Welcome to my first blog of 2018 (and of my time as DPE). I have finally joined our President, Chippy, in the world of blogging. I confess I can find it tricky to write a tweet that’s engaging, so how I will fare on something longer than 280 characters (or 140, if we’re talking about the good old days), remains to be seen…
Reflections:
Self-reflection is a trendy topic now, aptly demonstrated by the successful introduction of the Imperial Award scheme. The loss of my cycling jacket has meant I’ve found it difficult to reflect, but thankfully self-reflection can be done in any type of clothing. And what better way to reflect on my first few months as Deputy President (Education) than a blog post? (That’s a rhetorical question, the answer is indeed a blog post…).
Responses – the fastest ever:
Each year the DPE produces two responses to student surveys. This year it was the National Student Survey (NSS) and Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES). These responses are based entirely on student feedback, and go to the highest levels of the College, containing recommendations on how to improve the education for students here at Imperial. This year we completed both the NSS Response and PRES Response in the fastest ever time, meaning we have a full academic year to address the changes you have called for.
Elections – not the one in June:
Each academic year at Imperial has two elections: the Leadership Elections (in March), and the Autumn Elections (not in March!). This year we made a concentrated effort to raise the profile of the elections, which resulted in the highest ever number of voters in our Autumn Elections, an increase of over 90% from last year. We also had the highest ever number of Academic Reps elected. All in all a successful election cycle.
Closing words:
There you go, if you’ve read this far congratulations for making it to the end of my first blog. I hope you’ve enjoyed (or at the very least not actively disliked) it. Wishing you all the best for 2018,
Nick
