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Sabbatical Officers attend national meeting of Unions
Written by Hana Mougharbel, Welfare & Community Officer, and Sarah Jilani, Education Officer.
On the 16 and 17 April, sabbatical officers and Chief Executives from across Russell Group Students’ Unions (RGSU) met for the third and final RGSU residential of the 2025/26 academic year.
As your Welfare & Community Officer and Education Officer, we attended on behalf of Students’ Union UCL to represent the interests of our students and build upon the collaborative and impactful work that RGSU has delivered over the past year
Russell Group Students’ Unions
RGSU is a collective of students’ unions from 23 research-intensive universities across the UK, representing over 750,000 students. For the past four years, we have worked collaboratively to influence the university sector, engage with politicians, and partner with sector colleagues to identify and tackle the most pressing challenges facing our student communities.
We produce research and policy briefings, attend Parliamentary events, meet with Members of Parliament, and respond to various government consultations to advocate for a safe, enjoyable, and equitable student experience.
Our trip to Newcastle
This trip saw us travel to the beautiful Newcastle University Students’ Union. Across two days, we covered a wide range of topics across our four main priority areas:
- Finance and Funding
- International Students
- Supporting Student Conditions
- Social justice, climate change, and ethical investment
We were also pleased to welcome speakers from the Russell Group, Newcastle University, as well as the Women’s Safety in Public Places Lead for Northumbria. Our discussions were rich and productive, bringing together diverse range of voices from across the UK.
Highlights included:
- Developing our Gender-Based Violence work stream.
We continued to develop our Gender-Based Violence work stream, building on growing national momentum. The petition to legislating misogyny as a hate crime has now reached over 100,000 signatures, which means it must be considered for a debate in Parliament. We have also carried out a survey and focus groups to understand the opinions and needs of students across the Russell Group when tackling gender-based violence.
- Working to fix student loans.
RGSU recently submitted to the Treasury Committee’s inquiry on student loans to argue for a more progressive loan system, including reduced fees and increased public funding. We will continue to work with sector colleagues and MPs in and out of Parliament to fight for a fairer deal for students.
- Challenging the hostile environment for international students
We have written to the Home Office to outline our opposition to the recent student visa brake for students from Sudan, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Afghanistan. Alongside this, we have responded to a government consultation and met with MPs to seek a reversal in the proposed international student levy (Kim Johnson MP asked four written questions to the Department for Education on our behalf).
Next steps
In the coming months, we will continue to focus on our key priorities while reflecting on what we have achieved this year. We have established a strong foundation of policy positions, built meaningful relationships across Parliament, and are confident in our ability to grow a movement that represents and advocates for students in every corner of society.
Get in touch
If you are interested in the work we're doing with the Russell Group Students' Union and would like to know more then please get in touch.
Welfare & Community Officer - [email protected]
Education Officer - [email protected]