Volunteering is an amazing way to enhance your University experience as it is a brilliant way to give back to the community, develop new skills and make new friends.
On the Volunteer Hub you can search and apply for volunteering opportunities and record your volunteer hours which can be used towards the Stellify Award and the Manchester Leadership Programme. To complete the “Make a Difference” section of Stellify you need to complete 25 hours of verified community-based volunteering.
Even if you are not currently in Manchester you can find organisations locally, nationally and internationally and there are a variety of phone and online opportunities that you can do from home including supporting other students through to getting involved in charities and not-for-profit organisations in the wider community. I have been a volunteer at my local swimming club for the past 5 years which I was able to register as independent volunteering towards Stellify.
Course/Student Rep
Course reps are students voted in by their peers to act as the representative for their particular programme or school who act a formal channel of communication between the students they represent and university staff. Therefore, course reps fulfill an important role in actively encouraging student involvement and help resolve any matters that may arise. You will need to be able to gather feedback then present this and other ideas back to committees, be able to organise your diary as well as having a positive and creative approach to problem-solving when working with University staff. Anyone can be a student rep, you will receive training to help build your skills and understand the needs of the role. Becoming a rep will enable the opportunity to develop and strengthen your leadership skills as you play an active role in shaping the delivery of your education.
There are also student reps for AMBS; I have been a student rep for the past year whilst I have been on placement and throughout 3rd year. This has involved me speaking to 2nd-year students about my experience on placement at IBM in Q&A sessions and assisting at prospective student events where I have spoken about IBFE. The events are really rewarding and provide a great opportunity to meet new people whilst also giving me the opportunity to practice my public speaking.
Wellbeing Champion
As a Wellbeing Champion, you support The University in creating awareness of Manchester Six Ways to Wellbeing. As part of the stellify programme, this scheme gives you a chance to demonstrate your skills and willingness to contribute to the student community. Every three months the University focuses on a different way to promote well-being and wellbeing champions encourage students and staff to try small and simple activities to keep feeling good and living well. Wellbeing champion’s role is to support the current theme if that's promoting a Wellbeing Event, running your own event or creating content on social media and blog posts.
