That’s a wrap on the final semester of 2023/24 at Queen’s Students’ Union.
Records were broken, our volunteers and entrepreneurs did us proud, and student democracy created impactful change.
Here’s a recap of your time at the SU this semester.
SU Clubs & Societies
- A massive number of you got involved in clubs or societies, with 17,775 memberships as of this semester (Clubs: 3,687, Societies: 14,088). That’s the highest number on SU records!
- 20 new Clubs and Societies were founded this year, covering a wonderfully diverse range of interests, from Country and Western to Streetlifting and Calisthenics, to Amateur Radio and European Affairs.
- But you didn’t just show love to new clubs and socs, 3 dormant societies were given the love they deserved too and revived for a new bunch of students to enjoy. Welcome back Scout Network Society, Wilderness and Expedition Medicine, and Obstetrics and Gynaecology!
- 436 of you were down bad for the Taylor Swift Society, making it the number 1 subscribed society of this semester. Men’s Soccer are the biggest club with 365 members.
- Find more info on our 220+ Clubs and Societies.
Volunteering
- 150 of you supported 398 children and young people with their homework this year. That’s support they might not have had otherwise which can lead to underachieving in school, low confidence and limited future opportunities. Get involved with Homework Clubs here.
- Our local community felt the love from 417 of you who took part in the Handy Helpers programme. Together you delivered 17 projects, including gardening and litter picks ups, as well as activities like handing out leaflets on behalf of Neighbourhood Associations.
- 1,521 of you progressed your volunteering journey and enhanced your employability skills with Jump In. Sign up to first when training sessions, volunteering fairs, and webinars are announced!
- RAG raised almost £2k for our charity partners Hope 4 Life and Brainwaves NI. Do you have what it takes to take RAG to the next level? Recruitment is underway for the 24/25 QUB RAG Chair.
Enterprise
- In the 2023-24 academic year, with the support of SU Enterprise, QUB students secured over £390k of equity-free grant funding to develop their business ideas.
- 11 student businesses progressed to the final of QUB Dragons’ Den, with the top prize of £10k going to ‘VioFeel’, £6k to ‘Allergy Armor Pro’ and £4k to ‘HAVSense’.
- 21 student graduate businesses are participating in QUest. The bespoke programme offers students and graduates funding, expert training, mentoring and coaching.
- 2 student businesses progressed to the semi-finals of INVENT 2024.
- 7 student businesses competed in the final pitches in Catalyst Co-Founders and 1 QUB business received £10k in funding.
- 7 QUB graduates are currently on the From Student to First Sale programme, each receiving a stipend of £15k.
- Interested in launching or growing your own business? Check out how SU Enterprise can support you.
Student Advocacy and Representation
- As a result of lobbying from our student officer team:
- Queen’s Accommodation committed to raise the bursary cap threshold from 25k to 40k.
- Funds were secured for almost 10,000 free meals.
- Upwards of 100 roles for students are set to be created thanks to the implementation of a new student partnership model. It will mean more representation in high level University strategic decision making!
- A Student Manifesto was launched following a Russell Group Residential attended by our SU President and PG Education Officer. It calls on calling on Government to prioritise students ahead of the next general election which takes place 4th July (psst…don’t forget to vote!).
- 2 of our student officers, Grace Duffy (Student Officer Undergraduate Education) and Kieran Minto (Student Officer Postgraduate Education), were winners of the USI Student Achievement Awards Ireland 2024 Education Campaign of the Year for their work on advocating for enhanced approaches to digital learning in Queen’s.
- An All-student vote resulted in the University agreeing to continually review its direct investment in weapons manufacturing and fossil fuel industries. Get the full details here.
What a year! To top it all of the SU recently placed 3rd best SU in the UK from over 100 SU’s in the ‘What Uni Student Choice Awards’, which is the only University Awards in the UK based solely on student reviews.
We can’t wait to see what next semester brings.
