Ma Qi, a Year 2 (now Year 3) female Events Management student was selected to become the President of the SBC Student Union in July. Ma Qi is the first ever female President of the SBC Student Union. It has now been three months since she took up the position and everyone is very curious to know what ideas and plans she has for the Student Union.
Ma Qi joined the Student Union Publicity Department as a graphic designer in 2010. She believes that the Student Union not only provides students with opportunities to demonstrate their talent but also offers a stage on which to practice and improve their communication and management skills. Given her new responsibilities as President, Ma Qi and her team have been working alongside staff in the Careers Service and Development Centre to conduct a thorough review of the Student Union in terms of the overall structure and Union activities.
On the organisational front, the structure of the Student Union has been reviewed and a new leadership team is now in place. All student societies and clubs have been categorised under five streams: business practice, arts & culture, sports, learning support and charity. In order to encourage students to become engaged in a number of different ways, an action plan together with a detailed events schedule has been compiled and this was released to all students during registration week. Activities planned for the new academic year include a Halloween party, photography contest, football and rugby games, drama week, a karate performance and career workshops.
Ma Qi commented: "I'm really excited about my new role and the fun and interesting events we have planned for students in the forthcoming year. My vision for the Student Union is that it will be a place for students to show their talent and voice their opinions, but most importantly, it is a place where they can share their university life experiences with each other, both academically and socially."
Ma Qi and her team have made a special effort to prepare publicity materials aimed to attract more overseas students to join the Student Union. She said: "It is a big challenge for us as we have to take the uniqueness and Britishness of SBC into consideration when producing our materials."
Principal Ian Gow said: "Campus internationalisation has always been a key strategy for the development of SBC. Therefore, great support has been given to the Student Union, not just financially, but in providing more valuable advice and guidance for student activities." So far three academic staff have been appointed as special advisors to support students in organising activities across the different streams.
A new round of member recruitment was completed in early October. According to the latest figures, SBC Student Union now has nearly 600 members from China and abroad.
