Politics & Advocacy

STUDENT OFFICER, KCLSU

Elected for two consecutive years as the Postgraduate Research (PGR) Student Officer at King's College London Students' Union (KCLSU) to represent the 3000+ research students at King's College London.

Organisation:

KCLSU, UK

Year:

2015-2017

More Info:

KCLSU website

Key Responsibilities

Empowering 3800+ PGR students by promoting, extending and defending their rights

Engaging multiple stakeholders to formulate and implement policies and projects

Crisis management and negotiating on behalf of student campaigners

Awards & Recognition

Appointed as the first official Student Ambassador of King's Vision 2029

Awarded the Honorary Life Membership at KCLSU Awards 2017 for my contributions to student welfare at King's College London

Awarded the title of 'Representative of the Year' at KCLSU Awards 2016

Key Achievements

Well-being & Support Services

Successfully negotiated an increase in pay, training and support for student teachers/ Graduate Teaching Assitants.

Lobbied for greater mental health awareness, improved access to counselling and advice for PGR students.

Increased the frequency of 'Time Out' sessions and organised career development as well as social mixer events exclusively for PGR students.

Improved support for student parents.

Infrastructure & Facilities

Secured more social spaces, graduate lounges, computing space and storage facilities for PGR students.

Conceptualised, secured funding and oversaw the implementation of the £90k ‘Doctoral Thesis Write-Up Spaces’ project.

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 autonomous representative body dedicated to PGR students- King’s Doctoral Students' Association.

Sweta was the first officer at KCLSU to set a precedent on accountability by publishing project reports, monthly updates and regular consultations with students.