SUBU Impact Report 2022-23

SUBU

WELCOME

Welcome to the SUBU Impact Report 2022-23!

After two incredible years with SUBU – firstly as VP Student Opportunities and this last year as SUBU’s President – I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on this roller-coaster of a journey with the Students’ Union, before I prepare for my next chapter.

SUBU is a brilliant organisation that truly puts students at its heart and ensures their University experience is the best it can be. This report outlines all that was achieved during my presidency, and I feel proud to see the impact of this work on students.

I am grateful for an amazing experience.

I was invited to speak at the Graduation Ceremony in front of thousands of students, academics, and guests, presented at senior management meetings, met with University leaders, and chaired the SUBU Trustee Board. These opportunities helped me grow and build my confidence as a leader.

Holding a leadership position so early in my career has been a privilege, but also an immense responsibility.

Many students reached out to me with their issues, and this was the driving force behind my work.

With the help of a dedicated team, I gave everything to represent and support these students. Successful lobbying, mediation and resolution with the University has given me the grit and resilience I needed to make a real difference.

This year, we’ve seen our international students face the most pressing challenges to their student experience – from finding suitable accommodation, to accessing funds in their home countries and dealing with student debt.

Bringing together a range of key stakeholders in an International Students Working Group, I endeavoured to make these voices heard through targeted focus groups and engagements.

Jointly with BU, we worked to offer access to advice, personalised support and ensured communications are drafted, with student input, to boost clarity of messaging in the future.

To help students transition into University life, I led on a successful “Be-a-Buddy” peer-to-peer support scheme pilot, which attracted over 280 students. I also partnered with CareersBU and the BU Alumni team to develop meaningful face to face and online employer and alumni events.

I would like to thank all my colleagues and mentors across SUBU and BU for making my year as President a success and for contributing to a rewarding personal experience.

And to all students at Bournemouth University, I hope you make the most of your student journey and continue to engage with all the valuable opportunities and support on offer at SUBU.

Ayomoto Omuwa

Ayomoto Omuwa

SU PRESIDENT

Introducing our Impact Report

It’s a great pleasure to welcome you to our first Impact Report in over a decade!

I’ve been fortunate to work with Full-Time Officers, staff, and student teams this year, all driven by a shared passion to enhance student life at Bournemouth University, create a feeling of belonging and vibrancy in our campuses and leave a unique long-lasting mark on each student’s journey.

This report arrives at a time of ongoing change in terms of policy and a turbulent economic context. After more than two years of pandemic disruption, 2022-23 was a fantastic year for SUBU, but the landscape continues to provide much food for thought.

The new Higher Education Freedom of Speech legislation is now in effect, and we will take steps, where necessary, to fulfil our duties to secure freedom of speech and maintain a code of practice.

Recent and fast-changing AI advancements have the potential to disrupt and transform the educational sector as we know it and could reinvent the world of work. This includes the significant challenge of institutions providing students with clarity on the use and impact of AI, and we will support our students through this.

Dr. Samantha Leahy-Harland

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

In the aftermath of the pandemic experience and the intensified cost-of-living pressures, both the sector and our students are facing significant challenges, affecting their learning and development, and changing the way they socialise and experience University. Strategies that worked in student engagement a few short years ago are now no longer effective. More students are likely to juggle studies with long working hours, parenting responsibilities, and adapting to life in a new country. Many remain in their family homes or look for cheaper living alternatives, while limiting travel and essential expenses. Building meaningful extracurricular, community, enrichment and support offers in this context is a constant challenge.

SUBU has embraced these recent waves of change with determination. Through building strong connections and working together with our key stakeholders we have delivered meaningful and measurable impact for students at Bournemouth University.

This year we strengthened our leadership team, maintained focus on our People Plan and set ourselves ambitious targets and are now in a good position to collaborate and respond to the new habits, aspirations and interests of our students.

As ever, the wisdom and support of our student members has been invaluable in teaching us, holding us to account and shaping our direction.

I hope you enjoy this report. It offers a reflection on SUBU’s journey over the year, takes account of the progress made and outlines the strategic direction of travel.

Samantha Leahy-Harland

Financial Accountability

£380,000

SUBU IS A REGISTERED CHARITY

Our work is funded by a block grant from the University and the revenue generated through our commercial venues on campus, including the Union shop; Dylan’s Bar; Student Centre Café; and our iconic night club in Bournemouth town centreThe Old Fire Station.

£1,190,000

76% University Grant

Where the money comes from

24% SUBU Commercial Services

Where the money goes

Note: Charity Expenditure is based on 2022/23 budgeted staffing and operating costs, excluding Commercial Services. Commercial income is based on 2022/23 budgeted forecast. Figures are rounded to the nearest ‘000.

SUBU IMPACT REPORT

REALISING POTENTIAL

Fiifi Asafu-Adjaye VICE PRESIDENT STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES

SUBU’s Impact on Realising Potential

I am immensely proud of what we have achieved at SUBU over the past year. During my time as VP Student Opportunities, I have set out to gain better engagement within our extracurricular offering and I am delighted to see the results of this through our hard-working teams.

SUBU offers an inclusive and exciting welcome, where all students can identify extra-curricular opportunities that are personally relevant to them.

The results speak for themselves with almost 90 active clubs and societies on offer, 29 of these being new for the year, as well as 70 diverse volunteering opportunities available throughout this academic year.

Being a competitive athlete myself, I was also keen to promote the sports and facilities on offer and support students from less privileged backgrounds to get involved. I championed the Sports Bursary Scheme alongside SportBU to financially support disadvantaged students gain access to competitive sports.

I successfully lobbied for a weekly free shuttle bus, to and from Chapel Gate, and for an injury support hub, plus worked with CareersBU and SportBU to showcase the variety of career pathways in Sports.

The highlight of the year for me was a brilliant SUBU Awards Ceremony with over 200 students nominated across 13 categories – a clear indicator of the difference the opportunities provided by SUBU have made to realising student potential.

Our Ambition Key targets by Sept 2024

“WE WILL DELIVER HIGH QUALITY OPPORTUNITIES TO DEVELOP AND EVIDENCE TRANSFERABLE LIFE

SKILLS AND EMPOWER STUDENT SUCCESS.”

90% of university departments will be represented by an academic society

25% of students will be members of a club and/or society

80% of students will agree that involvement with SUBU supports their development

“The Surf Club has been the best part of my Uni experience! I got to do so many unreal things, literally living the dream. And it provided so many opportunities from travel to becoming a full qualified coach… but what makes surf club special are the people. I met so many amazing friends and the club is like a family to me.”

Hasan Rehman - Ecology Student

How did we make an impact?

Clubs & Societies

This year, SUBU offered almost 90 clubs and societies, creating inspiring and welcoming spaces where almost 4,900 student members shared their passions and interests, developed their skills and prepared for the world of work.

The wide-ranging opportunities – from Bench Ball to Ballroom and Latin Dance, Combat Robotics to Chess – represent sports, culture, faith, special interest, arts and performances. We also had 25 academic societies included in our offering.

Exploring their interests, students came together to take part in activities, competitions and projects, fundraise, meet like-minded friends, and form long-lasting and meaningful networks to support them throughout their future lives and career journeys.

Volunteering

SUBU’s online Volunteering Hub sourced and advertised over 70 diverse volunteering opportunities for BU students.

From national charities to local not-forprofit community groups, opportunities have ranged from media support for a local disability charity to volunteering in Dorset’s criminal law courts.

Over 200 students have applied for these opportunities over the year, making a difference to the community and boosted their career potential.

90% university departments represented by an active academic society

88 clubs & societies

29 new clubs & societies

2022-23

200+ students nominated for SUBU awards across 13 categories

4,867 student members of clubs & societies

1,546 students registered on SUBU’s Volunteering Hub

357 students registered to volunteer in 2022-23

What is our progress towards targets?

This year’s developments show a healthy progress towards SUBU’s strategic targets to realise student potential. With an excellent clubs and societies offer and engagement with academic societies, SUBU’s reach is wide and varied. These opportunities help students develop transferable skills and enrich their extracurricular experience.

Driven by a capable and enthusiastic team, SUBU’s clubs and societies demonstrated a clear strength in delivery over the course of the year.

• Almost 4,900 students were involved in clubs or societies, which represents one in every 3 student members.

• Engagement with clubs and societies over the year went above projections, exceeding the target set by the end of 2024.

• The number of student members of clubs and societies marked a record in recent years and a 22% increase on the year.

The progress towards supporting academic societies over the year has been even more remarkable.

• After a dip over the previous two years, the number of academic societies significantly increased by circa 30 percentage points.

Departments with academic societies

• The academic societies representation reached its highest level in recent history, achieving the target of 90% of departments at BU being covered.

• An emphasis on student engagement with academic societies directly contributes to student satisfaction scores with their SU provision.

85% 85% of students say SUBU is supporting their personal development*

of students say SUBU is helping them make friends and create networks for the future

*previous years data not completely comparable due to varying answer options altered from previous years.

Source: "How’s SUBU 4 You?" survey data.

Bournemouth Beach Champions

A Student Story

Georgia Blainey SHE/THEY

Final year BSc Forensic Investigation

SPECIALISING IN WILDLIFE CRIME

PAGAN AND WITCHCRAFT SOCIETY Secretary & Communications Officer

START-UP OWNER:

Waning Crescent Crystals

INTERESTS:

student

Singing, performing classical and opera

Embracing transformational opportunities

Georgia’s life journey thus far has been far from conventional, and it hasn’t been a smooth ride. Growing up with a sibling with a disability forced Georgia into self-reliance and independence from a very young age, but also sent her on unexpected adventures – from sibling camps to pirate ships and speed boats sailing. These activities helped her develop an outlook on life that wouldn’t have been available otherwise – a growth mindset driving her into opportunities and new ideas.

Georgia started working early – both as a carer for her older sister and as a playworker for Diverse Abilities – a local charity supporting children and young people with disabilities and their families. She has now worked for the charity for almost 10 years and was awarded a Shining Star Award and a Long Service Award for her continuous dedication and contribution.

Despite being academically strong, Georgia didn’t plan to go to university. Having lived through insecurity, and neardeath experiences, financial and family chaos, she wanted to have a gap year to work and travel.

She only decided to apply five days before her deadline and with her passion for helping people and solving puzzles, she chose Forensic Investigation at BU.

While excited about her course, Georgia was even more fascinated by the range of extracurricular activities, clubs, and societies on offer. Throughout her time at university, she has been actively involved with SUBU and experimented with a wide range of interests.

At one point she was a member of the Forensic, the British Sign Language and the First Aid Societies, Cocktail and Mocktail Society, Nerve Media, Pagan and Witchcraft Society, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and the Climbing Club! She also did a scholarship with the University Chamber Choir and completed the Graduate Skills Award.

Having become captivated with the Pagan and Witchcraft Society, which allowed her to discover the ancient roots of paganism - ranging from Egyptian and Norse mythology to Wicca practices, zodiac signs, palm reading and crystals, Georgia joined the committee as a Society Secretary & Communications Officer and has contributed immensely to its success and growth in popularity. Amongst steep competition, they won the Society of the Year Award at SUBU’s 2022-23 Annual Awards Ceremony!

But her ingenuity didn’t stop here, and Georgia went through the process of writing a business case and founded her own society and driven by her curiosity about crystals, she also founded a business start-up, selling crystals and jewellery. To help support fellow startup owners, Georgia was behind the first Student Owned Business Fair at SUBU, which allowed students to showcase their business ideas, and explore funding and support to take their businesses to the next level.

“Clubs and societies have helped me and many other students to find ourselves and our tribe, giving us the space to learn, talk frankly about our experiences and break the stigma surrounding some of them.”

Reflecting on the richness of her story – both on personal and professional level, Georgia feels she has grown to be much more mindful, self-aware, and appreciative of her opportunities and is trying to make each day the fullest and best it can be. She likes creating purpose for herself and others. She also likes dreaming, living consciously, and connecting with nature and like-minded people.

“If I hadn’t joined societies, so many parts of my life wouldn’t exist! I wouldn’t have a strong spiritual connection with the world and living. Chances are, I wouldn’t have started my business and been able to promote it through stalls on campus. Most of my closest friends I also found through these communities”

Thinking about the future, Georgia is feeling scared but also excited to keep the momentum, planning to continue drawing her unique path while developing and expanding her business ideas, interests, and passions.

A Student Story

Ceri Harman

SHE/HER

Final year BSc Biomedical Science student

WOMEN IN STEM Society President

START-UP OWNER: Totesgroovy

INTERESTS:

Immunology and Bioinformatics

Creating an empowering network

Ceri’s fascination with science and Genetics in particular dates back from her school years.

As soon as she joined the Biomedical Science course, Ceri’s student experience was disrupted by the COVID 19 pandemic, with many of her lab sessions and practical units having to be rescheduled. This experience made her even more eager to seek community and meet others with similar interests and aspirations, so she became actively involved in SUBU’s societies, ranging from Cooking and Baking to the Taylor Swift Society, but kept looking for a science related academic society.

When “Women in STEM” was created, as a successor of “Women in Engineering”, Ceri jumped at the opportunity, bringing in her passion, curiosity and a group of fellow STEM- enthusiasts. She successfully ran for President of “Women in STEM” and has since contributed immensely to the Society's success.

Among her most notable accomplishments, Ceri drove the “Women in STEM” Committee towards achieving a 5-star status, going above and beyond to create an accessible, collaborative and engaging community for their members, offering regular activities, real experiences and opportunities to aid their personal and professional development.

Ceri felt that students sharing similar interests as hers had limited exposure to women role models and employers from STEM industries, so she worked with her fellow WiSTEM members and CareersBU to create a Women in STEM Careers Fair, sourcing contacts, and bringing companies ranging from pharmaceuticals to engineering for the benefit of all students.

“WiSTEM has given our members the opportunity to meet women who have spoken candidly about their career paths in male dominated industries. It was comforting for members to see people who are doing your dream job and started from where you are!”

Ceri also felt a big part of the society’s mission was to raise awareness about STEM and challenge the stigma around it as she discovered many students studying courses such as Forensics and Criminology, didn’t identify these as sciences and most assumed STEM was associated only with Coding and Maths.

Through these society events and initiatives, Ceri developed her personal network on LinkedIn and

connected with people in jobs and industries that she aspired to enter.

She has received invaluable support and advice and decided to pursue a career in Immunoinformatics research and has now been accepted on a Master’s course in Bioinformatics to further specialise. Ceri is convinced that she “wouldn’t have been able to get this far without “Women in STEM”.

As well as science, Ceri’s hobbies include art and fashion. Along with her studies, she co-founded Totesgroovyselling custom made apparel and accessories made to order - a business Ceri showcased at SUBU’s Student Owned Business fair.

At this year’s SUBU Awards, Ceri was nominated by her fellow society members for her outstanding work.

One of them said, “Without Ceri the 'Women in STEM' society wouldn’t have been the massive success it has been and is”, adding that “without Ceri’s enthusiasm the rest of the current committee may not have joined the society and her determination and drive on top of applying for her Master’s, having her own small business, working part time, and completing her studies in Biomedical Science has been an inspiration.“

Another student shared that Ceri was “more than the President of WiSTEM, she has been a friend and support network for fellow members when they have gone through tough times, and she has been a communicator and gained the University many new important connections opening opportunities for others.”

For her exceptional efforts and contribution Ceri was shortlisted and won the Committee Member of the Year Award.

SUBU IMPACT REPORT

CREATING COMMUNITY

SUBU’s Impact on Community and Belonging at BU

This year has been an important milestone for me personally and I am proud of the communities and the feeling of belonging we fostered at SUBU.

I aimed to continue championing SUBU’s work in empowering marginalised communities. This year our Liberation Officers and dedicated SUBU teams led 34 events supporting a range of student communities, marked five History Months focused on key liberation issues and engaged more than 1,100 students.

I set out to address student mental health and wellbeing issues and joined forces with BU's Community Partnership and SportBU teams to run Nature Workshops, helping students connect with nature and learn camp craft techniques.

This year, the cost-of-living crisis had a major impact on student wellbeing. During Speak Week, students told us about their distress, two-thirds of them being very or extremely worried, many cutting back on food and essentials and shivering in their rooms to save on heating. To support students through these times of hardship, we brought a range of partners together to form a ‘Winter Planning’ Working Group, created the Cost-of-Living Hub, launched SUBU’s Community Kitchen, offered subsidized breakfast options and agreed a basket of essential goods on campus to be price matched with retailers.

I am proud our work in this area reached the national stage and was published in a Student Cost of Living report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Students and we met our local MP to lobby further. I am proud with all that was achieved over the year and am delighted to be elected as SUBU’s President for 2023-24.

I look forward to continuing my work with SUBU to make a huge difference to student life at BU.

Chike Dike VICE PRESIDENT WELFARE & COMMUNITY

Our Ambition

“WE WILL DELIVER HOLISTIC SUPPORT

ACROSS AREAS OF STUDENT LIFE AND STUDIES, OFFERING OPPORTUNITIES TO MAKE FRIENDS, CREATE LIFELONG NETWORKS AND HAVE FUN.”

Key targets by Sept 2024

1,800 student issues dealt with by SUBU Advice

1,200 students engaging with liberation and community initiatives

75% of students agree SUBU is inclusive and relevant to all students

IRIS LGBTQ+ Society - Halloween Event

How did we make an impact?

Student Communities

SUBU's liberation and community work helps students to self-define and find a supportive network with people from their communities at BU; be that to do with their race, gender, sexual orientation, or another unique lived experience. They also allow people with similar life experiences – from students that have travelled across the globe to study at BU to those that are going through university alongside caring or parental responsibilities – to find others who understand their unique position.

By driving a strong allyship offer, supporting 6 Liberation Officers, celebrating 4 History Months (Black, Disability, LGBTQ+, Women’s) and a Trans Awareness Week throughout the past year, SUBU created a diverse and vibrant campus for and with students from marginalised groups ensuring they are feeling heard and included.

SUBU offered 34+ community events over the course of this year, attracting 1,100 students in a variety of creative activities ranging from movie nights, board games and speed friending to international food, wine and cheese mixers, karaoke, theatre visits and cultural festivals for diverse student groups.

Highlights include 200 students celebrating Diwali in the Old Fire Station and more than 50 LGBTQ+ students enjoying a festive Queermas at Flirt Café in Bournemouth.

The SUBU Community Warden Scheme, run by SUBU and supported by the BCP Council also helped both students living in private accommodation and permanent residents to enhance integration within the local community. Over the year, the student wardens worked over 450 hours, patrolling the main local student residential areas, supporting with a host of issues – from dealing with landlords and estate agents, to bins, parking, noise complaints and burglaries.

To facilitate international students with their transition to life at BU, the Full-Time Officers launched “Be-aBuddy” – a successful peer-to-peer support scheme, incorporating training, social and cultural activities, which attracted over 280 applications this year.

Student parent events over the year also saw record attendance across both Talbot and Lansdowne campuses – from the Freshers Fair family zone to the Easter fun event, we saw over 200 parents and children finding a supportive network and enjoying a range of activities, including bouncy castles, face painting, crafts, music and refreshments.

Commercial Venues

Our commercial venues, including the Student Shop, Dylan’s Kitchen & Bar, the Student Centre Café and The Old Fire Station, provide students with unique, exciting and safe social spaces, ensuring student life at BU is truly unique and inclusive. The profit generated is reinvested in our wide range of support, events, campaigns and opportunities on offer at SUBU.

We employed 200+ students to run our commercial activity throughout the year and an estimated 3 out of every 4 of BU students visit and benefit from our competitively priced student focused offerings.

This year we involved over 1,060 student customers, staff and stakeholders in a Commercial Services Research study, aiming to better understand our audiences and target our commercial strategy.

The Old Fire Station was successful in attracting Arts Council England funding to improve skills and create richer cultural and development activities at the heart of Bournemouth to the benefit of both our students and our local community.

We worked with the Full-Time Officers to agree a basket of essential goods to be price matched against high street retailers.

Other highlights of 2022/23 include a whole new inclusive approach to Freshers events (which achieved over 80% onboarding), a renewed commitment to campus events to drive face to face student activity, SUBU's longest running student event on Fridays at Old Fire Station has returned to regular sell outs each week and our meal deal in the shop still being cheaper than Tesco's.

SUBU Advice

SUBU’s aim to build community and belonging is delivered through robust support for students on the issues that affect them the most.

SUBU Advice is accredited by AQS (Advice Quality Standard) and provides independent, non-judgmental, and confidential advice while giving holistic support across areas of student life.

So far this year*, the team supported over 1,430 students and solved circa 1,580 cases, advising on a range of matters – from academic issues, such as extensions and appeals to housing problems, including contracts and deposit disputes.

SUBU Advice was also instrumental in addressing the cost-of-living crisis by launching the SUBU Community Kitchen, delivering ‘My Money’ workshops and providing tailored budgeting support and shopping vouchers.

SUBU Advice helped students save £86,300 over the year and those in urgent need received over £1,300 in small emergency grants, while hundreds of students were offered food donations through our Community Kitchen.

The Team also developed SUBU Advice dashboards, which provides key insights into the emerging issues students are facing and worked across University teams to identify key trends and focus on prevention in partnership.

*Data as of May 2023

Nature Workshop - May

1,100+ students attended 34+ liberation and community events

7,000+ students attended SUBU’s Freshers Fair

492 students selfdefined as part of a marginalised community

4,715 students attended SUBU's Summer Ball

1,578 student cases resolved by SUBU Advice (data May 2023), marking a 23% increase on the previous year

£86,300 students’ money saved through SUBU’s advice Service

200+ students employed by SUBU’s commercial services to run our venues

What is our progress towards targets?

A holistic support offer for students and a diverse community events programme are key contributors to a sense of community and belonging. Much of this work at SUBU is delivered through our accredited SUBU Advice Service and our all-inclusive Liberation Campaigns and Communities.

Delivered by a dedicated qualified team, SUBU’s Advice Service demonstrated excellence in their collaborative efforts over the year.

• After a dip over the previous three years, we saw a significant increase in the number of cases handled and student issues resolved by SUBU’s Advice Team.

• This year the Team offered impartial services to 1,438 students, advising then on 1,578 different issues.

• The number of students reaching out for advice over the year was the highest in recent years, marking a significant 28% increase on the year and the service is on track to reach its target for next year.

• Main areas of focus to deliver on target include increased service awareness, collaboration with stakeholders for holistic support, and consistency and quality of provision.

attendance

The progress towards raising awareness and engaging students with liberation and community events also saw a significant uplift over the year.

• SUBU’s 34 liberation and community events attracted 1,100 students and raised awareness of the specific needs and challenges diverse groups of students are facing, whilst helping them thrive and feel welcomed at BU.

1,100 Achieved in 2022-23

• This year’s emphasis on lower number - high-impact events increased student engagement by 50%.

Liberation and community events

73% 80% of students say SUBU’s involvement opportunities are of interest to them

of students say SUBU supports their sense of belonging and student community

Source: "How’s SUBU 4 You?" survey data.

A Student Story

Leon Cambray THEY/THEM

MA Scriptwriting student, previously BA (Hons) Film at Bournemouth University

TRANS, NON-BINARY, INTERSEX, GENDER DIVERSE+ Part-Time Officer

IRIS LGBTQ+ Society President

NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS: Gender Expression Fund - supporting students with gender affirming products

INTERESTS:

Indie filmmaking, screenwriting, activism

Activism to support and empower

Throughout their school years, Leon was creative with a real passion for media. Whilst they never planned on going to university, discovering it offered entry into the creative industries: they chose to study Film.

As a queer student, it wasn’t just about picking the best course, but also finding a support network of like-minded people. Discovering that Bournemouth University had adequate support for the LGBTQ+ community was therefore a critical part of their decision to move 200 miles away from home.

“After researching BU and SUBU, I could sense there was a good vibe. I saw there was an active LGBTQ society, a Liberation Campaign and Student Pride, so I knew it was a university that put a real effort into creating a sense of community for students like me.”

Leon knew they were different back at school but didn’t allow themselves to consider being queer as a possibility. Their coming out journey began at sixth form, and it was “very scary” as they knew so few people going through these experiences so building a thriving community became an essential part of their time at University.

Before coming to BU, Leon didn’t particularly see themselves as a ‘pro-active’ person.

Arriving in Bournemouth however, they were excited to be involved in the LGBTQ+ Society, IRIS, and initially took on a vacant Health & Safety Officer role, followed by a Communications Officer position.

By the end of the year, they’d come up with a whirlwind of ideas and successfully ran for the Society’s President.

After Leon was elected, the Covid-19 pandemic hit and meant they had to move back home, missing out on their friends and exciting projects. So as restrictions began to ease, Leon wanted their remaining time at University to be the best it could be and made the most of their role as a President.

A simple name change - from IRIS to IRIS LGBTQ+ Society - allowed more students to discover the Society, but in a discreet manner. Also, during the Christmas season, Leon worked with their committee to organise Queermas for students who couldn’t celebrate as their authentic selves at home.

“People said it felt like a big family, and it was really special to create that space for them. It showed me the power of having a community and working together.”

Leon also successfully ran for Trans, Non-Binary, Intersex and Gender Identity + Officer role at SUBU, working on a number of LGBTQ+ campaigns and events to make a difference within the community.

To help gender diverse students to access expensive gender affirming items and gender identity clinics, Leon also created the Gender Expression Fund – important, life changing work that saw them recognised for Outstanding Contribution to Liberation Campaigns at SUBU’s 2022-23 Awards.

“When I’ve spoken to people from other SU’s, they really had to fight for a Gender Expression Fund. But at SUBU, everyone went above and beyond to make it work. SUBU has been incredibly supportive throughout my studies; they’ve allowed me to have a voice and make a change. I feel really empowered by the opportunities they have given me.”

Whilst Leon never thought they’d get involved with politics, their passion for carving safe spaces for LGBTQ+, Trans and Non-Binary students has been instrumental for these marginalised communities.

At a time of undoubted rise in transphobic rhetoric across the UK, Leon have grown in confidence, their activism leaving a lasting legacy within the Students’ Union and the University as a whole.

Queermas - December 2022

My SUBU Advice Experience – Student Testimonials

“I was dealing with an unprecedented event during my last months of University. It was a sudden experience but one that left a significant impact on me. But as a student finishing my degree and someone heavily involved in my outside interests, my response was to make sure I built a wide enough support system, so I don’t stop running the last stretch of my studies.

I was on the fence at first going to speak to someone, thinking I can dust it off and ignore the problem. Everyone suggested checking out a few helplines, but it just felt too much for me.

So, I went to SUBU Advice as a place that is familiar, in a building I felt was a safe space.

I remember walking in the office one day - there was a couch I could rest on, a box of tissues, and some positive affirmation art pieces on the wall. I said, “I need help”, I was so confused.

SUBU Advice supported me through my exceptional circumstances application to get an extension on my dissertation and provided me with comfort and space to speak, reminding me of my humanity. They also helped me to lay out next steps, helping me to take it slowly and spoke to me in a way that was caring. I felt like a person rather than a case file. And to this day I still have the post-it note in my book with the words “I am not there yet”, reminding me to be kind to myself and that this will take time. I’ve dealt with plenty of services that didn’t really help me in any way. SUBU Advice was the first real time where I can say I felt supported and seen.”

Anonymous student, Faculty of Media and Communications

“I struggled at the start of my second year, both with my mental health and my course, questioning whether I should be at Uni at all. I found it hard to access the right support and felt lost and alone. Luckily, as the year progressed, things started turning around for me, but unfortunately, I failed a repeat unit and was ultimately withdrawn from my course.

This was a huge blow after overcoming so many of my personal struggles and I wanted a second chance. I reached out to SUBU Advice who were incredibly helpful in talking me through my options and supporting me through the appeal process. It was easy to access SUBU Advice drop-ins and I could book appointments with my Adviser too. I found speaking in person really helped make things clearer.

My appeal was sadly unsuccessful, and I feared my mental health would take another negative turn, but my Adviser helped me plan, attended a meeting with my Faculty to discuss alternative courses and made me aware of all the implications (finances, transferring credits, reapplying through UCAS).

With the help of my Adviser, I was able to apply to a similar course at BU, transfer my credits and I’m due to start my second year in September. I’m really glad that I reached out to SUBU Advice and looking forward to going back to University.”

Anonymous student, BU Business School

SUBU IMPACT REPORT

EMPOWERING VOICE

Norah Valerie Deka VICE PRESIDENT EDUCATION

SUBU’s work on empowering student voice for positive impact

My first year as VP Education at SUBU has been a highlight on both a personal and professional level. I was delighted to see a revival in student engagement this year, with student voice initiatives, such as Speak Week, returning with the strongest participation in recent history.

Student feedback clearly indicates the diverse learning needs of students and I continue to lobby for advance learning materials and recorded lectures across all senior BU committees.

Exams, assessments, and feedback remain top issues for students and I worked with BU’s Fusion for Learning to engage students on an innovative project to redesign assessments in a way that works for all students and prepares them for the world of work.

Post-Covid, young people have more complex needs, and my main goal has been to facilitate open communications between students and staff. I welcome the introduction of personal tutors and learning analytics at BU and I work to ensure student voice is effectively heard across these projects.

This year, the rise of artificial intelligence is amongst the most challenging discussions in higher education and I worked with the Library, Academic Quality and Faculty teams to raise awareness around academic integrity and promote support on offer at BU.

Finally, to tackle student loneliness, which has also increased to epidemic levels, I introduced “The Talk Table” - a campaign to facilitate students in starting conversations.

I am very happy to be re-elected for another term as the VP Education for 2023-24 and looking forward to continue working on improving the quality of educational experience at BU.

Our Ambition

“BY BEING FULLY INFORMED AND STUDENT-LED, SUBU WILL ENSURE THE STUDENT VOICE IS HEARD AND TOGETHER WE MAKE A POSITIVE IMPACT - LOCALLY, NATIONALLY AND GLOBALLY.”

Key targets by Sept 2024

650 student Reps elected, 90% of BU courses to be represented by Reps

10,000 comments sent by students via SimOn student feedback tool

90% students agree SUBU has positive impact on student life

The SUBU Awards - May 2023

How did we make an impact?

Elections

SUBU’s democratic processes ensure we offer students the opportunity to elect their student leaders and make their voice heard at every level across the University. From Student Reps, championing their course, to Part-Time Officers, Faculty Reps and Faculty Officers, voted to sit on Faculty meetings and SUBU’s Executive Committee, and Full-Time Officers – elected to lead the Union and ensure the University-wide student experience is the best it can be.

Fair and exciting election campaigns are a key priority for SUBU and this year’s Full-Time Officers elections saw 32 impressive candidates, and 2,093 students (13.7% of SUBU’s members) casting a remarkable 9,301 votes.

To minimize voter coercion and increase awareness of all candidates and their manifestos, we prioritised inperson voting through physical election presence and polling stations on Talbot and Lansdowne campuses and limited voting via devices. Four Full Time Officers and five NUS Conference delegate positions were elected this year to represent students for 2023-24.

Many student ideas were also submitted and voted through SUBU’s Ideas platform – helping to make a Mental Health Green Space on campus and a fund to support Trans students a reality.

Elections Results Day - March 2023

Student Reps

Student Representatives (Reps) are volunteers elected by students to represent and champion the student voice on their course and offer a deep peer-to-peer insight into student experience.

This year SUBU worked with colleagues across faculties to elect and train 689 Student Reps, representing over 160 programmes at BU and offered an exciting social and developmental programme over this year to help build the Student Rep community. This included a variety of trips and socials for students to discover the surrounding areas of Dorset and meet new friends, as well as the first ever Student Voice Conference – a day of inspiring keynotes, panel sessions, workshops and activities.

The Team also created a range of dashboards providing valuable insights to stakeholders and launched the Student Voice Breakfast – a successful event engaging a range of stakeholders into SUBU’s insights about student experience.

Student Reps provided over 8,340 comments through SUBU’s online feedback tool SimOn. The main areas of concern raised over the year included: instances of poor course content; unengaging delivery; timetables that don’t work for students; unclear assignment briefs; assessment criteria and feedback. SUBU and elected officers worked with Reps, Programme and Faculty staff to help resolve these student issues and implement best practice. This work resulted in courses affected by industrial action being given extensions, as well as changes to workload and timetables made.

Some Reps also went out of their way to help fellow students by driving their own projects, including a Nutrition students leading a scheme called ‘Budget Bites’ which educated students in making tasty, budget friendly meals.

Student Feedback

In addition to the ongoing student feedback received from SimOn over the year, SUBU runs a number of student voice campaigns to inform our delivery and drive projects in response to student needs.

Speak Week runs twice a year and seeks feedback on topics that are current and important to students and strategically important to SUBU to explore. How's SUBU for You? is our annual survey to evaluate SUBU's relevance to students, inform our strategy, and assess how well we are delivering our representation, support, range of services and involvement opportunities to students.

This year Speak Week saw its highest response rates in recent history and engagement with How’s SUBU for You? tripled from last year. These surveys were especially important for both the Union and the University to understand the ways in which the cost-of-living crisis is affecting students and how the academic strike action has impacted on their experience. A high volume of alarming statistics provided insight into how much students were struggling with the rising costs of food and essentials which led to a host of projects designed to respond to these student issues, including hot food deals across campus outlets, SUBU’s Community Kitchen and a cost-of-living hub.

The SUBU Awards - May 2023

9,301 votes were cast by 2,093 students in Full-Time Officers elections

689 student Reps were elected and trained

1,460 students participated in Speak Week

140+ students were employed to run our venues

8,341 student comments submitted through SimOn

80% of courses with 20+ students were represented by Student Reps 919 students completed our annual survey “How’s SUBU for You?”

Number of student Reps

What is our progress towards targets?

SUBU’s strategic aim to strengthen student voice and create positive impact at BU is delivered through Student Rep Elections across BU programmes, engaging students in election campaigns, and encouraging diverse voices across a range of feedback mechanisms (SimOn, Speak Week, How’s SUBU for You?).

With a brand-new crew this year, our Student Voice Team shone with enthusiasm, passion for empowering students, and demonstrable ambition in their delivery.

• After a historic 65% pandemic decline in 2020-21, the number of Reps elected to represent courses more than doubled last year and has continued to grow year to date with further 28%, reaching 689 Reps – a record in recent years and overtaking the target levels set for 2024 by 6%.

689 Achieved in 2022-23

• Currently Reps come from 164 different programmes and represent 80% of BU courses with 20 or more students.

• For the coming year, the focus will remain on widening representation across courses, engaging Reps with feedback mechanisms and working closely with BU faculties to ensure student issues loops are resolved and communicated in a timely manner.

Student feedback received through SimOn feedback tool has also seen an ongoing growth over the past three years.

• Historically, the number of SimOn comments halved back in 2019-20, reflecting the COVID related dip in student engagement.

• The number of comments has trended upwards since, with an overall 67% increase between 2019-20 and 2022-23 and a small uplift this year (data available up to the end of May).

• There is still some way to go to reach our target and the pre-pandemic levels and a project on rebranding SimOn is on the way, as well as a communication campaign to drive student engagement forward next year.

Number of student comments on SimOn

of students agree SUBU influences positive change in BU 2020/2021 2021/2022 2022/2023

81% 91% 83%

72% 77% 71% 2020/2021 2021/2022 2022/2023

of students have heard or engaged with their course Reps 72% 83% 65% 2020/2021 2021/2022 2022/2023

Source: "How’s SUBU 4 You?" survey data.

A Student Story

Nicole Chee SHE/HER

Finance and Accounting

BUSINESS SCHOOL

Faculty Officer

INTERESTS: Business, Marketing and PR

The value of my voice

Nicole had to deal with numerous difficulties before coming to university.

She grew up in Malaysia and her school recollections are less than joyful. Her time at school included not only long hours and gruelling homework, but also corporal punishment, which was commonplace at the time in Malaysia.

Nicole was eventually relieved to find a much more relaxed educational atmosphere once she moved to the UK with her parents at the age of seven. Despite her having to learn a new language and adjust to a new culture, she enjoyed school much more, however her secondary school years were tainted by bullying, racial discrimination and harassment, which was especially hurtful.

Being the first in her family to go to university, Nicole felt she owned it to her grandparents and parents to succeed academically.

She followed her parents’ advice and chose to study Accounting and Finance at BU.

“Once at university – it was amazing! I found an environment that is diverse and inclusive and discovered a new-found confidence.”

She got engaged with the Students’ Union, and enjoyed making friends and standing up for her fellow students. Nicole was initially elected as a Faculty Rep, and then a Faculty Officer for the Business School.

Nicole has shown a real dedication to the role and has a real passion for representing students. She has been regularly attending Executive Committee and SUBU Summit, sharing important feedback, raising issues, looking for solutions and contributing to conversations and discussions affecting students from across BU and helping make university experience better for all students.

She is also representing Business School students at senior faculty committees making sure that students are being considered in all decisions made by the faculty.

Additionally, as part of her officer role she got involved in creating videos in collaboration with academics to raise awareness of plagiarism amongst students and organised industry events, bringing inspiring employers from different industries to campus.

“Being a Faculty Officer has taken me on a journey of knowing myself much better. I found out I enjoy marketing and PR much more than accounting and statistics.”

Nicole’s campaigning, winning elections and problem-solving for students gave her a new-found confidence and made her much braver in following her dreams and standing up for herself.

This year, reflecting her contribution to empowering student voice, Nicole was nominated as Part-Time Officer of the Year Award.

My Empowering Rep Experience –Student Testimonials

“Thank you very much for the opportunity to work with you as a Student Rep. It was indeed an amazing experience working with a superpower team this year. Being a January 2023 intake, I have gained a huge experience working as a student Rep for the student community.”

Stephan Rodrigues - Business School Rep of the Year

“The student Rep role has been a fantastic opportunity for me to connect, assist, and experience University life in full.”

Leigh Chester - Health & Social Sciences Rep of the Year

“I met amazing people that I wouldn't have otherwise gotten to know. Reps allowed me to find students from other faculties and courses who share my culture. Rep events are always a 10/10 with or without the free food.”

Aly Ghicavaia – Student Rep

High Sheriff visits SUBU Lansdowne

NEW PROJECT OF THE YEAR

Recreating the Student Centre in Lansdowne Campus

Lansdowne Campus has seen a significant transformation since 2019-20 and SUBU's location and presence has presented engagement challenges. Throughout the year, we heard from students how they feel about the atmosphere on campus and many Lansdowne students felt there was not a specific space for them to relax, socialise, make friends, and even eat lunch or sit between lectures. SUBU worked with BU colleagues and actively consulted with students to develop the offer they need. This collaborative project got the attention and interest of Dr Sibyl King from Fine Family Foundation, who was the High Sheriff of Dorset over the past year. With a generous donation from Sibyl, we are in a process of creating a new Common Room at Lansdowne Campus, which will offer students a new vibrant social and community space. The new room will enable students to connect with each other and will help build a sense of belonging.

“It’s been a total pleasure working with the SUBU team and it’s clear to me that you all genuinely live your values.

This project, working together to create a happy room, has been a real joy.

I have enjoyed every stage of the process from the initial enthusiasm when we talked about the idea to bringing the focus group together to considering the comfort and usability of each item and finally thinking about how to personalise things so that everyone’s involvement will leave a mark.

The students whom I met were brimming with ideas and enthusiasm, and the staff were ever so delightful.”

Dr Sibyl King, Fine Family Foundation, High Sheriff of Dorset

STUDENT COMMUNICATIONS

The Communications Team at SUBU is delivering all our key messages to students and has been instrumental to our success over the year. Operating with just two Full-Time members of staff, they developed innovative approaches to student communications, capitalising on student creators and influencers to consistently support key projects and produce content on a wide range of platforms for a diverse audience of 18,000+ students.

The academic year started with a brand-new Freshers campaign aiming to ensure students felt welcomed into our community. With 5,678 free wristbands posted to first-year students, we managed to create a bond even before they arrived in Bournemouth.

Over 80% of students activated their wristbands, and The Old Fire Station has seen more than 7,880 individual students purchasing tickets to their student night, Lollipop.

This year, our strategy of focusing on student generated content across our main social media channels, including Instagram and TikTok led to a significant increase of student engagement across SUBU’s digital channels.

We’ve invested in students to help run our digital campaigns and create content that gives an authentic view to student life at Bournemouth University, focusing on images and video reels showcasing our students. As a result, we’ve seen our followers grow by almost 20% and we’re reaching over 6,000 individual accounts with our most popular content.

We have also invested in other part-time student staff, including Graphic Designers and Digital Communications Assistants. Their input allows us to see and assess our campaigns from students’ perspective, helping us to tailor our communications and create a bigger impact within BU.

This year has also seen the development of students across our Nerve outlets. Our Communications Team have been fully committed with supporting the teams this year, with regular meetings to discuss content planning and collaboration opportunities.

The Nerve Radio team have grown their output significantly, broadcasting 68 student shows every single week with over 90 student members.

These students have worked alongside SUBU to promote events, hosted the Student Radio Association Chart Show and took part in a 24-hour Round the Clock Challenge with SU Radio stations from the south coast to raise money for charity. They are also working to develop a local partnership with Bournemouth’s local radio station, Hot Radio, to train students and prepare them for a career in radio.

Nerve TV have also pulled out all the stops to develop their outlet and produce a mix of exciting and informative content. This year, the team launched their own Nerve TV News branch, which covers a mix of newsworthy stories featured weekly.

Nerve students have also collaborated with the SUBU Communications Team to create a brandnew publication – SUBU News – a creative attempt to revive the traditional newspaper form. With over 2,500 issues delivered to student halls six times this year, and it being freely available from SUBU’s commercial venues, the newspaper has received overwhelmingly positive comments with students and businesses submitting regular enquiries of how they can get involved with the project.

83% of students rate SUBU’s communications as good or very good

LOOKING FORWARD

Our Vision for the Future: Building the best university experience for our students, their community, and their future.

Next year we will continue focusing on our three strategic themes:

REALISING POTENTIAL

Build strong partnerships to enrich our students’ academic experience and help them navigate a complicated world of emerging technology and innovation by offering extracurricular opportunities and experiences that promote health, professional aspiration and academic success.

CREATING COMMUNITY

Create a community for all BU students and vibrancy across our campuses by planning an inclusive and exciting welcome, a reimagined programme of targeted activities for diverse student groups, a new strategic approach to our commercial offerings that work for our changing demographic, and a holistic well-connected support offer that leave no student behind in a challenging economic context.

EMPOWERING VOICE

Widening representation across courses and student groups, establishing a strong and actively engaged Rep system, activating the student community with strong election campaigns and voice initiatives, rebranding and relaunching our strong feedback mechanisms and working closely with newly emerging BU workstreams to ensure student issues loops are resolved and communicated within the academic year.

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR

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