Letter to MSP

Posted 99 Months Ago

Diarmuid has written to the local MSP, Gordon MacDonald, to gain his support for changes to the Scottish Government’s latest budget, including the following:

• A £4m increase in the FE bursary budget to ensure recurring funding gaps are closed and give students certainty that they’ll receive funding and to ensure all bursaries increase by inflation.
• A £4m increase in the HE discretionary fund budget to provide students with a year-round funding safety net and increased access to vital support throughout the year.
• An assurance from the Scottish Government and SFC that the universities budget will protect additional places for widening access and articulation, to ensure the important targets set by the Commission on Widening Access are not missed. 

You can read the full letter here.

Welcome Back!

Posted 100 Months Ago

It’s second term and I hope you are all well rested and ready for it! Now you can get settled in and meeting your mates again we have some great events to enjoy (and also to meet some new people if your friend group needs a new lease of life.)

It is Refreshers Week and we have loads of events going on, from Karaoke tonight (and before you ask, yes we have ‘”Don’t Stop Believing”) to a visit to Gorgie Farm on Thursday day, from ‘Expedition EdinBAR’ on Thursday night (you can guess what that is!) to our Noughties Nineties Halls Party on Saturday!

We also have an International Food and Drink Crawl on Saturday and a Jazz, Wine and Nibbles Postgraduate Night on Wednesday (undergraduate jazz lovers can sneak in too…) You can buy your tickets from the Student Union Reception.

For our Big Fat Quiz of the Year on Friday we have some great prizes lined up (including three mystery prizes) so come along with your thinking caps.

For all you Combined Studies students we are holding an Open Meeting on Wednesday 18^th January from 2.15 to 4.15 so please do come and tell us the problems you face!

If any of you brought your old sports kits from home then you can drop them at the student union from tomorrow morning, they will be going to a good cause.

As ever, we are here for you. If you need some help then our Advice Hub is open (it is right next to the shop), for a chat, advice, or some help with mitigating circumstances and appeals. Results will be out soon but, in the meantime, stop hitting the refresh button and take it easy and unwind with friends or come and make some new ones (the Refreshers Fair is open tomorrow 12-4pm if you want to sign up for a few societies plus FREE Dominos Pizza).

I wish you all the best for the semester ahead!

Cheers,

Diarmuid
Your Student Union President 

Our Christmas video

Posted 100 Months Ago

Written by Andrew Thornton

Our Christmas gift from us to you! Happy watching and Merry Christmas from everyone at the Union. Big Love, Your Student Union

Happy holidays!

Posted 100 Months Ago

Written by Andrew Thornton

Happy Holidays everyone!

Can you believe the semester is over? Now winter is here and you have to wrap up head to toe just to go grab some milk from the shop. The exam session is also nearly over, just a few more days and you will be home free! I hope your exams have gone well this year and for those of you yet to finish, I hope you do really well! Don’t forget to eat at least some fruit and veg, having a cold or the flu during an exam is hellish! The Advice Hub is here for you, so please do use them, from help with a mitigating circumstances form to just having someone to talk to, they are just next to the shop!

I would like to thank each and every one of you who filled in ‘The Big Ask’ survey, your responses will enable us to make the changes you want, and to continue to ensure that the union is there for you, the students of Heriot-Watt. Further to this, we will be working on our commercial strategy to make it better. We will also be looking at the student union building and the options we have for it. We will be asking for your opinions on this in the new year so please do get involved! The Annual General Meeting of the Student Union is on the 16^th February so please do come along and make your voice heard.

Some good news for you postgraduate research students, the working group looking at PGR issues has produced its report, written in conjunction with the Student Union through Jonathan Kean (our previous PG Officer) to the university and the university has listened! They will be acting on a number of issues including pay conditions and visa issues, so do keep up the pressure, and let everyone in your department know what is going on!

For those of you who are Combined Studies students, there will be an open meeting in the Student Union on the 18^th January from 2 to 4 pm (with some refreshments!) to discuss CS issues. Please do let us know what you need and want done, we want to ensure no student is left behind, especially those of you who are taught by many schools!

We are currently planning Refreshers Week and its looks great, so keep an eye out on the Facebook page and the website for what is going on!

For those of you staying on campus, we have a Facebook group so you can meet some people, have some hot chocolate together, and have a snowball fight if we are lucky to have some snow this year! You can find it at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1143517242396049/

I hope you all have a great holiday break and I look forward to seeing you all in the new semester!

Cheers,

Diarmuid Cowan
President