A Student-Politician of Many Firsts.

One of the most successful and celebrated student-politician of her times, Dr. Raghavan was elected for two consecutive years (2015-17) as the Research Students Officer at King's College London Students' Union (KCLSU).

Representing the interests and upholding the rights of the 3200+ research students, she was the first and the only elected officer to have set a precedent on accountability by publishing project reports and monthly updates and holding regular weekly consultations with her constituents. She introduced several novel policies and schemes to enrich the student experience on campus.

Recognition.

Dr. Raghavan’s contributions won her several accolades including her appointment as the first official Student Ambassador of King's Vision 2029.

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She was also awarded the Honorary Life Membership at KCLSU in 2017 for her contributions to student welfare and was honoured as the 'Representative of the Year' at the KCLSU Awards ceremony in 2016.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS.

Representation & Empowerment
Created U.K’s largest online PGR students engagement network with an active membership of 800+ students. Held monthly meetings and periodic consultations with Department and Faculty Representatives to shape policies and respond to Government's consultations on Postgraduate Loans and Research Excellence Framework. Founded U.K’s first democratic, autonomous representative body dedicated to research students- King’s Doctoral Students' Association, drafted its constitution through an immersive consultation process and trained the first batch of student representatives.
Support & Well-Being
Successfully negotiated an increase in pay, training and support for student teachers and Graduate Teaching Assistants. Lobbied for greater mental health awareness and support for students across the UK Enabled access to professional counselling and advice for research students. Increased the frequency of 'Time Out' sessions and organised career development as well as social mixer events exclusively for research students. Improved support for student parents by creating child-friendly policies and amenities on campus.
Infrastructure & Facilities
Created on-campus spaces, such as the graduate lounges, computing space and storage facilities, for research students. Conceptualised, secured funding and oversaw the implementation of the £90k ‘Doctoral Thesis Write-Up Spaces’ project, the first ever dedicated writing facility in the UK, which accommodated the burgeoning research student population.
 
 

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