Thursday 06-06-2019 - 11:28

It's been another busy and exciting year for Bristol SU, packed with literally hundreds of events, opportunities and activities for you to sink your teeth into. There have also been some pretty big wins for students. Let's have a look back at some of what we've achieved this year...

Global Carnival

Bristol SU’s International Students’ Network, Postgraduate Education Officer Shubham and a multitude of cultural societies teamed up to bring you a celebration of the things that make Bristol SU such an amazing place to be – diverse cultures and communities, student talent and delicious food from around the world!

International Student Officer

Thanks to our Postgrad Officer Shubham and Union Affairs Officer Stanford, next year we will be welcoming a new addition to our full time officer team. The International Officer role will represent the interests of our growing international community.

Microwaves

After a lot of conversations with the university, Union Affairs Officer Stanford secured a microwaves in Senate House and the SU building - so you can now bring in and heat up your own food on campus!

SU Living Room

You asked for a space on campus specifically for relaxing and socialising, a space where you can bring and eat your own food, and we delivered! With hot water, sofas, ping pong and retro video games, the SU Living Room has had amazing feedback from students, and hundreds of visitors a day.

BME Equality

In response to our research on the experiences of BME students at the University, this year we launched the Bristol BME Powerlist: a list of the 100 most influential BME role models in the city. The launch saw big names from the community and the Unviersity come together to discuss the most pressing issues facing BME communities in Bristol. Our BME network have also been working with the University to launch the BME Success Programme, which will work to enhance the experiences and success of undergraduate BAME students at the University.

It's been a big year for sustainability

The RAG, Volunteering and Sustainability Network launched Sustainability Month: a campaign bringing together sustainability groups from around the University to work on shared solutions. We also passed a motion at AMM to lobby the University to declare a climate emergency, and our students took a successful emergency motion to the University's Senate, which saw Bristol become the first University in the UK to declare a climate emergency.

Student Mental Health Strategy

Your full time officers pushed the University to consult with students in developing a new student mental health strategy. We're pleased to see that the final strategy has taken on board several key demands from students, including increased wellbeing training for staff, reviewing the structure of the academic year and improving the counselling service.

Tackled Sexual Violence

Equalities Officer Sally has overseen the launch of the report and support tool to make to easier for survivors to report incidences of assault and harrassment. She has also been working with Pro-Vice Chancellor Judith Squires and the safeguarding organisation Lime Culture to review and overhaul the Unviersity's policies around sexual violence and supporting survivors.

Ignit10n

The Sports Network stepped up their game this year with the best Ignit10n event yet. 28 sports clubs endured 10 hour challenges to raise a whopping £8000 for local mental health services!

National Society Awards success

Bristol SU saw sweeping success at the National Society Awards, with our societies Chaos, Epigram and Women in Finance seeing off the competition to take home Best Society, Best Media Society and Most Improved Society respectively!

Graduation Bursary

Undergraduate Education Officer Nasra and Equalities Officer Sally have been working hard to reduce the hidden costs that arise from studying, securing a graduation bursary from the University to cover the cost of gown hire for approximately 200 students.

This Girl Can

Sports and Student Development Officer Ginny worked closely with the University and different sports clubs to bring together an incredible This Girl Can programme.

No exams on Saturdays

UG Education Officer Nasra stopped the University from putting exams on a Saturday or squeezing 3 exams into a day, instead getting them to agree to extend the exam period by two days and letting you keep your weekends for rest and revision!

SU Elections

The Bristol SU Elections attracted over 7000 voters for the third year running; one of our highest-ever turnouts. We introduced new roles including a full-time International Officer, and the Chair for the new Multifaith Network.

Sports Night

Our regular Sports Night at Gravity, and SCORE, have channelled over £11,000 of ticket sales back into our sports clubs. For the second year running Men's Rugby have earned the most, though Men's Football aren't far behind!

BUCS

Our amazing sports clubs saw us hold the 8th place on the National BUCS League for the second year running!

Multifaith Network

We want to support students in all aspects of their experience at University, which is why our officer team has established the new Multifaith Network. The network will work to build community between and support the interests of students of all faiths.

Just Ask

Last year our Just Ask academic advice service helped over 1200 students with issues on their course, including 443 academic appeals.

Bristol Jazz & Blues Festival

We teamed up with St. Georges and the O2 to play host to the 7th edition of the Bristol International Jazz & Blues Festival, which saw the blues takeover the Anson Rooms. The Balloon Bar's popular free music stage meant that everyone could get a taste of Bristol's musical talents.

Varsity

Our Sports and Student Development Officer Ginny oversaw Varsity Week, and the relaunch of the Varsity series, with over 5,000 students, staff, alumni and the local community coming together to participate, volunteer or spectate. This year’s series focused on community participation and integration and saw Bristol’s two Universities team up with a major city event - the Simplyhealth Great Bristol 10K. Over 800 students, staff and alumni ran in the Varsity wave - the second biggest Great Run university wave in the UK.

 

Find out more about what Bristol SU does for you at www.bristolsu.org.uk/impact