It begins. I still have the sense that little do I know what the year ahead holds, what challenges the organisation will face, and what my role is there to achieve. So with my manifesto tucked under one arm, and good luck cards tucked under the other, my time in Camden begins, committed to students’ unions, determined to deliver upon expectations, and wanting NUS to become an organisation focused on outcomes and achieving.

But for a fortnight I still have duties to Reading, and I’ll be ever grateful to my successor as President, Sally, for both understanding and accommodating the need for me to begin in earnest at NUS. She didn’t get the handover that she deserved, and I was annoyed with myself that I wasn’t able to balance the responsibilities as National Treasurer Elect and President of my Students’ Union to her advantage, but her enthusiasm and her conviction is enviable compared to where I was during my handover two years previous! And with matured relationships with the university, a raft of new support staff appointments, my union couldn’t be in better hands.

After the first week of July, a week of handover action with Sally, of teleconferences about NUS Extra, of brief meetings at NUS HQ about young trustees, it was time to move to London, and to our new flat. I hate flat hunting, it is such a waste of time, it can be such a financial risk, and it is so boring. We had a terrible bungalow in Reading, where mushrooms were growing in my room, my clothes were damp, and we had two attempted burglaries, as well as my bike being nicked out of the shed; I was eagerly anticipating the promised land of North London. After one night, in no doubt a sense of what it is to come over the next year, I was packing my bags again to make the trip to Chester for the NEC induction.

I didn’t really know what to expect; well, I probably expected all the NEC members to turn up, for the days to be full of demotivation and political sniping, and for people to forget that everything we must do should deliver for students’ unions. Actually, I was surprised that some had more strings to their bow then just being antagonists, that it was possible to have a strategic conversation about the challenges the organisation faced amongst the NEC, that we were able to develop sophisticated strategic objectives and that they all had feelings!

After Chester there was one last commitment at Reading, the handover BBQ, ominously on Friday 13th. Once again my body just couldn’t keep the pace of my hectic diary, so after the speeches, after the tears, after the goodbyes, it was a quick dash back home to spend most of the next 72 hours in bed. Not how I wanted to finish at Reading, but given that the union has undergone comprehensive change over the last two years, I’ll have some sort of a legacy!

After the weekend, it was AMSU Conference. I knew I should have stayed in bed, at home, and although I had cleaned out Loughborough Students’ Union pharmacists, I hope not too many students’ union staff caught anything off me! Wes and I were in Loughborough for AMSU Conference, an event that far exceeded my expectations, and I really enjoyed. It’s so important, for me especially, to have a relationship with senior managers in students’ unions, not just student officers, so the opportunity to participate in workshops, debates and sessions aimed at them was an valuable experience. There was the inclusion of the SUEI awards, where I presented ‘Innovative Staff Member’ to Aiden from Leeds.

The Conference was well received, and as the national organisations of NUS, NUS Services and AMSU must work closer together to give an increased sense of value for money, I hope that we can look at the range of events in the calendar to ensure we’ve got the right mix of sessions and conferences. A complimenting agenda, not a competing diary.

A quick stop over in Lancaster for the summer’s first Active Political Leadership. I’ve done the course for the last two summers, so it was quite an experience to be on the ‘other side.’ I was somehow volunteered to be the first to sing karaoke, to be the ruthless (yet dashing) Director of Finance at Fibchester University, and to be the incompetent Chair of Union Council. I’ll talk more about training in my August blog, but there was a really good vibe amongst the delegates, and given the gusto with which officers were performing within the Fibchester scenarios, it was clear that everyone was excited about the year ahead, and a clear willingness wanting NUS to help support them and develop as student officers.

A 6am start from Lancaster to get to Macclesfield for a Finance & Resources Committee meeting. For Regionals in November we’ll have an update on progress so far on the governance changes that we are undergoing within NUS Services, particularly looking at the structure of the Board and Committees, but I am keen we quicken the pace of change, with the last Board agreeing to grow and develop the roles of Student Directors ‘without Portfolio’ (Andrew Snowden) and ‘Member Liaison’ (Aaron Porter). Their roles have become Deputy Company Chairs in form, ensuring that there is much more cohesion amongst the Student Directors, that Aaron and Andrew get the recognition for the hard work that is to come, and that it gives them both more of a strategic role in the Company. I know it is a title change, but it shows that the National Treasurer, as Company Chair, should work alongside students’ union officers at NUS Services.

At F&R Committee meeting we discussed the business model of the Company; we promised to review the model this year, and this was the first time we had an opportunity to all sit down giving staff a sense of priorities for change. The business model is literally the most complicated and the most confusing discussion that I have ever been involved in, and probably rightly so, the outcome will impact upon students’ union resources. There was no consensus that day, but as I begin to understand my thoughts on the issue, I’ll be able to give reassurance to the membership that the outcome is the collective priority.

I should apologise to Aaron for falling asleep on the train on the way back to London, and my brief appearance at ULU’s handover party, but I needed some serious pillow time!

After a weekend of sunshine I made the trip to Leicester with Stephen for the Governance consultation day; over the coming months there will be a wealth of information and views expressed on the change that we need to deliver, but it was clear from the day that the membership wanted a new culture, a new NUS and a completely new structure delivering a much more effective organisation.

The last week of July was a Leicester intensive week, with three days of ‘Action on Finance & Resources’ officer development and Liberation 2007.

‘Action on Finance & Resources’ was great from my perspective, I could see student officers enjoying the course, enjoying the networking and enjoying their development. It was the first training event where I was the lead officer, an exciting mix of unwanted responsibility and hyped up expectations! The course was a great improvement on the previous year’s sessions, with great opportunities for student officers to develop their skills, learning techniques to apply within their own union, and all committed to challenging the status quo over the next year. I came away very excited about the year ahead for students’ unions, there are lots of officers going to change, improve and develop their organisations, giving us a better student movement!

Liberation 2007 finished off July for me. It was a brilliant event, and all credit to the liberation officers. As a President of a Students’ Union, I always had my scepticism about the role of liberation within NUS, that it was a tokenistic gesture towards unrepresentative groups, and placed a disproportionate amount of resource towards a small number of people. But since joining NUS, and Liberation 2007 in particular, makes you realise that the injustice that the students we represent face, the discrimination that our peers are challenged by, and the inequalities in modern society can not continue, and we all must play a proactive role in promoting the progressive work of the liberation groups. NUS is able to fight on a national level, complimenting the work of local students’ unions, winning on issues such as the disabled students allowance, against changes to the Equalities Act of 2006, continued promotion of a womens’ right to choose and fighting for recognition of the importance of ESOL. Liberation campaigns have the potential to be a fantastic asset for the student movement, we all have a role to support the realisation of that potential.

The first month has gone well, I am learning more and more every day, gaining a greater sense of how the year ahead will be! Its been a mixture of tidying up issues, attending events and Summer Training; all important opportunities to put my mark on NUS. I have spent so little time in the office that I still haven’t had time to plan for the year ahead, and as I suspected, when I am in the office it is caught up resolving problems, fire fighting or undertaking administrative functions. As soon as I get some more days in the office I’ll be able to be a lot more proactive.

This is an amazing organisation, but there is so much still wrong, and I have so much to do. On to August, that’s how I roll!

dave x

dave.lewis@nus.org.uk

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