Xiaohongshu
As we head towards the end of the academic year, our current cohort of sabbatical officers are making the most of their final weeks in post. Your Sabbatical Officers, who took a year out from their studies to work on your behalf, sit in senior university meetings, lead campaigns, run events and push for real change across UCL. A new cohort will be taking over soon, though Sarah and Anam are continuing for a second term. Here's a look at what the team has been up to this term so far.
Anam Choudhary - President
For Anam, a major focus has been your finances: she attended the UCL Finance, Performance and Planning Committee to lobby directly for a freeze on tuition fees, while also advocating for expanded undergraduate scholarship provision.
She also travelled as part of a UK Student Union Leaders Delegation to China, meeting with universities and gathering insights she is now bringing back to benefit students here at UCL.
Closer to home, she has been working on a Community Fridge and Food Pantry initiative as a practical response to cost-of-living pressures, and has been attending the highest levels of UCL governance, including UCL Council, to make sure the student voice is always in the room.
Sarah Jilani - Education Officer
Sarah has been busy shaping the future of education at UCL. She spoke on the keynote panel at UCL's Education Conference on the theme of 'Education for Transformation', covering fairer assessments, widening access and how students should be genuine partners in change.
She has also been working with the Students' Union UCL's People of Colour Officer on a Student Lectureship Programme designed to help students from marginalised backgrounds get into academia, an exciting initiative they hope to launch next year.
On the practical side, Sarah has been securing additional study spaces and a wellbeing space for exam season, and raised concerns at Education Committee about the difficulty of balancing January exams with the start of teaching, something the Senior Education Team are now looking into for 2027.
Darcy Lan - Postgraduate Officer
Darcy has been a strong voice for postgraduate students this term, focussing on employability and community building. She has been supporting Academic Reps through events like the Academic Reps Conference and Academic Rep of the Month Lunch Socials, a chance to recognise the students who give up their time to represent their peers.
She also helped bring Postgraduate Research Reps together with senior Doctoral School leaders to open up conversations around the postgraduate research experience, including concerns about teaching feedback and pay for Postgraduate Teaching Assistants.
Alongside this, Darcy has been running the Career Supercharger programme, hosting alumni panels for those in Singapore and China, and for International Women's Day.
Coming up, she's hosting two events you won't want to miss: Articulating Your Skills: How to Stand Out to Employers and the UCL200 Ask an Employer: Tea, Tips and Career Insights.
Ana Boikova - Activities and Engagement Officer
Ana has been making progress on something many of our sabbatical teams have been working towards for years: securing a dedicated Students' Union UCL building. She presented the proposal at the Estates Management Committee, where it received strong support to progress to further committees, the furthest this project has ever gone. Who knows, there might be an exciting announcement on the horizon...
She has also been contributing to the Awards Ceremony working group, making sure the event (and the after parties) reflect what students want, and has continued to lead a series of accessible social events to help break barriers that students face when engaging with Union events, specifically commuters and shy or introverted students. This inclusive series is confirmed to continue into next year.
And if that weren't enough, Ana has also been hard at work developing events masterclasses for ExtendED to help you become a student leader, championing sport at the forefront of UCL's development, and working towards the long term vision of a dedicated TeamUCL base.
Hana Mougharbel - Welfare and Community Officer
Hana has been focused on practical welfare issues that affect students day to day. She has been following up on support for students accessing UCL counselling services, working to make that process clearer and more straightforward.
She has also been creating awareness content around the Renters Rights Bill, key information if you are navigating private renting in London.
Hana also attended the Russell Group Students' Union residential alongside Sarah, contributing to national conversations about student welfare, including supporting our Gender Based Violence project, which has including supporting the petition to legislate misogyny as a hate crime. The petition has now reached over 100,000 signatures, which means it must be considered for a debate in Parliament.
Eda Yildirimkaya - Equity and Inclusion Officer
Eda has had a busy term working on initiatives that make UCL a more equitable and inclusive place.
She organised a roundtable with TfL on accessible transportation for young people in London, advocating for reduced fares for students.
She has also been developing postcards as part of the Liberate: The Phineas Art Gallery, a celebration of art, identity and community, which will be available to buy on campus in our shops - so you can support the project too!
Beyond that, she has been sitting on Awards panels (good luck everyone!) and getting involved in the ExtendED Podcast Challenge.
Want to make a difference too?
Each of our sabb officers started as a student who decided to get involved. Whether you want to rep your course, campaign on an issue you care about, or one day take on a sabbatical role yourself, there are loads of ways to shape life at UCL. Find out how you can make change at studentsunionucl.org/make-change.