AberSU has walked away with two top accolades at the NUS Wales Awards 2014.
AberSU has walked away with two top accolades at the NUS Wales Awards 2014.
The awards, which took place on 26th March, sets out to recognise the work and impact of Student Unions across the country. Over 90 nominations were submitted, and AberSU scooped the Campaign of the Year and Officer Team of the Year awards.
The nominated Campaign of the Year was focussed on a housing campaign set up by Welfare Officer Laura Dickens. As part of the campaign, a full housing survey was carried out to examine the standards of private sector accommodation in Aberystwyth, with the survey report being commended in the Houses of Parliament. A petition to the Welsh Assembly followed, which has led to a commitment to run a full consultation on private sector accommodation in Wales, focussing on the cost and quality for students. The campaign has also spun out to the development of a ‘Model Contract’ with Ceredigion Country Council, which seeks to iron out unfair terms and produce a ‘model’ template for landlords and students in the area.
Of the campaign success, Laura Dickens commented “I am exceptionally pleased to have won Campaign of the Year, and this is a really good note to end my two years at the Union on. I hope that the Union will continue to make these beneficial changes for students, and I am so pleased that we have been able to pave the way for future improvements to private sector accommodation, for not just our students, but for students throughout Wales”.
The award of Officer Team of the Year examined the impacts generated through the Union for the student body, including how the Officers worked together to achieve these, including outstanding projects or campaigns they have developed. Of the win, President Ioan Rhys Evans commented “I’m delighted to accept this award on behalf of the Officer Team at Aberystwyth. We have worked hard and with great support from our fantastic staff, have transformed AberSU to have a top team in just 12 months!”
For further details on the work of the Students’ Union, take a look at our Semester One Update video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_LPsk7ntXU
