We've had a brilliant year. Now, while we're working on our mammoth Impact Report, catch up with ten of our most-read stories of 2016/17!
We’ve had a brilliant year at De Montfort Students’ Union (DSU).
And while we’re working on our mammoth Impact Report to show you exactly what we’ve done over the last 12 months, we thought we’d share ten of our most-read stories of 2016/17…
You might have had a great time at #FreshFest16, but did you know that it did good, too?
The annual Freshers Fair was bigger than ever in 2016, with thousands of students flocking to over 85 stands at De Montfort University (DMU)'s QEII Leisure Centre to grab freebies, vouchers, more about what Leicester has to offer.
But best of all, the Leicestershire NHS stand raising awareness about the importance of the NHS Organ Donation Register signed up an incredible 101 DMU students – in just one day!
Our Islamic Society (ISOC) raised a massive total for orphans across the globe in October, and more than doubled the figure set in 2015.
They raised an incredible £16,573.12 for Charity Week between Saturday 22 and Sunday 30 October through cake sales, stalls, donations; and even zorb football.
A breast cancer scare has inspired one student to lead one of our volunteering groups – who went on to top the tables nationally in December.
Kate Whitfield, a second-year Fine Art student at DMU, found a fibroadenoma – a small lump in the breast tissue – and said that the discovery was at the front of her mind when becoming Co-Team Leader of DSU’s UniBoob Team alongside fellow student Ellie Gorski.
The volunteering group, which works on the DMU campus as part of the national breast cancer-awareness charity CoppaFeel!, is just one of more than 65 such groups across the UK – but it was DSU’s volunteers who topped the table for most sign-ups to the charity’s text service in December 2016. The team were later featured in the Guardian for their work.
In January, we were busy making student life unforgettable – even on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.
Dan Winney, President of DSU, spoke about his joy at seeing hundreds of students on the university’s biggest-ever #DMUglobal visit to New York take part in a number of additional activities organised by their students’ union.
Later that month, the ribbon was finally cut on #YourNewDSU by Premier League champion Christian Fuchs.
Over nine months we completely transformed the Campus Centre into a home fit for DSU, and the Leicester City defender was on hand alongside President of DSU, Dan Winney, and DMU’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Dominic Shellard to formally open the freshly refurbished building.
Our new home has seen a massive £3million investment to turn the building into a fantastic hub for students to relax, socialise and make your student life exceptional – and Christian brought his infamous Egg Roulette Challenge to crack open the celebrations.
In February, we became one of only six institutions across Leicestershire to achieve the prestigious Investing in Volunteers Quality Standard.
The standard, which lasts for three years, recognises an organisation’s commitment towards supporting volunteers – in our case, running a society or sports club, representing your course mates or just helping another student settle into university life – and much more.
A record 5,455 DMU students voted in our Elections in 2017, and between them cast an enormous 25,905 votes across the ten positions.
Out of a total student population of just over 22,000, that means almost a quarter – or one in four – students at DMU had their say in the Elections process.
In March, we broke down the numbers to look at exactly what that all means!
We then unveiled the first public access defibrillator on the DMU in April campus with the help of the Joe Humphries Memorial Trust (JHMT).
The move, which will make the heart of campus a safer place for students, staff and the public alike, is thanks to DSU’s unique partnership with the Trust, set up after the death of 14-year-old Joe from sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SADS) in 2012.
The defibrillator was officially unveiled at the Campus Centre by Joe’s father and Trust founder Steve Humphries, Joe’s sister Lauren and DSU President Dan Winney alongside VP Student Activities Ahtesham Mahmood.
Our community radio station DemonFM welcomed hundreds of students to the annual Student Radio Association (SRA) Conference at DMU in late April for the first time since 2013.
Some of the biggest names in radio – including Greg James, Mistajam and James O’Brien as well as Stephanie Hirst, Christian O’Connell and Steve Lamacq – headed to DMU for the event which saw keynotes, breakouts and other sessions designed to help students make their mark in the radio industry.
There were also two massive nights of celebration, including Demo Factor – where students could submit their demos to be judged by a panel of industry experts – and the I Love Student Radio Awards, where DemonFM were nominated for six national awards.
Then, in May, a member of our Officer Team scooped a national award for representing Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) students at DMU.
Augustus Mbanasor, DP Education at DSU, picked up the Black Representation Award at the National Union of Students (NUS)’ Black Students’ Campaign Summer Conference for his work on DSU’s BME in Leadership Conference and BME Inspired events earlier this year and contributions to the national campaign.
Phew – what a year! But our work doesn’t stop here.
Make sure you’re part of what is already looking like what could be biggest and best year yet in 2017/18.
Hop on #RewindDSU across social media to see more of our favourite stories and videos from the last 12 months!
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