Working for Students

This week on the Membership Services Show Livia and Alan explore essential needs and skills development. Steph from the University of New South Wales explains their "checkpoint" program, delivering nutritionally balanced meals and education to support student wellbeing. Plus Darcy from Students' Union UCL shares their innovative approach to helping student leaders recognize and articulate the skil...

This week on the Membership Services Show Alan and Livia talk policy books, with Ed from Salford SU explaining how they're making sure students know what their SU thinks about things.  Plus Sean from Sheffield SU shares insights into their use of students in faculty voice coordinator roles, and Mack from the team takes us through learnings from Wonkhe's recent commuter student series curated...

This week on the Membership Services Show Alan and Livia talk AI, UCL SU shares insights into their Leadership Race, which saw record engagement, UMass Lowell discuss the development of their gaming zone and the NUS Charity discusses their research on international sabbatical officers. With Jeffrey from UCL Students' Union, Adam from UMass Lowell, Charlotte from NUS Charity, and hosted by Livia Sc...

This week on the Membership Services Show, Eve from Hallam SU shares the story behind their new fabric Swap Shop – a community-led initiative offering art and design students free access to essential materials like fabric, clay, and canvases.  Callum from Arts SU introduces “Art or Algorithm” – a qualitative research project unpacking how creative students view artificial intelligence. And Da...

This week on the Membership Services Show Livia and Alan talk to Ugne from the doctoral chapter of KTH Students Union in Stockholm about their groundbreaking work connecting PhD students with labour unions – addressing the unique challenges postgraduate researchers face as both students and staff, and successfully advocating for improved salary conditions after years of stagnation. Faith and Steph...

This week on the Membership Services Show Livia Scott and Alan talk to Goldsmiths SU about their creative Photovoice methodology for improving student voice and governance – using photography to reimagine feedback processes and develop actionable solutions for increasing engagement with democratic procedures. Meg from LUU discusses their Essentials Hub, a comprehensive basic needs center offering...

This week on the Membership Services Show, Alan and Livia explore new approaches to SU strategy and accountability. Alex Harden-Way from UCB Guild shares how the principles of "open source" can be used to grow transparency and community engagement in SU, opening up data and processes to encourage collaborative improvement. Livia also speaks to Kirsty Morrison from Teesside SU about becoming a CEO,...

This week on the Membership Services Show, Alan and Livia explore the power of collaboration in student events. Josh from South Bank SU and Dan from Sunderland SU in London share how they’ve built a cooperative model for events, from freshers to Halloween and beyond. By joining forces, they’ve created bigger, bolder, and more financially sustainable student nights - challenging the idea that stude...

This week on the Membership Services Show, Livia and Alan explore how SUs are evolving their representation and engagement models. Steph from UCLan SU shares the success of their revitalised Speak Weeks, with a creative twist on traditional engagement. Caroline from Bath Spa SU discusses their shift to student community leaders, bridging the gap between representation and community building. Mems...

This week on the Membership Services Show, Livia and Alan dive into SU elections. Charlotte from NUS Charity shares insights on election trends, including rising turnout and the growing number of international student candidates. Mack discusses evolving officer structures, the impact of AI on manifestos, and challenges in student engagement. And Adam from Tampere Student Union in Finland compares...

This week on the Membership Services Show Livia talks to Bath SU about revamping its student council into a Student SUmmit to increase accountability and policy-making impact.  Plus Alan catches up with Josef from Campus Hybernská in Prague - a collaboration between Charles University and the city of Prague which serves as a public gateway to higher education and interdisciplinary dialogue. A...

This week on the Membership Services Show Livia talks to Edinburgh Napier SU about redesigning its student council to boost engagement and influence. Plus, Alan talks to ELTE SU in Budapest about its mentor training program for international students, and Livia talks to Royal Holloway SU about improving support for commuter students. With Réka Judit BOROS, Vice-President for Foreign Affairs at Eöt...

The Membership Services Show - where we discuss practice in SUs - is back for a second season. This week Alan talks to St Mary’s SU in Twickenham where against the odds, they’ve just launched a new venue - we talk how and why.  Plus Livia and Alan field a question on what’s happening this year in SU elections, and Alan talks to a union in the US about their fascinating Spring Day event. Bentl...

In this special festive edition of the Membership Services Show, Alan and Livia have insights from the ACUI conference in the United States, innovative approaches like free grab-and-go breakfasts and sip-and-sketch events, and discuss the role of smaller, daytime activities in boosting student participation. They also explore the impact of cost-of-living pressures, the push for bilingual operation...

This week in our final episode of the season, Alan and Livia reflect on Membership Services Conference 2024 with a particular focus on on the plenaries - OfS' John Blake discussing students as consumers, a panel of sector reps discussing student experience, plus a panel on student rights where Jim asked if our theories of change need an update. John Blake gets interested in students – but what’s h...

In this pre-conference special Alan and Livia discuss the big themes set to emerge from this year's event. With Alan, Livia and Rhiannon Roberts, CEO at Man Met SU. There’s more detail about Membership Services Conference - Wednesday 14th to Thursday 15th August 2024 at The Union MMU here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the Membership Services Show we talk to Organised Fun! about abandoning society risk assessments. Plus we chat to Birmingham Guild and Coole Insight about officer support. There’s more detail about Membership Services Conference - Wednesday 14th to Thursday 15th August 2024 at The Union MMU - right here . Organised fun! Birmingham Guild  Coole Insight Hosted on Acast. See acast....

This week on the Membership Services Show Livia talks to Arden SU about creating an SU from scratch, Alan talks to Man Met SU about its International student community, and Livia talks to Citizens UK about the community organising work it's been doing at Aston. There’s more detail about Membership Services Conference - Wednesday 14th to Thursday 15th August 2024 at The Union MMU - right here . Ast...

This week on the Membership Services Show Alan talks to the University of Nottingham SU about the changes they’ve made to course rep conversations. Plus Livia talks to UCA SU about turnaround, and Loughborough SU about their move to departmental committees. There’s more detail about Membership Services Conference - Wednesday 14th to Thursday 15th August 2024 at The Union MMU - right here . Academi...

This week on the show Alan and Livia talk to Strathclyde SU about the tenancy rights workshops they've been running. Plus Students' Union UCL has been running consent workshops, and the University of Nottingham SU has been training up its society committees. More about Membership Services Conference UCL - Consent Strathclyde - Tenancy rights  Nottingham - Committee Training Hosted on Acast. S...

This week on the Membership Services Show Alan talks to Newcastle University SU about its bursaries for participation, SOAS SU about the way it’s tackling issues around sexual and gender based violence, and the University of Nottingham SU about the way it supports Part-Time Officers. There’s more detail about Membership Services Conference - Wednesday 14th to Thursday 15th August 2024 at The Union...

This week on the Membership Services Show Alan and Livia talk to Newcastle University SU about working class student representation, Leeds Beckett SU about its work on strategy, and the University of Manchester SU about research. There’s more detail about Membership Services Conference - Wednesday 14th to Thursday 15th August 2024 at The Union MMU - right here . Newcastle Working Class Liberation...

This week on the Membership Services Show (which will be online at lunchtime on Friday) Alan talks to Bournemouth SU about data and dashboards in advice, UCL about their gender expression fund and UEA SU about social policy. Registration for the 9th Membership Services Conference is open. Taking place at The Union MMU on Weds 14th and Thurs 15th August, this is the conference for staff working in...

This week on the Membership Services Show Livia talks to Durham SU about how they're transforming advice. Plus Alan talks to Hallam SU about how they've changed how they support advocacy, and Livia talks to Aber SU about a new partnership approach on student careers support. Registration for the 9th Membership Services Conference is open. Taking place at The Union MMU on Weds 14th and Thurs 15th A...

This week on the membership services show Livia chats to Dan from the Open University Students’ Association about the creation of their Manifesto for Lifelong Learning, and quizzes Tom from Citizens UK about what to do once you’ve registered students to vote. Plus Alan chats to Ben from NUS UK and the National Society of Apprentices about what on earth they mean by a “reverse husting”.  Voter...