ALICE FOR POSTGRAD
Hello! I'm Alice Churm and I'm running to be your Postgraduate Officer. With Postgraduate students making up so much of the Warwick student population I would love to be able to dedicate my next year to fighting for issues that both directly impact postgrads but also affect the wider student population.
Undergraduate Students can vote for the Postgraduate Officer and many of my policies will benefit Undergraduates
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ABOUT ME
I am a part-time MA student in Film and Television Studies and work as a Societies Coordinator at Warwick SU. Balancing both being a student and my work has given me the perfect understanding of student issues and the values of the Students Union.
MY POLICIES
INVEST IN POSTGRADS
FAIR STUDY / WORK CONDITIONS
MOVING UP TO PG
STUDENT WELLBEING
STUDY ENVIRONMENT
INVEST IN POSTGRADS
FUNDING
For many people the biggest barrier to postgraduate study is funding, therefore Warwick are losing valuable students because they simply can't afford to study here. I will lobby the university to invest more money in postgraduate bursaries to widen access to postgraduate study especially for those from lower wage back grounds.
FLEXIBLE WITH TIME
Often students will have to work, parent or are caregivers alongside their studies. It is not fair that students that have to take these on have to miss out on elements of their course. I will start dialogues with departments about making courses more accessible to students with other commitments.
CONFERENCE GRANTS
When PhD funding is so competitive, it helps for masters level students to get all the experience necessary to help secure funding. Despite this, many departments do not offer conference grants to masters level students. I will work with the university to help find funding grants for masters level students that wish to present at conferences.
FAIR STUDY / WORK CONDITIONS
POSTGRADUATE TEACHERS
Continue working on ensuring that postgraduate students that teach are placed onto good employment contracts, paid a fair wage and given stable work. I will develop on the research that is currently being conducted and work alongside teacher postgrads to ensure they are treated fairly.
STUDENT / SUPERVISOR RELATIONS
I will ensure that the staff / student relations policy is being adhered to in all departments, ensuring that bullying and harassment is cut out of student / supervisor relationships. I will also ensure that Warwick SU has adequate support for students wishing to report harassment from supervisors.
REPORTING SYSTEMS
If students do experience harassment at University and work, I will ensure that they are adequately supported in reporting these incidents. I will work with the University to update their reporting systems so that they are made as user friendly as possible. I will also look into avenues for creating a Student Union reporting system so students feel empowered and backed by the union when reporting harassment.
MOVING UP TO PG
POSTGRADUATE HANDBOOK
For undergraduates the decision of whether to continue onto postgraduate study can be difficult with little information. I will create a postgraduate handbook which will compile information about applying, funding, choosing courses and tips about postgraduate life to help make this decision easier for undergraduate students.
PG AND UG COMMUNITIES
I will work on building a stronger connection between undergraduate and postgraduate communities so that postgraduates can feel more involved in University life and undergraduates have advice when moving on up to postgraduate study. I will create networking groups where all students can meet and discuss the common grounds we all share.
TASTER SESSIONS
Visualising whether postgraduate study is right for you can be difficult without ever experiencing it. I will encourage lecturers to host taster sessions in which undergraduates considering postgraduate study can attend postgraduate classes and participate to see if the format and intensity of these classes suit them.
WELLBEING
POSTGRADUATE COMMUNITY
I will continue developing the ever growing Postgraduate Community to create connections between postgraduate students. Through this group postgraduates have a space where they can communicate with other postgraduates that have similar issues and feel a part of postgraduates at Warwick.
SOCIETIES AND SPORTS
To encourage postgraduate engagement in societies and sports, I will assist in putting on taster sessions in collaboration with societies and sports clubs for postgraduates. Through this, postgraduate students will be able to trial society events and get to know other postgraduate students that share their interest and societies and clubs will be able to promote their activities to a wider audience.
MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT
Mental Health is a rising issue in student communities and particularly the pressures of postgraduate study can contribute to poor mental health. I will ensure that departments and personal tutors are adequately prepared to deal with student’s mental health issues, whilst ensuring that mitigating circumstances and extension processes allow for students that struggle with mental health difficulties.
STUDY ENVIRONMENT
E-RESOURCES
For many students working outside of the library is a vital part of their studying, however as so many resources are not accessible online, trips to the library are necessary to accurately do work. I will work with the library to promote the purchase of electronic resources so students are not limited to studying within the library.
STUDY SPACES
It is still almost impossible to find a dedicated study space even outside of term time. I will champion the university and encourage the creation of more study spaces to accommodate the rising student numbers. I will also compile a resource of lesser known study spaces on campus to help people find a place that suits them.
POSTGRADUATE OFFICES
For many postgraduates, offices are provided to work within. I will ensure that all PhD students are granted access to an office and that these offices are adequate spaces to enhance studying. I will also look into the provisions provided for PhD students, ensuring that they are given appropriate resources to work within.
ALICE FOR POSTGRAD
REMEMBER TO VOTE AT WWW.WARWICKSU.COM/ELECTIONS/ FROM 25TH FEBRUARY TO 1ST MARCH
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