FAQ's

The Students’ Union Elections are run each year so students can decide who represents them. Elected reps represent students, create change, lead the Students’ Union and run campaigns, events and projects of their choice that help to improve students’ lives. There are 6 full-time paid Executive Officer positions and over 70 part-time voluntary positions. Students who are elected in this election will take up their roles for the 2023-24 academic year, starting in August. With so many roles to choose from there is something for everyone!

The Elections are a great experience. Whether you’re successful in being elected or not you’ll develop new skills, become more employable and hopefully meet some new people along the way. We offer all candidates and elected reps helpful training and support throughout the journey.

If elected you’ll lead the Students’ Union, get the chance to run your own campaigns, events and projects and work with lots of other people in the University and Students’ Union, including the senior management team, to create change at Queen Mary. It really is a one of a kind opportunity!

It’s also your opportunity for you to make a difference to students’ lives by improving their university experience.

No, not at all! The most important thing is that you are passionate about being the voice for the students you represent. You don’t need any prior experience, but we can guarantee that the elections can give you lots of experience and help you learn new skills (even if you don’t win). All candidates are offered training on campaigning, and at the end of the elections period, you’ll have had an opportunity to develop your communications skills, organisational skills, time management and persuasion skills.

With 6 different full-time paid roles and 70 part-time roles there really is something for everyone!

Any student studying a course at Queen Mary University of London can run in the Students’ Union Elections, including postgraduate students, international students and those who are studying part-time.

Most of the roles require you to continue your studies in 2023/24, but we also have a small number of roles available for students that expect to complete their course this academic year. For full details about the requirements for each role, please check the role descriptions for the roles you are interested in.

Firstly, being a full-time or part-time rep really is a great experience. We hear from lots of past officers that they wish they could do it all over again, or that the skills they gained from the role really helped them to get to where they are today.

Elected rep roles, or even just running in the elections, will give you new skills and improve your CV. Essentially it will make you more employable and you’ll stand out from the crowd when the time comes to apply for jobs or further education.

Some other benefits;

Make a difference

By representing students you’ll make a difference to their experience and help to make Queen Mary better for everyone!

Transferable employability skills

You'll be able to develop and gain new skills in the role, all roles will provide great examples of skills for your CV! You'll also build your confidence!

Improve your self-confidence

You'd be able to talk to dozens of students and become an expert on students views. You can have a chance at presenting your views and opinions and raising them in what can sometimes be a formal environment which is a great achievement.

Develop your networks and meet new people

You will meet new and interesting people and work with different people from our diverse community of students, student reps and staff. You'll also get to work with other students, officers like you and universities from up and down the country.

As an Executive Officer you'll also regularly work with the senior management team in both the University and Students' Union, giving you experience of leadership, working with others, networking and a real insight into what it takes to run an organisation.

A long list of acheivements

When it’s all over you’ll get to look back at everything you achieved, the changes you made and the campaigns and projects you created. You’ll be able to use these as examples in future job applications and interviews.

Earn £27,000+

Full-time Executive Officer roles are paid £27,000+ for their year in office, so if you’re graduating this year it is a great way to kickstart your career. Even if you’re not graduating this year you can still run to be a full-time Executive Officer by taking a year out from your studies.

No. Anyone at Queen Mary can run for one of the 6 full-time Executive Officer positions. You can take a year out from your studies to complete the role, or if you’re graduating it’s a great graduate role to undertake, plus you’ll get to be at Queen Mary for another year.

The full-time Executive Officer roles each pay £27,000+ for the year.

Successful candidates are expected to start full-time work from mid-July 2023 (exact date TBC). If you are on a course that finishes in August or September, please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you want to discuss what support will be available to ensure that you can complete your course while starting a full-time role.

Everything that you’ve seen the Students’ Union do this year and in the past has had an elected rep behind it. With 6 full-time reps and more than 70 part-time reps, we can’t list everything the reps have achieved this year, but here are some examples:

• Lobbied the university to provide more financial support for students during the cost of living crisis
• Launched cost of living survey
• Planned and deliver our liberation campaigns, including Black History Month, Disability Awareness Month and Islamophobia Awareness Month
• Collected data about curriculum changes in medicine and used this data to lobby for change

We know some people need a little nudge, and that’s what Recommend a Friend is here for. Recommend a Friend allows you to encourage a friend to run in the elections. It’s completely anonymous, and it’s an excellent way to give someone a secret compliment.

Recommend a Friend doesn’t nominate your friend automatically though.

If you get recommended and you want to go for a role, you will still need to nominate yourself through the process outlined above.

If you’ve looked through all our online information and you’re still not sure about nominating yourself for a position we still have other ways we can help you.

Book in a 1-2-1 chat

The Elections Team is here to answer your questions and help you to figure out which role would be a perfect fit for you. You can book a session by completing a short online form on MS Bookings.

Talk to your friends & family

Talk to your friends, family and course mates about the opportunity and see what they think. You could also talk about your manifesto and campaign ideas with them and see what they think.

Contact us

You can also email us on su-elections@qmul.ac.uk or message us via our Students’ Union social media pages – links to these are at the bottom of the webpage.