In Our Words Student Hubs Annual Review 2011-12
2 | INTRODUCTION
Welcome
Adam Grodecki, Chair
Adam O’Boyle, CEO
Welcome to our 2011-12 Annual Review
On 22 September 2011, Student Hubs realised a long-held dream: we opened the UK’s only multi-purpose building dedicated to student social action and volunteering. Ever since we set up what was then Oxford Hub in 2007, we’ve believed that our model could operate through a physical space in order to reach out to the community. We imagined a place where people could come together, make connections, learn, discover, collaborate and make a positive difference in the world. And now - many paint pots, electricians, kitchen staff, plates of food and numerous challenges later - we’re here. We write this from our new central office in Oxford, overlooking a few of the colleges, cafes and libraries in which Student Hubs was born. Our dream is slowly and surely taking hold: more students are getting involved, forging links with the local community, enjoying the space to host ethical events, reaching more people and setting up new projects. We’re financially safeguarding our future, too, through the development of our sister social enterprise (more on Turl Street Kitchen on pages 6-7). We’re learning more every day but, so far, this is working. And in the future, we will continue to explore the different ways Hubs can operate in local environments, whether through networks, community spaces, or online. Another highlight of the year has been developing our national programmes. The team hosted a successful Emerge conference on social entrepreneurship with inspiring speakers Bill Strickland and Jack Sim (pages 26-27), supported students passionate about international development with overseas volunteering workshops and resources (pages 24-25), and delivered the Impact conference (page 23) on student volunteering and social action. We also expanded the Ethical Internships Scheme (pages 32-33), placing 75 students after a record 451 applications, and
delivered a set of Climate Forums to encourage debate and discussion on environmental and sustainability issues. This Annual Review presents our impact through the four Student Hubs key outcomes: more students (from page 8), doing more (from page 14), more effectively (from page 22) and for longer (from page 30). This reflects our fundamental belief that students will access our services at different points on their own journey, and have different support needs, from inspiration to tailored advice and training. For delivering this impact, enormous thanks and congratulations are due to our hard-working, innovative, and downright incredible family of students, staff, and trustees. They make amazing things happen in Bristol, Cambridge, Imperial College, Oxford, Oxford Brookes Southampton, Warwick, and beyond. There’s much more to come. In 2012-13, we will be hosting Student Volunteering Week together with NUS for the first time. We will reach and surpass the milestone of 25,000 students signed up to our network. We will open a new Hub, at SOAS. We will welcome a further twelve graduates to our staff team, working across our four offices in Bristol, Cambridge, London, and Oxford. And, in May 2013, we will celebrate the fifth birthday of Student Hubs. So to our partners, stakeholders and friends - your support has never been so deeply appreciated. On behalf of everyone here at Student Hubs (and you can find us all on page 36), thank you. And here’s to another wonderful year.
Adam O’Boyle Executive Director
Adam Grodecki Chair of Trustees
Contents 2 Introduction 6 Social Enterprise 8 More Students 10 Warwick Hub 11 Imperial Hub 12 Southampton Hub: Futures Festival 13 What Next? 14 Doing More 15 The Week 16 Oxford Hub: Community Volunteering 18 Conferences 19 Bristol Hub: Social Enterprise Conference 20 Oxford Hub: Vice Chancellor’s Civic Awards 21 What Next? 22 More Effectively 23 Impact Conference 24 Training & Incubation 26 Emerge Conference 28 Warwick Hub: Supporting Charitable Activities 29 What Next? 30 For Longer 31 Graduates 32 Ethical Internships 34 The Social 35 What Next? 36 Hubbits 37 Finances 38 Thanks
4 | INTRODUCTION
About Student Hubs Founded in 2007, Student Hubs is a charity working in UK universities to transform student social action. We act as a catalyst, providing events, opportunities and support to empower students to make a positive difference now and in the future.
Theory of change
Our motivation
The world is full of challenges: poverty, climate change, injustice, apathy. We believe that to face these challenges it is crucial to invest in students. They have the energy, passion and drive to make a difference in the world. Students are also at a highly formative stage of life, which means issues and causes they engage with now are likely to remain important to them in the future. And given that the students of today are the leaders, thinkers, and decision-makers of tomorrow, facilitating their engagement in social action now will reap benefits for years to come.
Our vision
IN OUR WORDS | 5
Our vision is of a flourishing community of socially aware and socially active students who make a positive difference at home and abroad, both during their time at university and in their future careers.
Our mission
Our mission is to increase student engagement in social action and to ensure these efforts are effective and sustainable.
Our values Be ambitious
We are problem solvers, and go the extra mile just to check out the view. We are constantly learning.
Be social
We aim to be social and to nurture all relationships with empathy and understanding. We believe that together is stronger, and fun is better.
Be long-term
We hold a long-term perspective, and will always stay true to our core values to guide us into the future.
Be motivational
Be innovative
We act positively, with enabling energy and motivation. We are optimistic and give everyone and everything a chance. We’re bold and we’re visionary. We want maximum impact, and we will change things to get there. We’re not afraid to try, and we’re not afraid to fail.
Our impact Our approach is built towards achieving four key outcomes: 1. We engage MORE STUDENTS in social issues and action. 2. Students we engage are DOING MORE to achieve social change. 3. Students are acting MORE EFFECTIVELY to achieve impact. 4. Engagement in social issues and action lasts FOR LONGER..
6 | INTRODUCTION
Highlight: Opening our own social enterprise
120,000 cups of tea sold
Four years since the beginning of the Student Hubs journey, we launched a sister social enterprise to build a sustainable future. Turl Street Kitchen supports, promotes and underpins the social impact of Student Hubs, and is already becoming a firm favourite in central Oxford.
“
When we started our Student Hubs journey in 2007, we knew that one day we would need our own home. And we also knew that one day we would need our own sustainable income stream. With these two motivators in mind, and a lot of searching later, we found and leased a tall old Georgian townhouse in the centre of Oxford, opening in late September 2011. It is with enormous pride and excitement that we can look back at one year of running the only building in the UK dedicated to supporting student and community engagement. The main commercial operation,
and the heart of our home, is Turl Street Kitchen, headed up by the fantastic Carl, Patrick and Josh. The food is delicious and, where possible, it is local, seasonal and sustainably sourced. This has been a challenge all through the year, but it is one we have relished. To really push the sustainability agenda, we set ourselves the task of running events where only produce sourced within a 25-mile radius of Turl Street Kitchen could be served. Upstairs is our real, live Hub which is always bustling with events and meetings led by
Featured in the
Good Food Guide
students and community groups alike. We’ve had Oxfam host a swap shop on International Women’s Day and fundraising events run by the student group Friends of Helen and Douglas House. There have been film screenings as part of the Oxford Brookes Human Rights Film Festival, away days for local charities, and student comedy nights raising laughs, funds, and awareness for international development initiatives. We’ve created a library, specially for students running social action projects. And the door is always open to the offices where our team help students on the ground
IN OUR WORDS | 7
65,000
fresh, local, seasonal meals served
find the perfect opportunity for them to make a difference in the world. The list of ways in which this building is changing how students change the world is endless, growing, and never ceases to amaze. We can’t wait to report back on our second year, and perhaps plans for a second centre like this one. In the meantime, please drop in and say hello.
”
Adam O’Boyle, Hub Commercial Ventures
8 | MORE STUDENTS
Outcome 1 We engage
MORE STUDENTS with social issues and action
21,569
Our first step to achieving greater impact is to deliver initiatives which encourage more students to get involved in and engage with social and environmental issues. This means creating a higher level of on-campus awareness of issues and opportunities and pro-actively reaching out to more and more diverse communities of students. It also means gradually growing our network to include new universities where there is a need for a Hub.
7
students have joined the network
Local Hubs: Bristol, Brookes, Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial, Southampton, and Warwick
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= 500 students that have joined the network
10 | MORE STUDENTS
New Hub: Warwick Warwick Hub launched at the start of October 2011 and has focussed on reaching as many students as possible, supporting student charity groups and bringing students together through networking events and socials.
2500 students joined the network in the first month
“
I was Warwick Hub’s first ever coordinator, from conception to the end of our first full year. I’m proud of everything we managed to achieve last year; but my personal highlights would have to be the first event we ever put on - a film screening of Just Do It that attracted over 150 people, “The Series” which we successfully ran in the second term, but most of all the support that we managed to provide for any individual or group that wanted to do something charitable. Before the Hub, Warwick’s charitable groups felt like separate groups each struggling to attract members or get people excited about charity, but I believe that with the Hub we’ve managed to turn those groups into a community of like minded individuals, which many more people want to be apart of. I’ve loved my time with the Hub, and I’d like to think that we’ve managed to make a lasting impact, but having met next year’s fantastic committee I’m sure they’re going to do it even bigger and better than we did! Jonny Sherwood, former Warwick Hub Co-ordinator, currently Teach First Graduate
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New Hub: Imperial
Our first adventure in the capital came in the form of Imperial Hub in early 2012. Imperial Hub has been building up support and recognition as well as their core committee ahead of a full launch at the start of the 2012-13 academic year.
8 strong inaugural committee.
“
During the Easter holidays this year, myself and 3 other members of the newly formed Imperial Hub committee, alongside other Hub committee members from across the UK, took a precious day out of our revision time tables to participate in some Student Hubs training. The training day was held at the Imperial College Union and included learning about the mission of Student Hubs as well as how to be a successful committee and lead a team. I thought that the day was a fantastic way to get to know the other members of the Imperial Hub better and also meet some committee members from other Hubs. I soon felt as though I was beginning to properly understand what Student Hubs was really all about. After a yummy lunch we discussed some of the skills that good leaders should possess to effect real change in the world around them. As I left I felt really excited and enthused about working with the Imperial Hub committee to set up some projects for the following academic year. Caroline Wood, Imperial Hub Committee Member
12 | MORE STUDENTS
Futures Festival: Spotlight on Southampton Hub
Eighty delegates attended
An experiment in reaching more than our ‘usual suspects’, the Futures Festival hosted by Southampton Hub aimed to engage students with social and environmental issues through different themes and perspectives, such as ethical fashion.
“
Amy and Rosie (and the rest of their huge team) worked so hard to pull together the Futures Festival, which is certainly Southampton Hub’s most ambitious event so far, and I really enjoyed watching and helping it all come together. For me, the highlights of the weekend were packing out the Bridge bar on Friday night for the ethical fashion show and seeing the wonderful ethical clothes available locally. I also loved the range of speakers - from fellow students to global activists and those using state of the art technology to find solutions to environmental problems. Lastly, the union cafe’s vegan dinner was a wonderful way to end the festival. But what made the weekend really amazing was that the committee was a collaboration of people from Hubs, student groups; Green Action and students from Southampton Solent University, working with support from the union’s ethics and environments committee. I am also so proud of the various things that have since emerged from the conference. Myself and Amy have set up an Ethical Fashion Forum, loads of delegates reconsidered dissertation topics, changed their behaviour, and we put the spotlight on local enterprises that are working towards a better future! Tasha Unwin, Southampton Hub Co-ordinator
”
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What next?
We will launch SOAS Hub, bringing our total number of Hubs to eight We will surpass 25,000 students signed up to our network Each Hub will expand their reach in the student community by at least 25% Our network will develop programmes to engage new audiences, such as graduates and students interested in sport and business
14 | DOING MORE
Outcome 2 Students we engage are
DOING MORE to achieve social change
It is not enough to just encourage more students to get involved; we also work to highlight and create opportunities for students to take action, whether it is through an inspiring conference with scope for learning and networking, or signposting clear pathways to, for example, internships and volunteering opportunities. Something we’re very proud of is maintaining a balance of supporting opportunities and creating new ones where there is student demand.
We provide initiatives across 5 different programmes: community action, ethical careers, international development, environment & sustainability and social entrepreneurship
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The Hub emails and friends talking about events have made me more aware of different social issues, and its general existence is a great antidote to the excuses of apathy and ‘there’s no alternative’. Student recipient of The Week
“
The Week
Our weekly e-newsletter is a student’s gateway to opportunities, events and groups in the social and ethical scene. It is a core service of all our Hubs, and the cornerstone in our belief that if students know what is available, they can do and achieve more.
When I joined the Cambridge Hub committee I didn’t really know what sort of ethical activities were going on in the
and because of this I ended the year with a much clearer picture of all the good things students get up to. On top of that, being part of the Hub
university, so writing The Week was a great way to get involved with only my enthusiasm, and no real expertise, to bring to the table.
committee meant I also learnt a lot about what it takes to organise things like talks, voluntary projects and even national conferences, and this definitely opened my eyes to how much is possible.
Over the following year, the responsibility of putting together the newsletter every week gave me a good reason to stay on top of it all, which I’m sure I wouldn’t have managed otherwise,
”
Jon Whitehead, Cambridge Hub’s The Week Author
16 | DOING MORE
Community Volunteering: Spotlight on Oxford Hub Oxford Hub incubates and supports student-led volunteering projects which tackle a range of social issues such as homelessness, isolation, and educational disadvantage.
576
Students volunteering in the local community through student-led projects
The students are great, they listen and help me out when I’m confused or stuck. School pupil
I like the number of workshops they hosted on areas like child protection. It makes you feel more prepared for your role and transfers to situations outside of the classroom too. Volunteer
I have loved being a project coordinator and I’m very sad to be giving it up! I have met so many amazing people and developed a number of organisation and communication skills.
The children have developed in confidence and attitude and reading standards are improving. Teacher
Project Co-ordinator
“
It amazes me that, in Oxford, you can drive ten minutes around the ring road from north Oxford to the Blackbird Leys estate and see a reduction in life expectancy of ten years. A growing number of students like me are discovering our borrowed city’s challenges, such as this huge inequality, and trying to do something about it. Last year I was the Coordinator of the Oxford Hub community volunteering programme. This gave me the chance to work alongside hundreds of other students giving their time and energy to tackle issues such as homelessness, educational disadvantage and isolation. I lead the committee supporting student-led volunteering projects, helping out with challenges like scheduling, policies and building connections with different groups across the university and the community. It’s hard for me to pick only a few projects to highlight, but for me the past year was characterised by existing volunteering projects trying new things. Kids Adventure, a project which organises activity days for children identified by Social Services as in need of extra adult attention, introduced more one-to-one mentorship time between student volunteers and the children. Reading Plus is part of our Schools Plus programme and an established project through which students give reading and literacy support to children in primary schools. This year, the project developed a new initiative to support secondary school pupils still struggling with literacy. This has its own challenges, but we’ve worked really closely with the school, Oxford Academy, to make sure that the pupils receive the best support possible from student volunteers. I’ve loved working with Oxford Hub on community volunteering, and can only imagine the incredible projects which will develop next year! Eleri Smith, Oxford Hub Community Volunteering Coordinator
18 | MORE STUDENTS
Conferences These events serve as a great platform for students to engage with experts, practitioners and their peers around the topics they care about, like international development and climate change. Often, Hub conferences are students’ first steps on the route to taking action and creating real impact in the world.
In 2011-12, Hub students worked on the following conferences: Bristol International Development Conference Bristol Social Enterprise Conference Cambridge Climate & Sustainability Forum Cambridge International Development Course Oxford Brookes Human Rights Film Festival Oxford Climate Forum Oxford Ethical Careers Day
Oxford Forum for International Development Oxford Introduction to International Development Southampton Futures Festival (see p. 12) Southampton International Development Conference Warwick Climate Forum Warwick Higher Education Summit
A key part of our local Hubs’ activities, student conferences serve to both inspire and inform, whether the topic is sustainability, human rights, education or international development. Setting aside a day or a weekend to engage with a particular issue, to learn, debate and question,
collaborate and support each other. As such, conferences are just the start of the journey to further involvement in these issues.
can open eyes and open doors to further opportunities. It is important that local Hubs deliver and support conferences on the ground in their own university environment, to build a community of students who can then go on to
energy and the connections forged by delegates and speakers alike. Attendees have been inspired to start campaigns, organise local training sessions or set up projects to make an impact in their communities.
Over the last year we have developed followup initiatives to make the most of conference
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Social enterprise may seem like a contradiction in terms for some, but is fast emerging as a growing way to go about effecting social change. Jonathan Levin, SE Conference Organiser
“
Social entrepreneurship seeks to innovate and create new business models that are financially sound to effect lasting social change. The Bristol Social Enterprise Conference focused on how students can make the transition from social consciousness into finding entrepreneurial solutions to social problems. The event brought together students with budding social entrepreneurs to discuss and
Social Enterprise Conference: Spotlight on Bristol Hub
There is enormous need to demystify social enterprise among students, so many of our Hubs also run conferences and events to engage students in this area at the grassroots level.
debate issues and opportunities; debates explored the role of social enterprise in higher education, new inventions tackling climate change and new systems of money such as the Bristol Pound. As support and financial backing for young people’s ideas in social enterprise continues to grow, young people have a new and valued stake in shaping the world we live in.
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Jonathan Levin, SE Conference Organiser
20 | MORE STUDENTS
ViceChancellor’s Civic Awards: Spotlight on Oxford Hub
As a world-leading institution, Oxford should expect to make a major impact on the world beyond its main achievements in teaching and research. It is my great pleasure to present awards to seven students who have made a special contribution as volunteers - and in some cases not just as volunteers but as founders of new voluntary organisations. Andrew Hamilton, Vice-Chancellor
These Awards celebrate and recognise the exceptional achievements of students making a positive difference in their local or global community. Awardees demonstrate commitment and dedication to volunteering, research, campaigning or fundraising across a range of social and environmental issues.
“
We were presented with our awards
in June. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was there to receive an award and we got to spend the day with her. I also got to meet the President of Harvard and writer John le Carré so a very, very good day full of insights and inspiration! Joy O’Neill, Awardee
”
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What next? Schools Plus will be rolled out across three cities where Hubs operate, involving over 500 students Over 6,000 students will attend Hub events such as themed conferences on international development and climate change The Ethical Intern cohort for 2013 will grow to 100 placements for students We will host Student Volunteering Week in partnership with NUS, championing student social action across the UK
22 | MORE EFFECTIVELY
Outcome 3 Students are acting
MORE EFFECTIVELY to achieve impact
When students are engaged in running charitable groups, setting up their own social enterprises, or going out and volunteering in the local community, we offer key support such as training and advice to help these activities take place as effectively as possible. This is fundamental to increasing impact, leveraging what is already taking place to create more change, for longer.
Incubation programme Hubworks supported eight ventures to create social change
41
universities accessed volunteering training at Impact 2012
I’m leaving the conference with a whole to-do list of ideas and approaches inspired by talks and various conversations - as well as new and stronger friendships. Impact Delegate
“
Impact
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The Impact Conference brings together a wide community of university students and staff involved in running volunteering initiatives. The Impact Network serves to support this activity and facilitate collaboration throughout the year.
Impact just gets bigger and better each year. Nothing in the volunteering world competes with it: this year we’ve had over 150 students from 41 universities, discussing the challenges and opportunities that they’re facing. I think it’s a great atmosphere. You find people problem sharing, as much as meeting and mapping big ideas for future projects and enterprises. For me, the highlight this year was a keynote by the public academic and journalist Will Hutton. By popular agreement, he was a sensation - explaining that the work of building a strong social fabric in Britain was essential for facing key challenges - as broad as social mobility, climate change, and financial crisis. I think he really put the efforts of student volunteers into context and brought the weekend alive. James Hubbard, Impact Conference Co-ordinator
”
24 | MORE EFFECTIVELY
Training and Incubation Different support is needed at different levels, so Student Hubs offers a range of training and incubation services for students and groups, to help them to be as effective as possible in their actions.
The best thing about the programme was meeting lots of inspiring people! I hadn’t anticipated that aspect of it at all but meeting the Hubs team and my fellow Hubworkers was the most useful part of the event. It is possible! Hubworks Delegate
We believe that training and support give an enormous boost to students who want to make a difference in the world. We have found that this support must adapt to deliver what students need depending on their situation, whether that is just starting out as a volunteer or running a social enterprise. As such, our training and incubation initiatives are many and varied; here are some the year’s highlights. Cambridge Hub developed an in-depth schedule of training sessions for students including fundraising, branding, presenting and
even CV writing skills for students looking for careers in the voluntary sector. The training was organized well in advance so Cambridge Hub was able to promote a full training ‘termcard’ which prompted good attendance levels. HubWorks is a new initiative aimed at incubating student projects right at the start of their lifecycle, when ideas start to become reality. The first HubWorks was delivered as a set of sessions over a residential weekend, including business planning, communications and networking. After positive feedback from the students involved,
IN OUR WORDS | 25
85% of Hubworks delegates feel more equipped to create social change
HubWorks will be rolled out across our Hubs in the next year. For the first time, Student Hubs supported an existing initiative called SVOP (Students Volunteering Overseas Partnership), which is a group of student societies facilitating international volunteering placements. Drawing on the training we provide for students volunteering in their local community, Student Hubs hosted the annual SVOP training weekend, giving support in curating and organising sessions.
“
Last November, as the president of InterVol Nottingham, I attended the SVOP (Student Volunteering Overseas Partnership) conference, an annual conference for student-led international volunteering organisations. We discussed the ways in which we could create a UK-wide network of international volunteering organisations sharing
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knowledge, ideas, skills and best practice in order to raise the standard of student -led international volunteering. Abi Taylor - SVOP Co-ordinator
26 | MORE EFFECTIVELY
Emerge
The Emerge conference is the most significant student conference on social entrepreneurship in the UK. The Emerge Venture Lab is a spin-off programme of intense incubation support for young social entrepreneurs bringing their ideas to market.
What an amazing opportunity to share some thoughts with the business leaders of the future. Thank you. Mike Barry, Head of Sustainable Business at Marks & Spencer
78% of Emerge delegates said the conference gave them new-found inspiration and insight on the sector.
IN OUR WORDS | 27
Great initiative to spread the word and build the skills of the student population. Fantastic persenters, stimulating debates and flawless organisation. Dorje Mundle, Head of Corporate Citizenship at Novartis
The Emerge Conference 2011 took place on 29-30 October as the cornerstone initiative of the Emerge Programme. This year’s conference proved to be a resounding success as 450 delegates filled Oxford University’s Said Business School to capacity. The weekend provided delegates with the opportunity to meet and learn from 60 world renowned speakers hailing from ten countries. These included: Bill Strickland (Founder and CEO of the Manchester Craftsmans’ Guild) and Jack Sim (Founder of the World Toilet Organisation), sharing their own inspiring
stories and giving advice to aspiring student social entrepreneurs. The Emerge Venture Lab is a fellowship programme providing a range of support to eight selected high-potential student social ventures each year. Through provision of mentorship, residentials, advice clinics with corporate partners and seed funding, the Lab aims to guide these ventures from ideation to implementation. This year the lab incubated eight high-potential impact ventures with support from a wide range of mentors and organisations.
28 | MORE EFFECTIVELY
Supporting charitable activities: Spotlight on Warwick Hub Each Hub brings together and supports a network of student groups that focus on social and environmental issues. This was a key service delivered by Warwick Hub during its inaugural year.
“
Warwick Hub worked with 13 diverse member groups in 2011-12, from large political campaigners like Warwick Amnesty to smaller volunteering groups such as the Kenyan Orphans Project (KOP) as well as the fundraising enthusiasts at RAG. I was responsible for making sure Warwick Hub gave
collaborations within the Warwick charity scene. We also held two successful socials for member groups: ‘The Launch’, attracting over 100 people to a Student’s Union bar for networking, and ‘The Relaunch’, a similar event with live music which had 70 attendees.
as much effective support to these groups as possible.
Our member engagement was largely successful, and particularly so with the more active groups, so we will focus on outreach
The primary form of member group engagement was through the Inter-Charity Forum, a group that meets three times a term to discuss the Hub, providing feedback on our activities, as well as the actions of each group and potential
to the smaller charities in the coming year.
”
Francis Wight, Warwick Hub Member Group Support and author of The Week
IN OUR WORDS | 29
What next? We will increase the number of universities and student volunteering centres that engage with the Impact Conference and the Impact Network Impact International will be launched to specifically support students volunteering overseas Training and networking will be a priority area across all Hubs and we will roll out HubWorks to all locations We will support over 100 student-led societies and groups to increase their social and environmental impact
30 | FOR LONGER
Outcome 4 Engagement in social issues and action lasts
FOR LONGER Our theory of change (page 4) is based upon our the importance of the student experience on future engagement with social and environmental issues. As such, we work to ensure that students can take their passions, beliefs and interests with them into their future lives and careers. Many students are keen to pursue a career in the voluntary and social enterprise sectors, so we support them to do so as successfully as possible.
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Hub Graduates
For the first time in 2011-12, Student Hubs pioneered an accessible, fully-funded internship scheme for recent graduates, providing accommodation, food and a stipend alongside exceptional personal and professional development opportunities in the Hub staff team.
“
My role whilst with Student Hubs was split into two, the first part was as a national programme coordinator, focusing on how students across the UK engage with issues of international development and human rights. My time was spent supporting conferences, events and network development in this area. The other half of my role was as part of a three person communications team working on audiovisual and design work, and supporting strategy across the organisation. Each day brought a new challenge, whether it
was getting to grips with producing a short video or organising a conference on international volunteering. A few weeks after leaving I was able to secure my first charity job with the Social Impact Analysts Association, an international membership organisation working to make a range of social purpose organisations more effective and impactful. Ruth Whateley, Hub Graduate
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32 | FOR LONGER
Ethical Internships Each summer, we recruit a cohort of students keen to get real-world experience of the voluntary and social enterprise sectors. We find hosts to match their interests and personal development needs, and give training and support to both interns and hosts throughout.
“
I study geography at Cambridge and am going into my third year. I’ve always wanted a charity based career and I know how competitive they are, so I thought that an internship would be a great place to start. The Student Hub route seemed like a really good option as charity internships can be just as competitive as the jobs! I spent 5 weeks with the James Andre Godfrey Smartt-Ford (JAGS) Foundation, a Community Interest Company based in Croydon which aims to end youth violence by empowering young
Aspire’s experience of the ethical internships programme could not have been better; the two students were everything you could hope for- great attitude, great energy and they really delivered on the projects they were given. We loved having them here and will definitely be applying to the programme again next year. We really cannot recommend the experience highly enough. Aspire, Host Organisation
people and helping those affected by youth violence. It is a relatively small and quite new organisation but with really big ideas. As there were so few people in the office and so much going on I was given quite a lot of responsibility which was great! I ended up doing a bit of everything: researching foundations, writing grant applications, creating a fundraising plan, designing an annual report, sending newsletters, writing surveys, making presentations! It was a really friendly environment, one clearly run by passionate and
IN OUR WORDS | 33 2012
2011
224% increase in applications
“ ” ”
dedicated people making it really exciting to be a part of.
Next year I’ll be doing the Teach First leadership development programme and so will be working with disadvantaged young people. The approaches to ending youth violence and giving young people the confidence to achieve successful and independent futures I saw at JAGS Foundation will definitely come in handy and I will be staying in touch! Noami Cohen-Lask, Intern
I had a great experience interning at HAFAD. The staff were all incredibly welcoming, and I was given a wide range of responsibilites, working completely independently at times and alongside different staff members at others. It has given me a real insight into the third sector and how important, varied and interesting the work can be. Anna Fahy, Intern
34 | FOR LONGER
The Social
After a long time spent focusing on students, we spent 2011-12 developing a network for alumni and graduates so we could continue to support them in creating a real impact in the world once they leave university.
Since 2007 Student Hubs has been successfully inspiring and engaging students with some of the world’s greatest social and environmental challenges. However, we’ve always faced the barrier that, eventually, our students leave university. And some still need or want our support. As a consequence, it has been a longheld ambition of Student Hubs to launch an alumni network which continues to inspire and engage our students as they embark on their careers. As we’ve developed this idea, we realised that a traditional alumni network focusing only on Hub universities may alienate those who had not engaged with us at university. Our pilot,
“
which has the moniker ‘The Social’ for 2012-13, is our attempt to adapt the Hub model to the London young professional scene, inspiring and engaging more people with the same social and environmental challenges. The Social will inform members about social issues and opportunities to give back, inspire them through speakers and events, connect members together through social events and digital platforms, and provide support and advice to early social start-ups. Over time we hope to build a sustainable community of committed professionals across the capital supporting each other to engage with social and environmental challenges.
I have no doubt that Student Hubs has been a key influence on my career so far. After university I started work in the field of social entrepreneurship – a term I hadn’t even heard of before I attended Student Hub’s first Emerge Conference in 2009. I was part of the first cohort in Student Hub’s Ethical Internship scheme and volunteered at an environmental organisation the summer of my second year. The experience gave me great insight into my career options and good connections in the sector. This also inspired me to start up the Oxford Climate Forum in my final year, and Student Hubs proved the perfect organisation to help coordinate and support that first conference. Transitioning out of university was a challenging time – with my good exam results I felt very pressured to join the Milk Round but after a year out I found my feet and gained the confidence to stay in the social sector and follow my values. Without Student Hubs’ early influence that confidence probably wouldn’t have emerged until years later. I hope The Social now will be able to support students in that crucial transition phase, to help many others find their feet. Julia Koskella, former Oxford Climate Forum Coordinator
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What next?
We will roll out our graduate network, The Social We will support university-based start-up social enterprises in partnership with Hefce and UnLtd We will expand the Student Hubs graduate programme across three cities
36 | Hubbits
Core Committees Our student teams, who make it all happen.
Bristol Hub Shruti Choudhary, Alice Peck, Josephine Suherman, Lucy King, Louise Brown, Ellen Harrison, Lauren Hoskin-Parr, Kat Potts
Brookes Hub Peter Wootton-Beard, Christina Vondracek, Alex Crumpton-Taylor, Josh Harsant, David Liddiard, Sarah Brice, Ellie Massey, Jessie Singer Cambridge Hub Pete Teverson, Izzy Braithwaite, Michaela Collord, Lillie Dore, Victoria Lee, Alice Robinson, Jon Whitehead, Daniel Macmillen, Mingwei Xia, Rebekka Rumpel, Alexa Zeitz, Matt Williams, Katie Honey, Marianne Lagrue Oxford Hub Genevieve Laurier, Rachel Nichols, Eleri Smith, Freddie Lazell, Jonas Schoenefeld, Ellie Horrocks, Alex Duffy, Emily Stuart, Oscar Benjamin, Yulia Shenderovich, Ailsa Leen, Wenyu Xiong, Hester Carro, Phosile Mashinkila, Matt Ingram, Emily Kilburn, Sachin de Stone, Josh Powell, Zoe Conn, Chris Reid, Emily Hislop, Laura Blattner, Yulia Shenderovich, Abi Adams, Caroline Huang, Katie Braham, Mark Mills, Karl Gerth, Caroline Huang Southampton Hub Tasha Unwin, Sophie Bradfield, Paulina Jakubec, Kathleen Barlow , George Legg , Sophie Pearce, Olli Niyi-Awosusi, Amy Nicholass, Sai On Lewis Tang, Amber Chaudry, Abbey Ingram, Graham Read, Serena Patel Warwick Hub Jonny Sherwood, David Reed, Dhruvni Shah, Sarah Clarke, Martin Christ, Euan Mackway-Jones, Charlie Game, Francis Wight, Laurie Whittaker, Georgina Conway, Leisha Beardmore, Maahwish Mirza, Catherine Macaulay, Felix Thomson, Omair Nazimi, Lia Suissa
IN OUR WORDS | 37
Summary - Accounts show rise in income of 70% and expenditure of 82% this year. Details of our income and - Income continues to diversify to longer-term sustainable expenditure for 2011-12, with sources. a breakdown of how we raise - Expenditure continues to be as lean as possible, given the and spend Student Hubs range and diversity of activity, supported by a huge base of funds. volunteer activity. - Loss is largely accounted for by additional investment this year in systems that will allow us to expand our activities: database function, financial function, technology for our expanded team. - Accounts are budgeted to return to 10% surplus in 2012-13, with a rise in income of 40% - Hub Commercial Ventures CIC (which operates our property in Oxford) has its accounts stated separately. In its first year of operation, it has had revenues of c.£900,000 and will show a small negative EBITDA, budgeted for within the start-up phase. It has had positive EBITDA since January 2012 and continues to look like a healthy source of income for Student Hubs in the future.
Finances
Income (£)
390,924
Generated Income
330,322
Corporate grantsw
104,839
Charitable grants, private donations and trusts
154,906
General and community fundraising
27,712
University and Colleges grants
42,865
Charitable Activities
54,336
Services
23,385
Events, conferences
30,951
Expenditure (£)
412,936
Salaries, staff costs, recruitment
230,696
Office rent, charges, fees, resources
64,656
Website, brand, publicity
9,806
Conferences and events
31,796
Volunteer costs and project grants
63,126
Travel, meetings, miscellaneous
12,856
Profit/Loss (£)
-22,012
Where our funding comes from: 9% Individual Donations 32% Trusts and Foundations 28% Corporate Partners 11% University Partners 7% Public Funding 13% Earned Income
What we spend our funding on:
81% Service Delivery 11% Running & Support 8% Generating Further Income
38 | FOR LONGER
Student Hubs would like to take this opportunity to thank our financial supporters from 2011-12, who together make our work possible. Funders are acknowledged here in bold text. Student Hubs: Barclays (Community Investment & Graduate Recruitment), Man Group, O2 Think Big, Katy Neilson, National Youth Agency, NCVYS (Dominic Weinberg, Ana Brankovic, Steven Pryse), WiSCV, Accenture, CAFOD, Garfield Weston Foundation, Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, Buzzbnk, Dell Social Innovation Competition, Youth in Action through the British Council, TeachFirst, Michael Norton, CIVA, Ethical Property Company, Ashoka Bristol Hub: Bristol University Sustainability Department, Martin Wiles, Rachel Miller, Clare Prosser, UBU, Bristol Careers Service, Phillippa Bayley, Dave Jarman, Val Bishop Brookes Hub: Oxford Brookes Sustainability Team, Oxford Brookes University, Hilary Lowe, Careers Service, Brookes SU, Oxford Brookes Social Entrepreneur Awards Team Cambridge Hub: Societies Syndicate, Cambridge Community Foundation, Newton Trust, Careers Service, Public Engagement Department, Estates Management Department, CUSU & CUSU Ethical Affairs, Humanitarian Centre, SCA, FutureBusiness, RAG, Papworth Trust Imperial Hub: Imperial College Union, Drapers’ Company, Team London through Greater London Authority, Phil Power, Outreach Department, Sustainability Department Oxford Hub: Ernest Cook Trust, Baily Thomas Charitable Fund, Doris Field Charitable Trust, Children in Need, Oxford County Council, University of Oxford, Proctors of the University of Oxford, Professor Andrew Hamilton, Vice-Chancellor, and his Office, Tim Stevenson, Careers Service, Balliol College, Wadham JCR, Brasenose JCR, St Edmund Hall JCR, Jesus College, Keble JCR, Trinity JCR, Magdelen JCR, Queen Elizabeth Hall, New College, OCVA, Oxfordshire Community Foundation, Hamilton Trust, Spurgeons, The Oxford Academy, Age UK Oxfordshire, Oxford Food Bank, Susie Perks, Daniel Stone Southampton Hub: G F Forsey Fund, University of Southampton, Career Destinations, SUSU, Community Volunteers, Debra Humphris Warwick Hub: University of Warwick, Vice-Chancellor’s Office, Warwick SU, Peter Rose, Warwick Volunteers, The Student Journals Environment & Sustainability: Ecotricity, Eradicating Ecocide, People and Planet
IN OUR WORDS | 39
Thanks to...
Ethical Careers (Host Organisations): African Health Policy To all our stakeholders, Network, Envision, Ethex, Go Low, HAFAD, Platform 51, partners and supporters, with Sumatran Orangutan Society, GSMA, People’s P.ow.e.r enormous thanks for everyCollective, Fruni, The Ashmolean Museum, The Exchange, thing you do to help us Hub. Moving Mountains Trust, Overseas Development Institute, Positive East, Housing for Women, The Social Investment Business, 2Way Development, Aegis Trust, Afrinspire, AKU Society, Ashoka, Aspire Oxfordshire, Buzzbnk, Cultivate, East African Playgrounds, Eradicating Ecocide, Hub Islington, Hub Westminster, Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust, JAGS Foundation, London Youth, OxFizz, Papworth Trust, SRSH, The Hackney Pirates, Yellow Submarine, YOH, Young Professionals in Human Rights Social Action: Will Hutton, Georgina Brewis, Volunteering England Social Enterprise: All at the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, Cliff Prior and the UnLtd team, Jack Graham at Year Here, Jonathan Jenkins and the Social Investment Business team, Liam Black and the Wavelength team, Emil Wallner, Mark Cheng and Rob Wilson and the Ashoka team, David Mills and Joe Jervis at the Guardian Social Enterprise Network, Bain, BCG and all Emerge Lab partners and mentors. International Development: Tourism Concern, Moving Mountains, Engineers Without Borders, VSO, Ashoka, READ International Staff: Adam O’Boyle, Sara Fernandez, Rachel Stephenson, Anna Machin, Peter Ptashko, Alice Thornton, Elena Lynch, Hannah Martin, Doireann Lalor, Hannah MacDiarmid, Amy Anderson, Rhiannon Horsley, Sophie Hewitt, Catherine Kemp, Laura Steele, Ruth Whateley, Freddie Williams, Robert Holtom, James Hubbard, Jan Matern Trustees: Francesca Devereux, Adam Grodecki (Chair), Tris Lumley, John Mellor, Kathleen Soriano, Max Wakefield Interns and Long-term Volunteers: Martin Evans, Graham Read, Ben Harris, Abi Taylor, Kathleen Barlow, Serena Patel, Lydia Greenaway Hub Commercial Ventures Team: Josh Rhodes, Patrick Tustian, Charis Sharpe, Sean O’Reilly, Carl Isham, Sacha Henry Photo credits: All Student Hubs except: p7 Amaël Yehiri (photo), Marie Chkaiban (editing) p8 Sai On Tang, Jack Hamilton, Abdullah Maskari, Lily Congcong Li
To find out more about Student Hubs visit studenthubs.org or email us at info@studenthubs.org. With many thanks to our founding sponsors:
and our supporting partners:
Student Hubs is a registered charity in England and Wales, number 1122328.