Student Candidate Spotlight: Academic Officers

Although the Spring Elections are vital for electing our Sabbatical Officers, it is also important because it gives us the opportunity to elect student volunteers to lead and enrich several areas of Union life. Here, we will be exploring some of the candidates of student leadership positions to give you an insight into who you want to vote for! This article will be focusing on students looking to be elected as Academic Officers.

Social Sciences Faculty Officer

Parth Pandya

‘Hey guys! I’m standing for re-election for the position – Social Sciences Faculty Officer. I’ve been Faculty Officer for a year now and I’ve improved communication and representation with and between departments, schools & faculty staff. I’ve done faculty forums, group meetings, faculty-wide events, and SUSU campaigns which is something that I want to increase even further. I’m running for Faculty Officer again because there is so much more that I want to do and that I can do. I want to improve response in Faculty Forums, I want to work with the Faculty and SUSU more in a whole range of events for our students (e.g. wellbeing and assignment skills). Now that I’ve been in the role for a year, I know what I need to do to further improve the offers for our Faculty. I believe that I will be able to do this because I’m organised, reliable, responsible, and manage my time well which has allowed me to also immerse with specific School and Faculty events. I’m always there for your academic needs and I reply and respond quickly. I will work more on SUSU’s lecture recording campaign, continue to work with my School Presidents effectively, create weekly meetings so students can come and see me in a chill environment. Two main things I would like to do is bring back Joint Honours Reps and improve postgraduate representation with PG Leads. I will work with services more & create campaigns – Student & Enabling Services, the library, SUSU, Careers – for example one thing I would really like to do is create detailed frameworks and detailed background lectures for ALL modules.’

Ria Dunn

‘I’m running for Social Sciences Faculty Officer for a chance to have a positive lasting impact on the faculty. Specifically, I want to open a discussion around special considerations and if there are changes that need to be made, especially for those with long term mental and physical health issues. In my department I currently run a lot of events and I’d love the opportunity to bring these to a faculty level too, to help build a community of social science staff and students. Most importantly, I want to make sure that your voice is heard!’

Haasya Vanteru

‘Hi there, I am Haasya and I study Business Analytics and Management Sciences. Being a student at Faculty of Social Science, I understand the fellow students and I have your interests at heart. With your voices behind me, I can use my knowledge and my voice, to best represent and implement your ideas. So if you like what I hope to achieve, I would be most appreciative of your support!’

Medicine Faculty Officer (Medsoc Vice President)

Calvin De Louche

‘My name is Calvin, and this year, I’m running to be the next Medicine Faculty Officer. As a Year Rep, I’ve gained a really good insight into how the Faculty is run and have witnessed some of the great work that goes on behind the scenes. I’ve had the opportunity to take part in so many great events run by MedSoc, allowing me to see where we’re getting it right, but more importantly, where there’s still room for improvement. Mental Health is an incredibly important topic, and as such, I plan to lobby for scheduled wellbeing lectures to be situated in the timetable, whilst also introducing a new keynote speaker lecture series, to include presentations from distinguished mental health advocates. My wish is that with the appropriate support, we can all be better equipped to tackle the mentally challenging career that we’ve chosen to pursue. I’d also like to redefine the role of the Year Rep, assigning Reps to either take on a more social or academic role in their respective cohorts, alongside refining the way in which feedback is gathered. If you do have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!’

Engineering and Physical Sciences Postgraduate Research Officer

Andrei- Dascalu

‘Part of my personal experience is that for either industry or academic careers everything becomes easier if a few vital things, like knowing who to ask for help, feeling part of the community or understanding the admin structures of the university are part of everyday reality. These areas require constant work and I would gladly offer some of my time to try improving them.’

Mahmoud Mohamed

‘I believe that adequate support is essential for PGRs to make the most benefit from their time as students. Equally important is PGR-specific career support and guidance, along with improved extra-curricular activities from SUSU that are suited to PGR students’ times and needs.’

Voting closes Friday 6th March, 4pm. You can vote at on-campus polling stations or online at the SUSU website.

The results will be announced the evening of Friday 6th March during Elections Night Live at The Bridge. If you aren’t there in person, be sure to follow Wessex Scene’s live coverage!

To see all the candidates and their manifestos, click here.

Editor’s Note: We endeavoured to contact all student leadership candidates to ensure fairness and equal representation. For those candidates who failed to respond, we quoted a small portion of their manifesto.