Representation Networks
Our networks
Whether it’s ensuring the air conditioning in your lecture theatre works or scrapping the late submission = zero marks policy, they're here to listen to your feedback and work with the University to make things better for students.
Both Academic and Wellbeing Reps are expected to sit on student-staff committees, represent students in their cohorts, and be able to appropriately signpost students to relevant support services.
Becoming a Student Representative is a fantastic opportunity to gain skills and experience in several areas and, most importantly, represent students' views within your year or department!
- Increase your employability – Gain skills in high demand from employers such as leadership, negotiation, meeting experience and teamwork.
- Network and socialise – Get to know fellow students and staff within your course, research area, department or faculty.
- Make an impact – Implement real, tangible impact on individual courses, departments and the Imperial community.
- Be recognised – Through the Imperial President’s Award, Union Awards or Constituent Union Awards, Imperial highly values and seeks to recognise exceptional student contributions to community.
All Representatives are trained and supported by our lovely full-time staff team.
Ready to be the voice? Recruitment for many of these positions happens in October during our Autumn Elections.
How do the representation networks operate?
Your Reps collect your thoughts and comments, and raise these issues with relevant staff.Rep work involves collecting feedback regarding topics within their cohorts, and using this information to alert university staff of issues affecting students' academic experience and student wellbeing.
Our network of reps also work across departments and faculties to communicate best practise with each other, and serve as a campaigning body to promote positive wellbeing messages to their cohorts and the wider Imperial community.
Reps attend meetings with both University and Union staff throughout the year, communicating their findings and playing a key role in finding student-centric solutions to problems within their cohort and the wider Imperial community.
Acting on students' feedback ensures that Imperial’s courses are the best they can be, and of the high quality that we expect from a world-leading institution.
What positions are available?
Academic and Wellbeing Representation Network Position Descriptions
For more details about the day-to-day responsibilities of the roles, check out the Rep Handbook below!
How are the networks structured?
Year Reps are your point of contact for their cohort and work with the Department Reps to identify issues to be raised with Imperial staff in their departments.
These Reps will also work with their respective Constituent Union Academic and Wellbeing Officers, also known as, Faculty Reps.
All Academic volunteer roles are led and supported by your elected Deputy President (Education), and all Wellbeing volunteer roles are led and supported by your elected Deputy President (Welfare).
You can find all your Reps by searching for your course, faculty, or research group on our Representative A to Z.
Academic Representation Network
The Academic Representation Network is a body of over 400 Student Representatives, across all Undergraduate and Postgraduate courses and research groups.The Academic Representation Network focuses on:
Assessment issues: Exam timings, coursework, feedback
Learning experience: Workload, availability of support staff
Resources: eLearning, ICT provisions, quality of learning spaces
Academic experience: Any issues relating to your academic journey
Academic Representation Forums
These forums are for all UG and PG Academic Reps to attend, with select membership as detailed by the Terms of Reference below.
Forums are chaired by the Deputy President (Education) and are attended by select members of the Representation Team and Imperial staff members where applicable.
TARF Overview
This forum is for all Undergraduate Academic Reps and all Taught Postgraduate Reps. This forum allows students to raise any concerns about their academic experience regarding assessment and feedback, learning and teaching, and IT resources. We also encourage reps to shout about all the work they are doing and any incentives they need support on.
TARF Useful Resources
Previous Agendas: November 2023
Past Papers: DPE ppt, Assessment and Feedback WG ppt
Previous Minutes: November 2023
RARF Overview
This forum is for all Research Postgraduate Reps and is held in partnership with the Early Career Research Institute (ECRI). Similarly to TARF, this forum allows students to raise concerns about their academic experience and raise them with ICU and the Graduate School.
RARF Useful Resources
Previous Agendas: November 2023
Past Papers: ISpire ppt
Previous Minutes: November 2023
Wellbeing Representative Network
The Wellbeing Representation Network is a body of around 100 student representatives.The Wellbeing Representative Network focuses on:
Health: Mental, physical, sexual and emotional
Financial concern: Accommodation and rent, student loan repayments, part-time employment
Relationships: Bullying, harassment, sexual violence, isolation, loneliness, withdrawal
Equality & diversity: Ensuring minority groups are represented, upholding Imperial expectations
Personal safety: Communication, risk awareness, city living, travelling alone
Postgraduate Representation
So what do each of these positions do?
PGR and PGT Representation Chair
The Chairs represent the academic and wellbeing views of PGR and PGT students respectively, through different meetings with Imperial and ICU.
The College meetings that these Reps attend are:
- Postgraduate Research Quality Committee (PGR Rep Chair only)
- University Research and Enterprise Board (PGR Rep Chair only)
- Quality Assurance and Enhancement Committee (PGT Rep Chair only)
The Union meetings that these Reps attend are:
- Union Council
- Academic Representation Forums (Research or Taught)
- Community and Welfare Forums
The Chairs also support Academic and Welfare Officers (AWOs) by having regular meetings, keeping them updated on feedback outcomes and supporting them to coordinate their work and develop solutions to student feedback.
2024/25 PG Taught Representation Chair: Nakul Maheshwari
Academic and Wellbeing Officers (AWOs)
The AWOs represent the academic and wellbeing views of PGR and PGT students in their faculty to the College & Union through different College and Union level meetings.
The College meetings that these Reps attend are:
- Student-Staff Committees/Student-Staff Liaison Groups (DSAC meetings for Business School Reps)
- Education/Teaching Committees
- Faculty catch-ups
The Union meetings that these Reps attend are:
- Union Council
- Academic Representation Forums (Research or Taught)
- Community and Welfare Forums
The AWOs also support department reps by having regular meetings, keeping them updated on feedback outcomes and supporting them to coordinate their work and develop solutions to student feedback.
Postgraduate Taught AWO (Business): Reem Al Saud
Postgraduate Taught AWO (Medicine): Srimathi Lakshminarasimhan
Postgraduate Taught AWO (Engineering): Injeel Syed
Postgraduate Research AWO (Medicine): Ruksana Begum-Meades
Postgraduate Research AWO (Engineering): Yifeng Mao
Postgraduate Research AWO (Natural Sciences): Hengchang Cao
Department Reps
Dep Reps are elected members who are responsible for receiving and collating student feedback from Year Reps in their department and raising it to Departmental staff and AWOs as appropriate. They are expected to proactively pursue improvements to their course on their students’ behalf and to provide updates on their progress to their cohorts.
Course and Year Reps
There is at least one course representative for each course, or cluster of interconnected courses. They are responsible for receiving and collating student feedback relating to their course as well as passing this information to relevant staff or volunteers as appropriate. They are expected to proactively pursue improvements to their course or research group, and to provide updates on their progress to the students they represent.
Your 2024/25 Reps
Autumn Elections results will be live from Friday October 25.
Got a question?
Academic Network and Postgraduate Network: Deputy President (Education) dpeducation@imperial.ac.uk
Wellbeing Network: Deputy President (Welfare) dpwelfare@imperial.ac.uk
General enquiries: ICU Representation Team icu.representation@imperial.ac.uk