Xiaohongshu
Spending the last two years as your Activities and Engagement Officer has been the most incredible opportunity that I can't even begin to describe - I've gotten to represent so many of you to UCL, advocate for better facilities for activities and sport, worked to support to commuter student experience and gotten to drive forwards some of the absolutely incredible events you've (hopefully!) taken part in this year - including our biggest Varsity to date, and all of our UCL200 celebrations.
Here's a look at some of the projects I've been involved in over the past couple of years:
Facilities and space
For the last two years, I have been working with UCL Estates to ensure that students have fit for purpose facilities to take part in extra-curricular activities. I have been advocating for students, and following sustained campaigning, UCL has taken a significant step forward in exploring plans for a new Students’ Union building, with UCL Council approving initial development work (secured for initial RIBA Stages 1–3) for a new home at the heart of student life.
When I came into this role, one of my main goals was to ensure we had our own dedicated sports facilities. We've worked closely with UCL to identify opportunities, and I'm really pleased that UCL sees sport facilities as one of the key things we should be investing in due to the benefits they provide.
Within my first year as Activities and Engagement Officer, I also worked closely on the transfer of Bloomsbury Theatre: transferring the management of the Bloomsbury Theatre from Library, Culture, Collections and Open Science (LCCOS) to our Students' Union. This now makes it the first student-led theatre, with student voice at the heart of everything we do there.
Creating opportunities for students who face barriers
One of my biggest priorities has been ensuring that every student has the opportunity to get involved, regardless of the barriers they may face. I've been working to introduce activities and opportunities aimed at allowing commuter students and shy and introverted students to get involved in a way that works for them, as well as working to introduce a Commuter Students Officer and Network so that commuters are further represented. It has been important to me that commuter students are represented as a group throughout all of the activities the students' union and UCL put on - being a commuter student myself, I know the particular challengers commuter students are having to navigate.
I introduced a taster grant fund to support clubs and societies in running taster sessions outside of Welcome Week, increasing opportunities for students to connect with groups beyond the Welcome period.
Working with student leaders
I started a review of our club and society processes to make life easier for student leaders. This work is now underway and will simplify event planning and administrative tasks for committees. I also changed the way the Activities Zone is run, empowering student leaders to play a more active role in shaping the work of the Students' Union.
Alongside the Sports Officer, I played a key role in supporting the delivery of Varsity 2025 and 2026 (our biggest events yet!), focusing on improving the overall event experience for both participants and spectators. This year, we sold over 4,000 tickets, and TeamUCL once again took home the trophy!
ExtendED
A big priority of mine has been making sure that there are ways for students to develop transferable skills both inside and outside of term time. To make this happen, I've been working behind the scenes on our ExtendED programme (a chance to build real-world transferable skills), as well as the development of the UCL Award, launching this year!
Thank you!
Next year, your Activities and Engagement Officer will be Audrey Lau - I'm wishing her all the best as she takes on the role, and I can't wait to see the brilliant impact she'll make.
A huge thank you to everyone who has made these last couple of years so special - thank you to all of the shows I've watched in the Bloomsbury Theatre and to the teams who made them possible, to all of the amazing things our clubs and societies have done, and all of the fantastic and well deserved achievements of our TeamUCL clubs.
This year, I have felt so incredibly proud of our student community, and I want to say a huge THANK YOU for shaping my experience and making me who I am today!