Postgraduate Committee Meeting – 11/07/2014 17.00
Present – HLE (PH Rep), AG (Social Rep), YD (General Rep), CW (International Rep), MT (Incoming President), SC (Outgoing President), MF (Outgoing VP), HR (Incoming VP)
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- Review of this Year
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- Latent strengths/ideas for next year
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- Review of Committee Positions
- Strategic Aims
- Review of this Year
Chinese New Year/Spring Festival
Free food (always a winner), relaxed atmosphere and with an international focus – an alternative to drinking events and academic events
Led by international students and also promoted using Mandarin and also Chinese social networks other than facebook
Special thank you to YD for all his hard work on this event
PG Fora
A good attendance from PGs and UGs, as well as having some PGs speak
We have a list of people awarded the College PG fund who are all willing to speak
The Forum held at Brooks proved very successful. The intention next year is to hold one every 2-3 weeks, alternating between Brooks and the Bailey on Tuesdays and Thursdays
Potential rebrand to something less isolating – ‘Cuth’s Talks’/’Lecture Series’ etc
Provide stimulus questions at the start of each one
Promote speaking at the Fora during the welcome talk – a good way to get involved
– Get feedback straight away – paper forms/focus groups
Provide a list of dates and titles at the same time
Snappy titles and consistent design
Get speakers to promote them as well
Inter MCR Formal
Every college hosts some sort of MCR event over the year
Intensive promo was required but it ended up as a full house – target departments as well as colleges – make an effort to invite people who might not have been involved in anything else
Thank you to AG for all the organisation and promo
There’s often an assumption of classiness during ents but the more relaxed events went down better (DJ in the bar at Trevs and Ceilidh at Butler) – “You can’t dance to jazz”
For dancing events have a water station/bottle bar in the hall – keeps people there
In future social reps should have a checklist of deadlines to allow for structured planning and smooth running
- Latent Strengths/Suggestions of more things to do
Make use of Chinese facebook equivalents, particularly before anyone even arrives
Try and make sure people aren’t spammed with lots of emails – v disengaging
Provide lanyards (or equivalent) with maps/phone numbers etc on arrival – don’t just rely on fb
Mixer/bonding events – particularly for Chinese students – can often be shy and need to be involved right at the start
– A return of the controversial speed dating? Unite students in their hatred for reps?
Cooking nights during term and the holidays – just small groups
– Not just British food but other cuisines too – the best way to hang out with people
British night – but promoting the food rather than the drinking..
Parents/buddy system – matching home and international students
– Have college parents specifically for international or pg students
– Buddy up linguists with people from their country of study?
Promote the Union International party – When is it?
Try to include non-uni partners/families/supervisors in events – offer +1s
– Encourage people to bring friends, then it’s not awkward if they don’t know anyone going
– Friday high table dinner with PG/mature students and their families – more sociable hours
Target the PG intake in January – make sure they’re on mailing lists etc.
Try and have just 1 PG email per week
Hold a reading group once a term
Cuth’s Day – expensive and puts a lot of PGs and international students off
– People don’t think they will enjoy it
– Alternative cuth’s day activities?
– We need to make people want to go
Target returning 4th years and students on 4 year courses
– Include them in fb group and mailing lists etc
– You don’t need to be a postgrad to get involved
Mature students
– UG mature students are generally fairly involved while PG mature students will often have families etc
– Host a family day – easter egg hunt at the Bailey?
– Joint event with other Bailey colleges
- Review of positions
Postgraduate Rep – HLE
Made a huge amount of progress this year but didn’t feel like he made it clear what each committee role entails – something to work on 2014/15
Try to consider mature students’ needs too
Re-establish relationships with current PGs, not just new ones
Need to delegate and let people have the freedom to take ownership of their jobs
Social Rep (x2) – AG speaking
The main responsibility in the MCR formal
Has organised lots of small socials – meals, bars nights etc
– Plan further in advance with set dates and explore more options/food types
International Rep – CW speaking
Chinese students aren’t engaged uni wide – feel isolated from college events
– Didn’t fit in at the start and then become quite an insular group
– Grab people straight away to give the international rep a basis for the year
Focus on pre-sessionals – people find groups during this type and then are less inclined to mingle during freshers’ week
– Involve pre-sessionals as much as poss over summer, even if they might not be staying in Cuth’s come October
Consult international students about whether or not they would like to live with other international students
The first few days are crucial in engaging these students and making them feel part of the family
General Rep (x2)- YD speaking
Largely in charge of promoting things
Need more Chinese or international focused events
DSU Rep – HLE speaking
Need to attend assembly and feed back to the committee
Could help out the JCR DSU rep with university challenge
– A concrete task to focus on
– Would be good to involve PGs in this event (they’re clever)
Mature students’ Rep – Nominated by DUMSA
- Strategic Aims
Representation
– All of the committee should be at JCR meetings to enable this
Promote ways to get involved
– Push PG involvement in sports and socs
– Pre-freshers freshers fair – reps can signpost and hand out sign ups for mailing list