Hi everyone,

I’m Jeena Thomas, your elected Vice President for Health, Medicine and Social Care faculty from the Students’ Union and am re-running for the position of Education Officer this year. I’m a graduate with a bachelor’s degree in dental surgery and am pursuing MSc Public Health and Community Wellbeing, during which I was a course rep, and I felt there is a need for a change and that it is highly essential to have a strong and supportive community – one that represents your voice.

My achievements as the VP for HeMS are as follows:

• Placement bursary campaign: Raised awareness on the NHS bursary available to domestic placement students and continuing to advocate on the same for international students.
• Turn-it-up: Raised awareness on Turnitin’s purpose & proper use, helping students better understand academic integrity.
• Timetabling errors: Successfully advocated for timely, error-free timetables and ensured that last-minute changes were communicated to the relevant faculty for resolution.
• Student simulation group: Worked with HeMS faculty to establish a platform where students can enhance clinical practice skills by co-creating multidisciplinary team (MDT) scenarios with simulation staff.
• Night life safety campaign: Partnered with Strut Safe, Purple Flag, Cambridge Street Pastors, Nightlite, and Chelmsford SOS Bus Volunteers to promote safe nights out for students. This initiative empowered students with new ways to enjoy nightlife responsibly. Additionally, I introduced a poster competition and volunteering opportunities with these organizations.
• Mental health awareness campaign: Collaborated with faculty to promote mental health resources and self-care strategies, highlight university resources & student well-being ensuring students are well-informed about the support available to them.
• One Voice – A university-wide initiative addressing key student concerns. As lead for Grade Pathways and sub-lead for Your Guide-Your Tutor, I focused on: Ensuring clear, accessible information on ARU’s student support platforms. Helping students easily identify the right people to contact for academic and welfare support.
   
• Student Engagement & Events
• Movie week: Addressed student feedback on limited movie screenings by curating 18 films across 8 genres in 8 different languages, aligning with student schedules. This initiative saw an engagement of over 100 students and received overwhelmingly positive feedback.
• Talent show: Provided opportunity for students to showcase their talents in dance and instrumental music and received engagement from over 15 performers.
   

My initiatives have positively impacted student well-being, academic experience, and campus inclusivity, but there is still more to achieve. As Education Officer, I will continue to:

• Advocate for fair academic policies and stronger support services.
• Improve student engagement opportunities for both academic and extracurricular growth.
• Ensure that your voice is heard and acted upon at every level of the university.

Additionally,

• I would be working on enabling placement travel bursary for international students within HeMS.
• Providing a transparent guide platform for enhanced visibility of all your grades.
• Providing an open access space in campus for students to study after hours till late.

Vote Jeena for Education Officer – Your Voice, My Priority!