Their collaboration is embodied by their ongoing activities collaborating with a staggering 16 different societies and groups over this year. They have also shown innovation by seeking out groups with potential disagreement to create meaningful collaboration. For example, they collaborated with Conservative Association to put on a charity football match in aid of the Jo Cox Foundation. They have collaborated with Devon Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse services to raise awareness of sexual violence. They look both to the university and wider Exeter community to seek out, with intent, the most meaningful and effective collaborators for their activities.
Starting off the year with a brand-new committee this committee have breathed new life into the group and achieved some fantastic society firsts. The committee have achieved a long-term goal by helping found the University Calisthenics Association and organising inter university friendly competition. Partnering with big names from the wider UK Calisthenics community such as Gravity Fitness, Calisseum and Steel Warriors to run this competition, Exeter’s Society and the UCA have deeply impacted the UK Calisthenics community, bringing University calisthenics onto the scene with a bang and laying the groundwork for integrating calisthenics in education. They have also improved the inclusivity of the group implementing a new training programme and schedule plus generally being a welcoming and friendly presence at society events.
Exeter Symphony Orchestra have shown a real dedication to using their music to benefit the wider community. They have performed at several nursing homes, the RDE Hospital and local schools. Visiting Stoke Hill Infant School to perform as part of two end of term concerts for the children and their parents the society provided a valuable learning experience for the children helping them to perform with the musicians. Through performances at the school and the hospital, as well as at EUSO and EUSWO's winter concert last term the group raised a total of £174.73 for the RDE charity. They have also sought out opportunities in the university community performing at open days, Freshers Week and the Global Festival in the Business School.
This society committee put on an absolutely incredible set of events for their ExCode scheme. The event over 500 students of all ages, across all disciplines and backgrounds learning/developing their Python coding capabilities Furthermore, it helped develop a number of tutors in their skills with public speaking, teaching, and lecturing as the tutorials that were taught by volunteer students, who led groups of 30-60 students. Secondly, this term they have put on a term-long skills, workshop, and mentorship programme focused on developing all the skills necessary to start and grow a business through talks and workshops called Future Leaders.
Taylor Swift Society held a highly successful party to celebrate the release of her new album ‘Midnights’. The panel have selected this event to win this award because of its widespread impact on attendees from the committee’s attention to detail to ensure a high level of accessibility for people to come together over their love of Taylor Swift’s music without the barriers of a club environment. This event also facilitated the building of new communities and was described as a celebration of “friendships and platonic love”!
The Philosophy of society is about empowering women to pursue their dreams and assist them in entering the legal sphere. As part of this, they have prioritised accessibility and are only one of a handful of free societies on campus. They have also expanded the activities they provide this year putting together a highly successful women and law family scheme to get first years connected from the start of term with more experienced members. They have continued to build on their ‘inspire her’ mentoring scheme pairing over 70 students and receiving great feedback from mentees and mentors alike.
The panel have selected EUOWSS as the winner for the Wellbeing Award due to their widespread positive impact on students’ mental health. EUOWSS received an astounding number of nominations clearly detailing the great benefits their activities have had for their members by improving their mental and physical health in an accessible environment. We believe that their “refreshing and wholesome” approach to building student communities deserves recognition through this award!
We have selected Twelve Period as they have created a brand new group to tackle a longstanding issue of period poverty and sustainability. We were impressed by the grassroots nature of this project which has multifaceted sustainable impacts in the form of waste and costs. The student leaders have had to learn a variety of new skills such as using sewing machines and other complex sewing processes to achieve this. The project further reduces stigma around period poverty and encourages participants to enjoy taking ownership of using and distributing more sustainable period products by creating them together.
The society has played a crucial role in enhancing the academic experience for postgraduate students. We were most impressed with the ‘Posters with PoGLSS’ event, which empowered students to practise poster presentations in a safe, non-intimidating and fun environment. Over 30 PGR students attended, and the event was designed to be varied with interactive activities as well as opportunities to be considered for awards. The group also collaborated with the BioSciences department to offer an after-event networking dinner.
These officers have gone above and beyond to raise the profile of academic representation as a whole and have completed several projects to deliver tangible differences to the students they represent. They have made positive change through their work on academic policies and procedures and have involved students as much as possible in the decision-making process. For example, they have been critical in echoing students desire for online exams and improving access to academic resources. Additionally, they have put on a varied programme of social events that have fostered a strong sense of community in the departments and received very positive feedback from students.
Thank you everyone who nominated students, societies and student groups, we all had a fantastic evening celebrating just how amazing you all are!