Official Freshers Facebook Groups Are Now Open!

Posted 82 Months Ago

Written by Erin Brown

It may only be the beginning of June but we can't contain our excitement for Freshers Week much longer. We had to go ahead and open the Official Heriot-Watt Freshers 2018 Facebook group and the halls groups as well!

If you're starting at Heriot-Watt in September, these groups are a great way to warm-up. You can meet the people you'll be sitting next to in class and sharing a kitchen with, ask any questions to both your peers and your Student Union Officers and staff, and generally feel a little bit more relaxed when you realise everyone else is in exactly the same boat as you.

The Official Heriot-Watt Freshers 2018 group can be found here. This is where you'll meet the rest of your year group. 

More specifically, the halls groups let you find the people you'll be sharing a building, and maybe even a kitchen, with. Simply search the name of your halls plus 2018 - 2019 on Facebook, e.g. "Mary Fergusson Halls 2018 - 2019", to find your group and meet your new neighbours. If you're not in halls, don't worry! Fiona Watson Halls is our virtual community for all newcomers not living in halls this year. We wouldn't want you to miss out!

So get joining and find those friends you'll never forget. 

Learning and Teaching Oscars 2018

Posted 83 Months Ago

Written by Erin Brown

Each year, the Student Union celebrates the hard-working university staff by hosting the Learning and Teaching Oscars. The Oscars are a chance for students to recognise the lecturers and support staff who have had the biggest impact on their learning. Nominations came in thick and fast, and our finalists enjoyed a Year of the Sea themed awards ceremony here at the Union on Tuesday 8th May.

We are pleased and proud to announce that the winners of the 2018 Learning and Teaching Oscars are...

Guiding Hand Award - Melanie Wilson

Switched On Award - Jennie Hansen

Global Award - Benny Suryanto

Refreshing Award - Susan Dewer

Thinkers Award - Mo Sherif

Support Staff Award - Jamie McIntyre

Department of the Year - Languages and Intercultural Studies

Well done one and all!

Marketing Internship 2018

Posted 84 Months Ago

We Are Hiring!

We're looking for the next Marketing Intern to work at the Student Union from May - September 2018. Last year's Intern, Erin, is here to give you all the reasons you should apply for the job.

"Hello! I’m Erin and I’m the Marketing and Communications Assistant at the Student Union. My time here began last summer, when I successfully applied to be the next Marketing Intern. When I first heard about the internship I was immediately interested, but I was in the middle of studying for my exams and wasn’t sure if I had the time to apply. I’m so glad I did! If you’re thinking about it, I would definitely recommend applying, and here’s why.

Over the summer, there’s a lot of work to be done as the Union prepares for Freshers Week. Seeing it from the other side is really fun! Every day is different and you get to do so many things, from running the Union’s Social Media pages to writing blog posts to answering questions from new students. You get so much creative freedom and also the lovely feeling of having helped shape people’s first experience of Heriot-Watt.

Aside from the run-up to Freshers, this year you’ll also get to work on transferring our web pages over to a brand new platform. We all know digital marketing is a big thing, and to have first-hand web experience before you’ve left university is extremely valuable. But please don’t be put off if you’re not a tech wizard (I'm definitely not) – the team here are all very welcoming and very supportive. No question is too small, and you’ll have a lot of laughs along the way!

I can’t reiterate enough how happy I am that I applied for this internship. I’ve done so much and learned so many things – it looks fantastic on my CV. The freedom to make decisions and to experiment with different marketing ideas has increased my confidence in my abilities. As a final year International Business Management with Marketing student, I think the real life experience benefitted my studies, and vice versa.

If you have any questions about the role, feel free to send them to Jamie at j.nutter@hw.ac.uk. Or, if you'd like to ask me how I found it last year, I love getting emails - give me a shout at erin.brown@hw.ac.uk. 

You can find the application form at https://www.hwunion.com/jobs/marketing-intern. Once completed, please send it to Gillian at G.J.Fortune@hw.ac.uk. Best of luck!"

NUS Student Union of the Year

Posted 85 Months Ago

On Thursday 15^th March NUS Scotland held their annual awards ceremony, celebrating the successes of students associations and unions around the country. Heriot-Watt University Student Union were nominated for three awards – and we’re extremely proud to say we went away with two! Our fantastic Officers were awarded with the Officer Team of the Year trophy, which we were absolutely delighted with – but then things went one step further and we walked away with University Students’ Association of the Year too!

This is a brilliant achievement for the Student Union. Not only did we win two awards, but we are the only Union to ever win Scottish Students’ Association of the Year twice – and we were up against some very strong competition! Both of our wins are down to the efforts of our amazing volunteers and staff members, all of whom made this possible. We are extremely proud and we hope you are proud of us too.

Big love,

Your Student Union (of the Year)