Words by Euan Morrison, Vice President Education 2017-18 and 2018-19
A day in the life of a VPE? Well, first thing's first, I don't think there necessarily is an average day in the life of this role! I genuinely think I will be hard pressed to ever find myself in a role that I will find myself enjoying such a variety of roles as I currently do.
The VPE job probably isn't for everyone; it's not the most 'glamorous' and can be one where, because of the nature of the role, a lot of the work goes unnoticed. It is however the most interesting thing I have done to date. The easiest explanation of what I do is that I am the lead representative for students on academic matters at the University. In a nutshell, when I go to meetings, have discussions with staff and send emails, I am there to provide what the student opinion would be on that topic. This means I get to be at the heart of discussions as to how students are taught, their experience, and what rules they follow. For these reasons, it's really important that I have an active and effective group of School Reps and Course Reps and I regularly look to engage them in these discussions and seek their feedback with the positives and negatives of their experiences. Many of these then require me to go back and ask questions, find out more information, and even negotiate a resolution with the University.
On top of this, two of the other big responsibilities I have is as a Trustee of the Students' Union and as a Governor of the University. This means that I have a seat at the top meeting in each of the two organisations. I have the opportunity to provide the student voice on any major plans that the University has at the Board of Governors. I also play a part in ensuring that, as a charity, the Students' Union is running effectively and responsibly for you guys at the Trustee Board. I have really enjoyed this aspect of the role as it gets me to the heart of the decision-making process and, over the last two years, I have seen a LOT happen.
All of these elements of the role combine with other things such as standing in a toga at 3 degrees raising money for RAG, attending national conferences with NUS and helping with the planning of Welcome Weeks. Every single day is completely different which I love!
I am now of course battling the clock in terms of how long I am in the job for. I am out of years I can run for office and I will have to leave the Students' Union in June 2019. It's a role I have thoroughly enjoyed and one I would highly recommend as a fantastic career move straight from University.
Perhaps you are already interested or perhaps you would like to know a bit more? With my role up for grabs at the Leadership Elections in March 2019, be sure to look out for more information or visit the website here: https://www.worcsu.com/yourvoice/elections/