r u o o t me 2010 o c l e W stmas Chri wsletter! ne Student Hubs is working to transform student involvement in social action. We act as a catalyst, empowering students to become active changemakers in their local and global community, both now and in the future. Student Hubs team
With all our Hubs settling into holiday mode now students have left for the break, it’s time to take stock of the term - and what a term it has been! Across the Student Hubs network, we’ve run three conferences on social entrepreneurship, climate change and international development, held many speaker events, attended five Freshers Fairs, grown our network by a few thousand students, offered training, facilitated hundreds of students volunteering in the local community, run three ethical pub quizzes, supported scores of member groups, and launched a new Hub at Oxford Brookes University. Being able to pack in so much into a few short months since the beginning of the academic year is down to huge dedication from our wonderful team of staff and student volunteers, to whom warm thanks are due. It has been our pleasure to welcome many members of staff to the team: Sophie, our new part-time Bristol Hub Manager and Catherine, our new Cambridge Hub Manager; Jake and Megan, new Outreach and Support Officers for Oxford Hub; Hannah, working on Oxford Hub’s venue; Tecla, our new Directors’ Assistant; and Anna, our Development Officer. This is also a time when we have to say a big thank you to one of our founders, Adam Grodecki. Come January he will no longer be working full time for Student Hubs, but will remain actively involved in his role as Chairman. So I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for all his work, without which our success would not have been possible. He would also like to extend his thanks to all of your for your support over the past three years and asks you to stay in touch. If you'd like to discuss any of the changes we've made to staffing over the past year then please do not hesitate to get in touch with us. Adam O’Boyle, Director
Emerge 2O1O
In partnership with the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, Student Hubs delivered our second weekend conference on social entrepreneurship for students in late November. Attracting over 400 students from across the UK and beyond, Emerge hosted some inspiring speakers, such as: Tim Smit, founder of the Eden Project; Bunker Roy, founder of the Barefoot College; and Sara Parkin, founding Director of Forum for the Future. Over 90% of participants said that Emerge was “very good” or better, with 15% saying that it was the best conference they had ever been to. 42% of attendees said that they were going to take action on a social enterprise idea because of the conference, and one attendee commented “I came with an idea. I’m leaving with a plan.” Once again, Emerge made it clear that social entrepreneurship is really growing as a sector for young people and students across the UK. a: Student Hubs The Old Music Hall 106 - 108 Cowley Road Oxford, OX4 1JE
Then and now...
Following a witness seminar in the summer, Student Hubs has been continuing apace in an effort to research the history of student volunteering. In partnership with the Institute for Volunteering Research and, in particular, academic Georgina Brewis, Student Hubs organised a one-day symposium examining the history and policies of student volunteering and social action over the past two hundred years. Welcoming academics from across the UK, the symposium covered many areas including the ‘rag’ tradition, workcamp volunteering, the settlement movement and the rise of student community action.
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Student Hubs is a registered charity in England and Wales, number 1122328.
Key figures for the term 960 students attended conferences Training for 105 student volunteers Supported 90 student groups 14,000 students in network
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Bristol Hub has seen a great start to the year, with the addition of new part-time staff member, Sophie Hewitt, and lots of activities. A real highlight of the term is the Student Restaurant - supported by the Hub team and run between students, FoodCycle and the food cooperative - which addresses food poverty through producing meals from surplus food. Bristol Hub is looking forward to running two conferences in the new year: the International Development Course, and the Bristol Climate Forum, which will bring together many student groups to work collaboratively.
Cambridge Hub
Cambridge Hub saw its most successful Freshers Fair, and went on to host the wonderful Refreshers Tea Party - an opportunity for students to find opportunities and for groups to network. With new manager Catherine, Cambridge Hub will be working on a speaker series for next term, drawing on Oxford Hub’s model.
Southampton Hub
Southampton Hub has kicked off a new year by launching the Student Hubs Ethical Internships scheme. They also brought together all their members, including groups such as Medsin, UNICEF on Campus, SKIP, STAR and FemSoc, at their Hub Tea Party. The groups discussed launching a Student Restaurant in the new year, and potential for other collaborations. Giving groups the space to share experiences and best practice is key to Southampton Hub’s work to raise the profile of ethical activities on campus.
Oxford Hub
Oxford Hub has had a very busy term. After signing up just over 1,000 new students at Freshers Fair, they went on to host networking events for students and member groups and their weekly speaker event, The Series, on a range of issues including child poverty, the Millennium Development Goals, genocide and HIV/Aids. In November, the Introduction to International Development, Oxford’s one-day conference, saw over 100 students attend sessions on development-related issues from gender and rights to trade and enterprise. The Oxford Climate Forum also took place in November, and welcomed 400 students from 40 universities across eight countries. Speakers included the Director General of the DECC, Will Cavendish; barrister Polly Higgins; Editor of National Geographic’s Green magazine, Tony Juniper; and author of ‘Why we disagree about climate change’, Professor Mike Hulme. Oxford Hub also continued to support student-led community volunteering projects, ranging from conservation and food growing projects to supporting local schools and charities. Training was also provided for student volunteers on first aid, working with children, teaching skills, giving presentations and public speaking, and pitching their group at Freshers Fair.
With thanks to our supporters:
Our new baby, Brookes Hub!
This year was the first year we attended the Oxford Brookes Freshers’ Fair, and it was great to meet lots of new students interested in social and environmental issues. Over the term, we’ve been working with students and staff at Brookes University who are keen to grow Brookes Hub over the rest of the year, using the Student Hubs model. This is very exciting news, as we will be able to work together to reach more students in Oxford, and share among our network.