Campaigns

Sustainability

Sustainability is an important area of work for UUSU. We work closely with the University, NUS/USI and SOS-UK (Students Organising for Sustainability) on all aspects of sustainability. In November we ran our second Green Week across our campuses. The week involved projects and events for students to act on sustainability and push as many students as possible to sign up to Net Zero.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Equality, diversity, and inclusion has been at the centre of the work carried out at UUSU. We aim to celebrate the rich diversity of our student population, while encouraging awareness and understanding of the issues that may be faced by students from such a wide range of backgrounds.

Our Student Voice team have been busy understanding & dealing with issues that are faced by students across all faculties including particularly International and postgraduate students and researchers. Equality and Diversity forums have taken place across campuses, where you can speak about any issue and discuss ideas.

Throughout the year we’ve organised different cultural events for example. Diwali & Holi Celebrations which were a great success on campus.

We also have more diverse council seats than ever, with the introduction of Equality, Mental Health, and Postgraduate Research seats.

Student Mental Health

Our ongoing student mental health and wellbeing campaign is guided by our Mental Health Action Plan which ensures student mental health is at the forefront of everything we do. We’ve had over 1,500 students complete our Sense of Belonging Survey recently, the results of which we will use to plan our activities for the forthcoming year. As part of our ’ U OK? We’re here for you’ campaign we’ve hosted ‘U Belong’ events to increase students sense of belonging at Ulster and improve their mental health.

We’ve also launched our suite of videos ‘UUSU Meets..’ where local young people discuss how they’ve overcome tough times in their lives and asked for help and built up their mental resilience.

This year we’ve run numerous social sport events e.g. Give it a Go, Paddleboarding, Mind your Mood sport events. UUSU sport has increased social training opportunities for students and collaborated with the Football Association Ireland UN Student League to promote recreational sport.

Cost of Living

The rise in the cost of living is having a profoundly negative effect on students across Northern Ireland. The economic crisis is pushing students to the financial brink and forcing them to make tough decisions. Students are deciding whether to prioritise having somewhere to live, staying warm or having a substantial meal. Emergency intervention is critical.

Our position is clear, and in conversations with Ulster University, government we have indicated that our priorities are:

Cost of Living Payment
Free or subsidised Public Transport
Hidden Course Costs to be covered
Graduations to be made free of charge to students

We have continued to engage with Ulster University and NUS-USI and are making progress and have achieved several cost-of-living mitigations.

Free Breakfasts and Free Lunches
No cost for Graduations