations to develop action plans and projects focused around student mental health.
To this end, our Go Green team have successfully secured six-figure funding from Keep Scotland Beautiful for a fourth consecutive year, which will allow them to continue our their various sustainability initiatives. The development of commercial partnership opportunities, and the extension of existing agreements, has also been a particular focus, alongside the introduction of new events which aim to drive further income to the organisation.
The total income generated by the Union is £589,037 in which 12% came from our trading division and the total expenditure amounted to £554,139. A forecasted net surplus of £7,390 from this year’s operation will be integrated into the existing available funds to create more projects for students’ welfare. Targets were down on our trading division due to the relocation. However, a team was created to help us expand and increase sales.
income generation With the lack of a city centre trading premises, coupled with a significant cut to our block grant for the 2016/17 session and a number of cost increases, it is now even more important for the Union to investigate alternative revenue streams to ensure the sustainability of our operations and the development of new student-led campaigns and projects.
union finance summary
£145,000 funding received for rgu go green activities
In spite of the association’s recurrence of deficit in our financial reporting, the overall governance and aim of the Trustees is to uphold and to sustain the smooth flow of operation and to create more favourable projects for the welfare and meaningful interests of the University students. On the other hand, we are proud to announce that our Go Green project team has been awarded another year of funding by the Keep Scotland Beautiful agency granting us a total of £145,094.
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
00
grants
events
trading
other
income sources 2016/17
go green Our Go Green team received funding of ÂŁ150,000 for their 2016/17 activities, with 4 specific outcomes outlined: Food Waste & Local Food Production Food security, access and sustainability is a rising issue facing society, and Aberdeen is no different. Consumption of mass produced, carbon intensive foodstuffs is the norm, with cost being a main driver. Through a variety of projects we showcased the benefits both financially and nutritionally of utilising locally sourced, organic produce and sustainable cooking recipes and techniques.
projects, groups & campaigns
Transport With the main RGU campus being at the edge of the city, some 10 km from the main bases of accommodation, a daily migration of thousands of students and staff causes significant environmental impact. We aimed to offer low- cost, practical solutions that would help lower the environmental impact and financial burden of this daily commute.
operations
Energy Fuel Poverty rates remain stubbornly high throughout Scotland, despite the best efforts of government programmes. We aimed to provide support, advice, information and assistance to the student and wider community to lower emissions and costs associated with keeping homes warm and the lights on by way of trained community Energy Ambassadors. The accredited training offered helped volunteers develop a well-rounded set of transferable skills that will aid future employment prospects.
income distribution 2016/17
150,000
Community With a wide variety of project streams being developed, we offered up numerous opportunities for community members to take an active partby way of volunteering and attending training sessions, events and workshops. Our aim was to find a way in which we could engage with anyone that interacted with our project, and with themes covering food, travel, and homes we feel that we had something for everyone.
100,000
50,000
00
grants
memberships
blues ball
contributions
sports club income 2016/17
other
a comprehensive review of rgu go green’s 2016/17 activities can be found in their final review, which is available to read on the rgu:union website
The RGU:Union
Sustainable Part
finalreport E S T 2 016
nerships Initia tive
2016/17