Here is to next year, but only after I blog some thoughts of the past year in NUS Wales . . . . .

It has been a momentous and busy year at NUS Wales with the Higher Education review in the Welsh Assembly being one of the most important issues facing students in Wales in the last couple of years, and wasn’t it hard work!! Luckily we managed to deliver some wins for students in Wales such as a national bursary scheme and recently the provision of a Welsh medium higher education body in the Coleg Ffederal. Of course, we must now wait for further details on these wins before we take the next step!

On the further education front, it looks as if there are going to be serious developments on the learner voice front with NUS Wales inputting strongly into the new FE framework for September 2010. But not only this, the most pleasing aspect of further education for myself and others I am sure was to see quoracy smashed at our Spring Conference with over 12 representatives from four FE CM’s turning up.

The massive shame is that no one has bothered to engage with these officers in recent times, and the amount of wealth in these officers is second to none. It’s easy enough to engage with HE in Wales, but what about FE? Next year we have three outstanding FE officers on the Welsh National Executive Committee to compliment the other officers on the committee, and this was done simply by conducting visits to these unions - some of which thought NUS was only a discount card and hadn’t seen an officer before, let alone me, Katie Dalton and Beth Walker all turning up at the same time! This has to change!

Enough ranting, next year looks an exciting prospect indeed here in Wales! We have an excellent Welsh national executive with a wide range of skills and people who I feel can really deliver for students in Wales next year. I can’t wait to work with them! Another plus point is to finally see Katie Dalton get the position she deserves as NUS Wales President. Katie has been truly outstanding over the years, firstly as a sabb at Swansea Met before heading on over to NUS Wales as Women’s Officer and now onto the Presidency. She is going to be fantastic in leading us through what is going to be an important year on both the HE and FE fronts. In addition to this, we have Estelle Hart coming as Women’s Officer. Estelle has been a dedicated campaigner and activist for the Women’s campaign for a few years now, and I have seen at first hand whilst we were both at Swansea what kind of officer she is- a damn good one!

For me personally the past year has been a huge learning curve, but I would like to think I haven’t sunk yet!! I am enjoying my role in NUS Wales and with an important year for FE policy making and sexual health frameworks being looked at, I am not stopping yet!

Here is to a successful year!

Yours in unity, and stay classy NUS,

Lleu

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