QUEEN S UNIVERSITY BELFAST Students Union Council 5 th December 2013 Report of Vice President Clubs & Societies Hi folks, This is my 2 nd report to the Students Union Council for the academic year 2013/14. The report takes into account two weeks work since the first statutory meeting of Student Council which took place on 19 th November 2013. It is worth noting that a significant amount of my time is taken up by interactions with individual clubs and societies, helping them with an array of issues and problems they face. This could be anything from helping with fundraising ideas to assisting with setting up of new clubs or societies. I would like to take this opportunity to wish all Councillors a Happy Christmas and New Year for 2014. I wish you all the best in your studying over the winter break especially those with coursework and/or examinations. If you have any issues with my report or require any further information about anything please feel free to contact me on 02890973922 or su.vpcs@qub.ac.uk. Alternatively you are more than welcome to call into the office. I am more than happy to assist your needs. Best Wishes, Martin Lilly
Meetings/Events Attended Joint University Showcase Event Students Union Management Board Executive Management Committee Coach Hire Tender with David Bradley and Declan Fitzsimmons Clubs and Societies Involvement Campaign Brainstorming with David Bradley and Sophia Halliday GAA Festival Events Subcommittee festival meeting Meeting with Karl Oakes and David Bradley regarding inter varsity events being held in Queen s this year BICS Venue Meeting with Nikki Patterson Campus Cup League On-going sweeps with Clubs and Societies Coordinator David Bradley Meeting with GAA Development Officer Aidan O Rourke Tedx Meeting Student Support Ireland Sub Committee Meeting with Business Students regarding Student Union App Meeting with Dance Society regarding fundraiser QUB Dance Strictly Come Dancing Event Inter Sports Night Preparation Meeting with Kevin Murray Society Grant Allocation with David Bradley and Fraser Collie Student Union Evaluation Initiative Audit Meeting with Sport Development Officer Kevin Murray Inaugural Clubs, Societies and Development committee Meeting regarding Academic Societies with VP Education Eoin Deeney Club Capital Grant and Hosting Grant Allocation with David Bradley and Karl Oakes Finance Meeting with Fraser Collie
Campaigns, Activities and other Initiatives 1. Online Sign Ups A quick update on the current membership to clubs and societies shows that we have now reached over 10,000 members. This is the highest number on record. As Vice President for Clubs and Societies I plan to launch a marketing campaign to push more students to become involved in a club/soc of their choice in the New Year with the Refreshers Fair offering the perfect platform to launch this strategy. With focus on the benefits of being involved in a club/soc I envisage this strong foundation for membership to continue to increase. 2. Refresher s Fair Planning for the Refresher s Fair 2014 has begun and the date has been set for Wednesday 12 th February which is the 2 nd week of term in the second semester. I will be liaising with Clubs, Societies and Development Committee, Clubs and Societies committee members, the Refreshers Fair Committee and relevant staff structures to ensure we make the event as successful as possible. 3. Campus Cup League The Campus is an on-going 6 week soccer tournament played each Wednesday at the Upper Malone Playing fields. During this event I am responsible for fixture organisation and taking results and ensuring that the necessary equipment is available when needed. At this point we have over fifty participants. The Campus Cup is a facet of the wider work done with Queen s Sport emphasising the importance of students partaking in regular physical activity and exercise of their health and wellbeing. 4. Society Grant Allocation On Wednesday 27 th November myself, David Bradley and Fraser Collie met to allocate the Societies Grants. Information on the grant allocation will be fully communicated to the societies. At Executive Management Committee on 13 th November a new method of allocating society grants was grant with aims to make the system more transparent and coherent.
The Societies grant has a scoring rationale which will allow them to see point for point on what score they get allocated. An awareness campaign with the appropriate marketing provisions for the next round of society grant allocations will be utilised to ensure that societies are fully aware of what they are being scored on so they have a full understanding of how to best approach their application. 5. Club Capital Grant and Hosting Grant Allocation On Tuesday 26 th November myself, Karl Oakes and David Bradley convened to allocate funding for club capital grants and hosting grant allocation. The relevant communication to those club/societies who applied for grants will be given in due course and explanations for the level of each grant given. 6. Inter Sports Night 2013 This event is run in conjunction with Queen s Sport and involves indoor and outdoor sports coming together and playing against each other in a different sport. Planning has begun on the event with an initial meeting taking place on 26 th November. This is an important event that brings the sporting community at Queen s together. More details of how the event went will be outlined in my next report to council. 7. Inaugural Clubs, Societies & Development Committee The inaugural Clubs, Societies and Development Committee was held on 2 nd December 2014. Update on those elected to the various committee positions will be outlined in my next report to Council. 8. Joint University Showcase Event On Tuesday 19 th November myself and the other student officers attended a joint university showcase event at Parliament buildings at Stormont. This was the first event of its kind with representatives from the Open University, University of Ulster and Queen s University. There were also MLA representatives present throughout the event from the main political groupings. From our perspective it gave us a great opportunity to lobby MLA s and make them aware of the ongoing issues that students face in third level education in this current harsh economic climate. It also
gave us a good opportunity to network with MLA s especially on impending issues including the cap on Tuition fees which is soon up for review. 9. BICS Awards Preparation is well underway for the Board of Irish Colleges Awards which is scheduled to take place in Belfast next year at the Titanic Quarter. Myself and Clubs and Societies Co-ordinator attended an event in the Titanic Quarter with Nikki Patterson discussing venue criteria and needs. Conclusion: Thanks for taking time to read the report guys. As mentioned if you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact me on the relevant channels. Martin Lilly Vice President Clubs and Societies.