When one looks at the role of the student volunteer, one faces an immense wealth of opportunities, and challenges, which can be showcased on one’s CV.
Working at Open SU as your Deputy President, I have seen many students volunteer to represent the vast cohort of students who live and breathe within the Open University, from supporting in graduation ceremonies to engaging with staff members in the Board of Studies and Academic Committee for Learning, Teaching and Assessment.
Being involved with issues such as the National Student Survey (NSS) is important, whilst challenging and difficult – engaging with students about how important it is to participate with the NSS, it was unfortunate that so many selected students felt harrassed by the company who did the work on behalf of Open University and the Office for Students (OfS). Do not get me wrong – getting random calls asking to complete a survey, without fully understanding why, I would more likely refuse to engage in one! But it is also challenging for the company that does the work, as they would have a target to meet for the results to be published.
Nevertheless, as a member of the Student Leadership Team, some of the roles we sit on are important, as we have unique opportunity to review, discuss, and plan for the future, whether it is the Board of Trustees that both the President and Deputy President sit on, with a number of Student Trustees and external trustees (as well as our Chief Executive Officer), to the priority projects that we are currently working on, as well as in-depth discussions surounding Generative AI, and how this needs to be approached.
I also have to be mindful that, whilst engaging on behalf of the students, Students in Secure Environments are also thought about, as many of The Hoot articles and the Library Student Volunteers (LSV) are a vital part of this engagement. As a volunteer, doing the research on behalf of SiSEs helps them to work hard, learn more about the subjects they are working on, and also gives the LSVs opportunities to learn new subjects that one may not have known about.
As with all opportunities, Open SU will always be on the lookout for new members to join in volunteering, engaging on behalf of the students.
Will you be the next person to step up to the call and engage with the OU, having a future-orientated outlook and seeking a strong collaborative relationship with the University?
I certainly am ‘game’ for this.
Good luck, and hope to see you soon.
Andrew Wilson
Deputy President, Open SU
0 Comments