Brookes Union

Last month, I began working as a Communications and Engagement assistant at Brookes Union. Before then, I hadn’t realised just how much I enjoy engaging with people and getting to know their stories. I find a deep sense of fulfilment in knowing that I’ve helped someone or made their day better simply by having a conversation with them. And I truly believe that this is what is at the heart of this role — connecting, assisting, and encouraging. I look forward to the different experiences and opportunities that I am sure to come by as I continue with this role. ✨

This years #blackhistorymonth events programme included our ‘Voices of Black Excellence’ panel, organised by Union President Kofi Owusu-Aidoo and VP Activities & Employability Caz Fyneface, and chaired by Black Students’ Officer Orla Marie C.  This was a fantastic opportunity for Oxford Brookes University students to hear stories of strength and success from different figures of Black excellence within the institution. A big thank you to our panelists for an evening of inspiration, education, and empowerment: Dr Sola Adesola, Professor Joe Tah, Dr Nicole Ferdinand, PhD, Princess-Nicosall Owusu-Sekyere, Kofi Owusu-Aidoo and Orla Marie C. Find out more about our Black Students’ Network and continue to celebrate Black excellence, amplify voices, and create change through collective action: https://lnkd.in/dBSKWsSs.

“𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦, 𝘶𝘯𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘦? (...) 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘴” (University Estates & Campus Services Staff Member, 2024). This raises the question - how accessible are the University Campuses? Our VP Liberation & Community Jéssika Linhaça is working in collaboration with the Unions Disabled Students’ Officer Sophie and Disabled Students’ Network, to amplify the voices of disabled students at Oxford Brookes University. As part of this campaign, the University’s Estates and Campus Services Team were invited to take part in a wheelchair day, to raise awareness and highlight the need for better support and accessibility on campus. Staff followed a pre-planned route and experienced first hand the challenges wheelchair users encounter when navigating the Headington Campus, summarising their experience as "𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵" and "𝘦𝘺𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨". We will continue to campaign and collect feedback across the year, and work collaboratively with the University, to make permanent changes towards creating a more inclusive space for all. Keep an eye out on our website for campaign updates: brookesunion.com

The Freshers' season has come to an end and what successful one it's been for us - from our sold out events programme, to daily activations and big ticket giveaways ✅ . As a Students' Union, we don't underestimate the importance of a strong Freshers’ Week, and so it was great to be able to engage with students from the moment they arrived at Oxford Brookes University and showcase all the ways they can get involved with their SU. Our 2024 Freshers Fair also saw thousands of students flock to campus to visit the 26 commercial, 12 charity and 70+ society stalls. The high-number of students and long (but fast-moving) queues spoke for themselves, so a huge thank you to every one of our team members, brand partners and student-led societies and networks, for supporting us to deliver our biggest event of the year. Semester 1 is underway and it already feels like it’s going to be an impactful year.

We’re looking for somebody to support us with a review of our voice and democratic procedures holistically within the Students’ Union. Whether you’re an individual consultant, partnership or a small, medium or large organisation - we’d be interested to see your proposals 👀 . We are ultimately looking to: • Review our democratic procedures & student involvement and rethink how students can input into decision-making. This may include producing rewritten byelaws to reflect any changes.  • Review our officer roles (full and part-time). This should also include any reflections on Networks and Network Chairs. • Review our representation system and assess how the student representation system fits into other Union functions or procedures. More information can be found via our website: https://lnkd.in/exrNN5Yz, or if you'd like an informal chat, please contact dlayton@brookes.ac.uk.   

A wholesome week of Oxford Brookes University graduations 🎓 and an opportunity to celebrate with some of our graduating part-time officers, student staff, network chairs, society leaders and 24/25 full-time officer team.

We're seeking an External #Trustee with a strong background in equality, diversity and inclusion to join the board. We’ve done lots of work on building a positive work environment and our next step is to master inclusion through equitable practice, so the ideal candidate will have experience of strategic EDI change. As a new Trustee, you'll be joining the board at a time of significant opportunity, as we enter the first year of our new strategic plan. More information can be found via our website: https://lnkd.in/d_p9v5Ew, or if you'd like an informal chat with the CEO or an existing trustee about the opportunity, please contact Rebecca Turton on rturton@brookes.ac.uk.

We're delighted to share the news that Rebecca Turton has been appointed as our new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Rebecca will lead on the delivery of the Union’s new strategic plan, whilst providing support and guidance to the wider team at Brookes Union. Speaking of the appointment, Kofi Owusu-Aidoo, President of Brookes’ Union said: “𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘙𝘦𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘤𝘢 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯’𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴! 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘮”. Congratulations Rebecca 👏

Our Full-Time Officers spent the morning networking with Oxford Brookes University staff; sharing their manifesto aims and team priorities for the year ahead, and talking about ways they could collaborate with University staff.

Following an audit from Students Organising for Sustainability (SOS-UK), Brookes Union are delighted to have been awarded 'very good' for Green Impact Students' Union 23/24, recognising our active effort towards becoming a more sustainable organisation. As part of this years work, we launched our student-led Green Team, supporting their campaigns and activities. Several events were held, including a Veganuary fair, encouraging students to discover more about veganism and the intersection of food and climate, and a national coffee day fair inviting students to learn more about reusable cups and sustainable coffee consumption. Students rebuilt and improved the pond area at our Headington Hill site, making it better for the local biodiversity and we've also been working on sustainable events guidance & improving our own events to be greener. This year we were privileged to have such passionate student leaders (special mention to Jacob Callicott & Jake Beer) and staff dedicated to achieving the same goals and we’ll continue to work hard in the coming year.