I’ll be giving updates of the three months between my election at the end of March and taking office on July 1st.

As I write this it will be 8 weeks until I finish my role as President of Reading and become National Treasurer, but its been a busy April, with my diary ever filling with clashes between my eagerness to fully prepare for the year ahead, to fulfilling my commitments within my union whilst continuing to deliver on the expectations related to my role as Company Chair of NUS Services.

My first ever event at a national level was NUS Services Convention & AGM 2005, an experience I fully enjoyed, an opportunity to better understand how the commercial aspects of my union worked, and although I was slightly mesmerised by Central Billing, the forthcoming trial of NUS Extra in the North-West and the different types of Sabbs other unions had, little did I expect that two years later, in the first few days of April 2007 I would be the first ever Company Chair from a students’ union presenting the five year Company Plan, speaking at the Annual Dinner and being held to account for the actions of the Company.

This year we had a particular ethically green focus, following the launch of the Sound Impact Awards recognising students’ unions' environmental good practices and commitments. We had a presentation from the Director of Global Relations for Coca-Cola and a strong presence from One Water amongst updates on new projects, improving NUS Extra, the uDisco & uLive concept and endorsement of the Company’s Five Year Strategic Plan committing to develop a new financial model for the Company, a change in the Committee structure and an improved relationship with NUS.

One of the more exciting parts for the student officers tends to be the volunteer elections for the Board and Committees, which this year delivered a great cohort of officers who will be a pleasure to work with over the next year and develop the Company. I have already made clear my disappointment that for a second year in succession we do not have female representation amongst the five student directors on the Board and that there was only one female student officer who wanted to become a volunteer. It is not the culture of the Company or the ethos of the election which discourages women to stand (all female candidates were successful last year, apart from the one who stood against me), rather it is the pool of officers that come to Convention who dictate who is elected. The volunteers elected this year have the best skills mix possible and were the best candidates elected from those who put themselves forward, but as true is the saying that ‘those who turn up make the decisions,’ its those who turn who up who get elected. I have been keen to ensure that there are no barriers to participation, but as both NUS and NUS Services looks at its decision making structures over the next year we need to be satisfied that we have the processes to achieve the best outcome possible engaging with the most appropriate and relevant people as possible. As the demographic of the student body changes within education, so too must we look to involve different groups within our organisations.

For NUS Services over the next year I will be strengthening the roles and the purpose of the Directors without Portfolio and with Responsibility for Membership Liaison on the Board, and changing the Committee structure so that it allows the volunteer experience to be as flexible, innovative and strategic as possible.

The middle of April was Reading-focused, with various meetings within the university and planning for the term ahead. On April 18th we officially opened The HUB, our new volunteer, advice and democratic building joint financed by the university and the students’ union. As much as I was able to talk about changing student expectations of higher education, and how the students’ union was an important ally to the university in shaping and delivering upon those expectations, I was able to express my thanks to the union’s Chief Executive, someone who has changed the culture of my students’ union, has given officers the confidence to fulfil their potential, and always focuses on improving and strengthening opportunities for the student membership.

The following day was my first NEC meeting, where I had great pleasure voting against a first term National Demo in line with the wishes of Conference.

I visited Kenilworth near Coventry to support the efforts of the local Unite Against Fascism group in the countdown to the local elections. The next morning I had my first (and it turned out, the last) handover meeting with my predecessor. Last year I was successful in an election against Joe to become the first Company Chair of NUS Services not to be the current National Treasurer, and although we rarely agreed, and I have a very different approach to the role of National Treasurer, I wish him in well in life after student politics.

Later that day I was on a panel debate at the invitation of the Sabbs of Oxford Brookes talking about the role of students' unions, motivations of students and the future for their university. Thanks to them for allowing me to meet the legend that is Jon Snow.

Towards the end of the month I went to Mature Students’ Conference in Coventry, a fantastic experience to meet students who are passionate about the National Union, determined to improve their own union all whilst ensuring that their institution recognises the unique issues they face as mature students. It was very exciting that one of our delegates was elected to the Committee, congratulations to her and the rest of the newly elected Committee. The Conference was fairly lively in parts, I enjoyed talking about social space for the diverse demographic of our student membership, listening to the concerns of mature students in terms of representation, and partying in one of the most liveliest NUS events I have been to. One issue has dominated the mature students agenda this year, their demand for a Mature Students’ Officer on the NEC, and although I agree in principle, its not a simple yes from me!

During the Governance review we must look at the different types of representation the student population need at a national level, it is unfeasible to continue to add more and more officers to the NEC, but its unacceptable that different groups of students receive uneven recognition, support and representation when the NEC remains in its current form. I do hope we can address some of these issues, challenging the role of the NEC in the organisation, what effective representation looks like, all whilst we’re ensuring that NUS develops to the benefit of students’ unions.

And onto May 2007…

dave x

dave.lewis@nus.org,uk

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