Our January Roundup

Our January round-up

VP Community

• Represented Heriot-Watt students and was a spokesperson at the Scottish Parliament’s Accommodation Roundtable. 
• Welcomed our new international students in Galashiels and explained how the Union can support them in making the most of their time here. 
• Organised a Crime and Punishment tour through Invisible City Tours – a social enterprise supporting people who have been homeless – showing our January start students around the city with a bit of history alongside. 
• Expanded and increased the stock for the community larder through securing funding support from the University. 
• Met with NUS to collaborate on how HWUSU can get involved in the National #fightingforstudents campaign. 

VP Education

• Attended and spoke at kick start your success in both Edinburgh and Galashiels. These events were for our new January start students, introducing them to the Union including events, societies, the representation structure, and how we can support them throughout their time at university.  Vice President Wellbeing, Georgia, and I have started holding study with us sessions. This is an opportunity come study in a welcoming safe space. These are happening every week throughout the semester to keep an eye on our website for times and where to go! 

• During Refreshers we held colouring and chill sessions, these were well attended by students who came to have a chilled-out afternoon colouring in and chatting to Georgia and me.  

• We held a burns night event in the Thread at the Galashiels campus. Students could come and have either vegetarian or meat haggis, neeps, and tatties, listen to some Scottish music and meet others. Lots of people came, it was great to meet everyone! 

• As there was a rise in the number of academic integrity discipline cases last year, the University and Union are partnering together to create a working group to discuss how we can limit the issue in future years.  

• Continued to work to keep the community larder stocked to support students through the cost-of-living crisis.  

VP Wellbeing 

• Ran a Financial Wellbeing Stall on January 17th with one of our Student Success Advisors, handed out free hot drinks and snacks and offered financial support/signposting to ~200 students in total.
• Created a series of informative financial wellness social media posts to be posted each week throughout the month of January, in line with our Wellbeing Zone commitments made in the Student Partnership Agreement.
• Hosted a traditional South African BBQ (Braai) with African Caribbean Society, 50 students came along and enjoyed the food, music, and company.
• Organised and hosted a quiz night to revisit 2022 and welcome students back to campus on January 15th. 10 teams of 2-6 students took part and 4 of those teams won prizes.
• Organised and facilitated a scavenger hunt event to help new students find their way around campus, and to offer all students the chance to win great prizes without paying a penny.
• Organised and co-hosted a Wellbeing event in Galashiels involving an Alpacas visit, jewellery making, and introducing the NHS Scottish Borders initiative: 6 Ways to be Well. 50 students attended the event.