School of Economics & Finance

President’s Report

Martinmas Semester, 2018-2019 Academic Year

01 February 2019

Contents

1. Introduction

2. Freshers Week Events

3. Class Representative Elections

4. SSCC Meetings

5. Employability and Careers

6. Social Events

7. Athena SWAN Submission

8. Education Committee

9. School Presidents Forum

10. Internal Communication and Social Media

11. Semester Two Goals

1. Introduction

This report will outline the work undertaken by the School President and Class Representatives

alongside the School of Economics and Finance during the first semester of the 2018-2019

academic year. This semester the School worked hard to listen to and act on student feedback

and suggestions. We hope that this report will show that Economics is building a strong

community and creating more opportunities for students to develop academically, professionally,

and socially.

Sincerely,

Rachel Williams

School President of Economics & Finance, 2018-2019

2. Freshers Week Events

This year, to help create a warm and welcoming environment for new students, we hosted a

welcome event during Freshers’ Week which all returning and new students were invited to. To

kick off the event we placed students into teams and played an economics themed scavenger

hunt within Castlecliffe to allow students to meet fellow classmates and get to know the School’s

building. This was followed by a formal welcome speech by the Head of School and a wine

social in which students could speak with one another and members of staff. This had a very

large turnout and seemed to be successful in welcoming the newest economists.

Scavenger Hunt

Head of School’s Welcome Speech

3. Class Representative Elections

This year we continued with the same number of Class Representatives as last year. With many

candidates for each Class Representative position, we had a successful election week and all

positions were filled with highly motivated students.

4. SSCC Meetings

This semester we hosted two SSCC meetings. Together with the Director of Teaching and Class

Representatives, it was decided to combine the Undergraduate and Postgraduate SSCC meetings.

Given the overlapping nature of some of the agenda items, it felt more useful to have one large

discussion. This proved effective and positive for all. In our SSCC meetings we discussed a wide

range of matters. From these discussions there have come a few substantial changes that the

School is making to ensure greater student satisfaction. After being brought up in the most

recent SSCC, the School of Economics and Finance will be creating a mentorship Scheme with

help from CAPOD and setting up a Dissertation Fair to allow fourth year students to share their

research and experiences. Additionally, after student input was heard, the Director of Teaching

made changes to the School’s website and Moodle page to ensure materials were more accessible

for students.

5. Employability and Careers

This semester the School hosted an internship workshop in which approximately 10 upper

classmen students shared their experiences with different internships they had undertaken in the

previous summer. Each student spoke for approximately five minutes sharing information on

how they got the internship, when and where to apply, and what they got out of the experience.

Afterwards, the School hosted a wine reception in Castlecliffe in which attendees could ask

questions to those who spoke. This was a great way to help build internal connections within the

School and help offer underclassmen more direction for their career paths.

Additionally, over the winter break we launched a LinkedIn group for alumni and current

students. This was done with the help of Pamela Andrews from the Career’s Center and the

School’s Careers Link, Paul Egan. The group now has over 480 members and is still growing.

The goal this semester is to raise current students’ awareness of the group and grow

membership.

6. Social Events

After the success of the welcome scavenger hunt and wine social, the School also offered many

other opportunities for community building throughout the semester. Early on the School

hosted a run, where staff and students ran from Castlecliffe onto West Sands and back. By

nature, the event was low cost and commitment, making it an easy and worthwhile event for

those who came. Later, the School also hosted a Board Game Night. While this was not widely

attended, the few that made it enjoyed it.

Lastly, the School of Economics and Finance hosted its annual Curry Night at Maisha. While

initially open to only 4th years, tickets were later sold to 3rd and 2nd years. This event was highly

successful and continues to be an enjoyable tradition in the school. We received a lot of positive

feedback by both staff and students in attendance.

7. Athena SWAN Submission

This semester the School of Economics and Finance has been putting together a submission for the

Athena SWAN Award. As School President, I have sat on the Athena Swan Self-Assessment Team to

represent the undergraduate student body. Over the past few months, we conducted an internal survey

and analyzed University data related to both student and staff experience in the School, specifically in

relation to gender. Through this we have found both strengths and areas of opportunity for the School to

improve and strengthen equality, diversity, and inclusion for staff and students. As we progress in

Semester 2, we are aiming to have a completed submission for the Athena SWAN award.

8. Education Committee

The Education Committee meets weekly on Thursday evenings during term. It is comprised of all School

Presidents, Faculty Presidents, and the Director of Education. In these meetings we get the opportunity

to report on updates within each School, the University, and the Student’s Association. Often Presidents

from different schools can discuss ideas and give one another feedback during the EduCom meetings.

Additionally, this semester Got Consent offered a presentation to all Presidents.

9. School Presidents Forum

The School Presidents Forum met twice over this semester. This occurs in place of an Education

Committee meeting and all members of that committee and two Academic Deans sit on this forum.

These meetings are also open to all University students. This semester’s topics mainly included our

Turnitin data policy and the new academic alert policy. This forum allows for student representatives to

ask questions directly to representatives of the University.

10. Internal Communication and Social Media

School Run Maisha Curry Night

As School President, I have sent weekly emails to all students in the School with updates on events,

careers opportunities, and general information. In addition to this we regularly post on our School’s

Facebook page and make all of the School’s events on Facebook to ensure it is more accessible for

students. Going forward, we will maintain using these channels but also rely more heavily on the

LinkedIn group for careers updates.

11. Semester Two Goals

As previously stated, some of the goals for semester two include setting up a mentorship scheme and

dissertation fair. The mentorship scheme will be set up with the help of CAPOD and aim to match 3rd

and 4th year students with 1st and 2nd years in order to help with advising, such as module selection, and

careers opportunities. This will hopefully help to build a stronger internal network of students and help

underclassman navigate honors module selection. The dissertation fair will be a great opportunity for

students who have completed their dissertation to share about their hard work and research. This will also

help 3rd years considering undertaking a dissertation discern whether it is the right choice for them.

Additionally, the school will be finalizing and submitting its application for Athena SWAN this April.

This is a great advancement for the school to becoming a more diverse and welcoming environment for

all. Finally, next semester we will also be looking to continue the number of social events offered as well

as offer a few events exclusively for fourth years. This is meant to help finalize students’ experiences

within the School in a positive way.