Friday 27-06-2025 - 13:24

We're nearing the end of the 2024/25 academic year - and this is our final Sabb recap for Maria, Natalie, and Rhobyn. And before we run through their wins, we want to give them a heartfelt thanks for all their passion, dedication, and contributions towards making student life at UWTSD the best it can be - they've certainly left their mark. Let's recap their wins.

Natalie Beard, Swansea Campus President

Natter with Nat

These drop-in sessions gave students a chance to catch up with Nat, other students, make friends, play a few games, enjoy some snacks, and talk about the things they cared about, whether it’s about their Uni experience or questions around support.

Met with Vikki Howells MS

Natalie met with Vikki Howells MS, Minister for Further & Higher Education in the Welsh Government, at the beginning of her term. Vikki spoke about her priority areas, and Natalie was pleased to hear that student mental health would be one of Vikki’s priorities. Nat then continued to support student wellbeing with various projects for the last 6 months of her role.

Cost-of-Living Campaign

Nat’s Cost-of-Living campaign aimed to help students who are currently struggling with rising costs by giving away free sanitary and hygiene products in our ‘Pick N Mix’ stations dotted all over the Swansea campuses and asking students how they’d like to be supported in the future.

Social Spaces

A social space available for students to use in the Dylan Thomas Centre has opened, free for students to come in and hang out with board games, and a PS5. Free-to-use microwaves and kettles also have been placed in Dynevor Café, and the Students’ Union area in the IQ building, so students can warm their food and drink.

Wellbeing Stickers

Natalie and the University's Wellbeing Service launched a sticker-based campaign to raise awareness of the well-being service. There are five stickers, each with a different message, but all link students to a page for wellbeing support. The Union and University teams have placed them up all around campus in areas where they can be seen more frequently by students.

Mental Health Awareness Week

Led by Nat, the project’s theme was “community”, which led with activities and training happening across campuses. Training such as “Look After Your Mate Training” and “Bias and Bystander Intervention Training” was a part of the campaign. There were also mindful activities from mindful colouring and clay crafts, to message making in Swansea, Birmingham, and Carmarthen.

“It has been an absolute pleasure to represent students here at UWTSD for the past two years, supporting you through your struggles, advocating for change and being by your side through your wins. I have been a part of the UWTSD community since 2018 when I started as a student here myself, and the people and culture here, both in the University and the SU, have become a huge part of my life that I will be so sad to leave behind. I'm not sure what the next chapter has in store, I'm hoping to stay working in HE and continue making a difference where I can, but I do know that I will keep following University and Union updates closely to see all of the amazing things our current students get up to. I'm proud of all of your achievements and grateful to work with such amazing colleagues and student representatives to help to shape your student experience".

- Natalie Beard, Swansea Campus President 2023/24 and 2024/25

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Rhobyn Grant, Lampeter Campus President

Black History Month

Rhobyn spearheaded Black History Month with events in October 2024. The month kicked off with an Anti-Racism Workshop hosted by Undeb Aberystwyth’s President, Bayanda Vundamina. It took place in Lampeter and online and covered topics such as what racism looks like in higher education, covert and overt racism, and being an active bystander.

Then an Open Mic Night became a lively platform for voices on the Lampeter campus. Students got to showcase poetry, music, and storytelling that celebrated diverse experiences. It was then followed by Movie Nights across Carmarthen, Lampeter, and Swansea, which featured entertaining films that encouraged meaningful discussions about race and identity.

In collaboration with Lampeter Lecturer Andy Bevan, ‘Sugar Lands’ by award-winning Vincentian filmmaker Akley Olton was shown during the Decolonising the Curriculum Panel. After, there was a Q&A with Rhobyn and Andy which explored the theme of decolonising the curriculum. Wrapping things up was a Writing Heritage workshop which was run with student Tunji Offeyi, exploring how cultural backgrounds influence storytelling.

Alongside the events, a Book Scavenger Hunt took place on all campuses, the purpose of the hunt is to broaden people’s horizons and bring attention to authors who don’t always make it into the usual reading lists, as well as a watch list for films which Rhobyn put together.

Future of Lampeter Campaign

In 2024, the uni announced its proposal to move courses from Lampeter to Carmarthen, and Rhobyn gathered student feedback and brought it forward to the University to represent the students of Lampeter and to get a clear line of communication and transparency about the situation. Rhobyn has also secured discounts for accommodation to match what the students are paying for in Lampeter. A student organising workshop was also facilitated as well as a skills development session, and a campaigning boot camp for students.

Sexual Health Awareness Workshop

Rhobyn worked with the Wellbeing team to facilitate a Sexual Health Awareness Workshop (S.H.A.W.) as part of a broader goal to establish resources for survivors of sexual assault and harassment. The workshop aimed to bring mental health and sexual health awareness to the forefront and was held in February 2025.

Decolonising the Curriculum

Rhobyn led a sustained campaign to decolonise the curriculum throughout the academic year. She collaborated with the head of academic practice to help promote this throughout the university. This included filming a short 5-8 minute video that explained what decolonising the curriculum means, why it matters, and how it can be implemented. The video was circulated among departments to be used in staff training sessions. In addition, Rhobyn designed training materials – including a PowerPoint workbook and a Word document guide for lecturers to use when reviewing their teaching methods. Sessions were planned with external speakers, and some lecturers began implementing these discussions within their departments. This work lays the foundation for a more inclusive and representative curriculum at UWTSD.

“I am so grateful to have had this opportunity. It was a pleasure to serve you all and I wish you success in your academic journeys and beautiful futures.”

- Rhobyn Grant, Lampeter Campus President 2024/25

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Maria Dinu, Group President

Your Voice My Ears

Drop-in sessions run by Maria on the Canary Wharf campus in London for students who have burning questions about Uni life, require assistance, or just want to have a chat. These sessions took place in October, November, and December 2024.

Lobbied MP’s for Students in Private Accommodation

Maria reached out and lobbied Members of Parliament (MPs) who represent the constituency of each respective UWTSD campus and met with two of them in Westminster on the 23rd of October 2024. Maria was lobbying regarding the issues affecting students across the Higher Education sector, focusing on housing and guarantors/the Renters’ Rights Bill.

Supporting Students with Disabilities

For Disability History Month, Maria collaborated with the University on a “Supporting Students with Disabilities Awareness” campaign to help students navigate university processes and give guidance around accessing the Disabled Students' Allowance. An article was published on the Student’s Union website covering what a Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) is, the requirements to sign up, the steps of the DSA application, as well as some FAQs.

Bursary Frameworks Simplified

Maria collaborated with the University’s Money Support team to create an online resource for easy comprehension and navigation of UWTSD's bursary framework.

LGBTQ+ History Month

For LGBTQ+ History Month, Maria launched a campaign to reflect on progress, honour the resilience of the LGBTQ+ members before us, and commit to the work needed to achieve equality and inclusion. An Online Exhibition was published showcasing individuals for their significant contributions to social justice, equality, and human rights.

A Queer Literature Book Scavenger Hunt featuring titles like, From Prejudice to Pride and A Journey Through Time: The Story of LGBTQ+ History were hidden across all campuses in England and Wales for students to find and keep! And a recorded panel discussion with the topic LGBTQ+ Future and Activism was led by Maria alongside guest speakers around LGBTQ+ rights, healthcare, mental health, accessibility and inclusive practices. The panel discussion was then published on the SU's YouTube channel.

University Collaboration

Maria collaborated with the University and external organisations to provide students with meal deals in Selecta vending machines and increase accessibility in these – this project has also been handed over to the new 2025/26 officers.

Accessibility

Maria worked on increasing accessibility to university services and campuses for students with mobility impairments and creating online resources for distance-learner access and overall easy navigation.

"Working for UWTSD SU and having the opportunity to represent all students to not only University staff but also to MPs, NUS, and on a national scale has been a great privilege which I will forever be grateful for; to those who have elected me, to those who have believed in me, those who have raised their issues with me and collaborated with me... from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU!!! I don’t know what the future holds but I know that whatever you might want to achieve, you can do it; collaborate, communicate, ask for help - always use your voice to advocate, you can make great changes just by speaking up! Thank you all for all the great memories this year, I will treasure these forever and I will always be so proud of all of your achievements, from graduations to societies set-up; seeing all of the amazing stuff our students have done and achieved always brought a smile to my face.

Working with such an amazing SU team and University colleagues who were always keen to listen and support has been a pleasure, and knowing that I was helping to enhance the student experience and that I have been representing you all has made my experience that much better; the passion and determination I have for advocacy and positive impact has only increased during my presidential term and I hope to continue to make positive changes wherever life takes me. Thank you all so much for such an amazing year, I’d like to end this chapter of my journey on the same note on which I began it; success is not a destination but a journey and every step, no matter how small is a part of that journey!"

- Maria Dinu, Group President 2024/25