Friday 03-09-2021 - 11:30

Update from Opportunties Officer, Jack Ballingham

During the past few academic years there have been periods of industrial action undertaken by the University and College Union (UCU). While staff have been taking part in these strikes, the University has withheld their pay for the duration of the action. For the last two rounds of strike action, this unspent money has been held in a special fund by the University, to be used for student development. A section of this fund was provided to Durham SU to cover the cost of academic societies so that they were available for free to all Durham students. 

Originally planned for two years, this scheme has now come to an end. However, a large part of the funds made available for the scheme still remains unspent; just under £87,000. Our academic societies do brilliant work in fostering Durham’s wider academic community, and in advancing students’ academic and career opportunities. They put students in touch with cutting edge research in their field, provide a social space to meet others on their course, and deliver guest lectures on subjects outside of their formal education. We want to continue making this important experience accessible to all our students, at no cost. That’s why myself and the other Officers have written to Alan Houston, the University’s Vice Provost (Education), requesting this remaining funding be made available for our students again this year. 

Academic societies are not the only way that we believe this funding could be used to benefit Durham students. For our postgraduate students, participation in the wider academic community is another crucial area in which this funding could be put to good use. In some cases, having to deal with much higher tuition fees and poorer funding opportunities, postgrads can be at the sharp end of the marketisation of our education system. This is made worse by the cost associated with engaging with the wider academic and research community. Subscribing to academic journals and magazines, becoming a member of a national academic society, attending academic conferences and events; all these activities are important for the postgrad experience, but all add even more financial burden on the individual student. That’s why we’re proposing to the University that part of the remaining funding also go towards the establishment of a new postgraduate participation fund, which would cover smaller costs such as these. 

2020-21 was a difficult academic year for everybody, so it’s perhaps unsurprising that students now feel more distant than ever from the wider learning community. Durham SU is committed to making education accessible to everybody, and the proposals we’re presenting to the University are one of the ways in which we’re striving to make concrete change for all of our members.