We’re pleased to showcase some of the Proud to be Staffs submissions that we’ve received from students wishing to thank and recognise both individual students, clubs, societies and staff members and we’ve proudly displayed a broad selection of these submissions via the Students’ Union news pages, the submission forms close on the 4th April with shortlisted submissions in line to receive an award at the upcoming We Are Staffs Awards in May.
As we move towards awards season, we continue to recognise the hard work, dedication and commitment of our student groups and committee leaders and the positive impacts they have on student members and our wider community. This month’s student group of the month has delivered a wide range of positive impacts and benefits for students and they have been so busy throughout the year, at times it’s been difficult to keep up with them!
Staffs Computing Society hit the ground running in September and have literally been non-stop since, so it might be easier to simply list some of their main events:
October
- Digital Declutter Day campaign, led by the society, raising awareness of digital carbon emissions and ways to reduce your impact.
- Career Coffee talk invited employers to meet with students opening up networking opportunities for members
- Movie Night social brings members together to get to know each other and build relationships
- Verkada Takeover invited the cloud solutions company to speak to students about opportunities, roles and placements.
- CV workshop supported students in developing, presenting and polishing their CV’s.
November
- Power Up Python session was a co-curricular event delivered in partnership with academic staff teaching coding skills and knowledge
- Movember charity awareness campaign and fundraising efforts, raised £308 for the men’s health charity
- Commit to Git interactive workshop was delivered, teaching members all about Github.
- Online games event offered members the opportunity to relax and have fun
- Collaboration was on the agenda at the Staffs Women in STEM Big Social Mixer
- Study session ahead of deadlines, offered peer support at this crucial time
December
- Hash & Seek was a tech themed scavenger hunt – mixing fun and learning as teams decrypt puzzles.
- Tech watch party – online and opened to London students to broaden inclusion.
- Christmas meal in Ember brought members together to celebrate in end of term festivities.
- Fundraising donations for Christmas Jumper Day
January
- Scholar IT Up saw the society partner with the library academic skills team to support members to succeed at uni.
- Members travelled to Bet 365 stadium to attend the Stoke On Tech event which was another opportunity for knowledge acquisition and networking
February
- Java Jam invited a masters student to meet members to teach Java coding, API and website development.
- Staffs Computing Society visits Co-op Academy
- Sustainability tech quiz was another opportunity to raise digital carbon footprint awareness and promote sustainability in tech.
March
- C++ Is Unreal event, invited industry experts to deliver workshops and talks to members on Unreal Engine, further developing skills and knowledge for students.
- BET365 Hackathon offered attendees challenges, skills development, networking opportunities and pizza!
- International Women’s Day fair was an opportunity not to be missed, proudly representing women in tech.
The society has partnered with a number of external organisations to bring benefits (and freebies) to members such as She Can Code, Bet 365 and the Chartered Institute For IT.
The flagship opportunity delivered in the past few weeks is the fantastic mentorship programme, which has seen the committee secure 15 mentors – experts in a range of computing fields from cyber security through to data management and integration, and matching mentor skills to mentee interests. The programme is sure to be invaluable to members who now have access to insider knowledge and one to one support to help enhance their learning, development and career prospects.
It's been fantastic to watch the society grow this year and see all of these valuable opportunities offered to our students – congratulations Staffs Computing Society on a very well-deserved Student Group of the Month award!
Lots of other great work and opportunities continue to be delivered by our societies and our special mentions this month are for:
The Law Society
This year, the Law Society has sprung back to life with renewed vigour as a newly adopted society, which has been especially noticable this month as they have worked hard with the Law School to bring their members an amazing opportunity to visit the Supreme Court in London. Whilst there, the group took part in what's known as "mooting", a mock trial in a court setting. The students had to use skills they had learned both as part of their studies and within the society to research, prepare and present arguments in front of a judge. The committee and members have spent weeks ensuring they were as prepared as possible for this trip, showing the dedication and passion they all have for the society and for their members.
Life Drawing Society
Life Drawing Society were another hard-hitter this month, working with their courses to host a charity event in aid of the Ukrainian Red Cross. The Draw More event saw students to fill up a sketchpad within a week, putting their skills to the test to complete the challenge. Throught the event, the society raised £256 for their chosen charity and everyone who took part truly enjoyed the experience. A great way to merge fun, skills development, and charity fundraising in to one great event!