Hi all! Your President of Student Experience, Amelia, here. Autumn term has whizzed by and I can’t believe it is almost the start of a new year. So much has been going on at AUBSU and I thought I would share some of the things I have been up to since Freshers’ week.
Dog on Campus!
On the 23rd October 2025, we had 5 furry friends from the charity Canine Concern visit our students on campus over in the AUBSU Activity room. It’s safe to say that this was a massive hit with our students and even staff!
After everyone has started to settle down from the excitement of Freshers’ week and the start of a new academic year, sometimes students experience a dip in moral from missing home, feeling the change from summer to the colder months and the stress of coursework might be starting to creep in. I wanted to bring some of the excitement back and offer a wellbeing boost by bring dogs on to campus.
These friendly faces are from charity Canine Concern who provide care dog visits to those who may benefit the most from such as care homes, hospitals, work places and schools. As a charity ourselves we know how important it is to support other charities which is why we made a donation to Canine Concern and thanked them for coming and supporting our students.
These dogs were as excited to meet the students as they were to meet them and the owners expressed that they don’t think their dogs have received so much attention as they did on this day! There was a long queue out of the AUBSU Activity Room which was great to see. Canine concern are eager to come back and students have not stopped asking when the dogs will return. Don’t worry! They shall be making a return in the new year so keep an eye out for any updates and this time we think we will find a bigger room to fit you all in.
16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Discrimination Exhibition
Throughout the past couple months I have been working hard to help the Soroptimists International Bournemouth organise their 3rd exhibition for the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Discrimination. I not only managed the open call to Students but got the opportunity to curate the exhibition itself with an AUB Alumni, Eliza Naden. We were all very proud in how the exhibition turned out and of the powerful artwork the students created.
This is such an important topic to raise awareness on and something I am very passionate about so to be able to be a part of all this and meet the amazing Soroptimists that continue to work to help raise awareness of the struggles people face was a privilege. I am very grateful to have been a part of something to moving and powerful.
During the time the exhibition was open (28th November – 5th December), we had over 550 people vote in the artwork that impacted them most and some very important guests. At the opening ceremony we had the HM Lord-Lieutenant of Dorset, Michael Dooley and local MP for Bournemouth West, Jessica Toale, open the exhibition. At the closing ceremony, where our prize winners were announced, we had both Mayors for Bournemouth and Poole, the local MP for Bournemouth East, Tom Hayes, and our very own Dean of the School of Art & Communication, Tim Metcalf attend.
We also appeared in the local newspaper twice!
Restocking the Student Food Pantry
As part of my campaign to help support students with the cost of living, I have been looking after the Student Food Pantry in the Library. There has been an increase in students again looking for support with having access to food so we are trying our best to keep restocking it when we can! We are also always looking for donations from staff or any students as well to help us make sure students always have access to food. So if you have any long shelf life foods that you would like to donate please bring it to our office. Also, if you have any suggests of what you would like to see in the pantry please let us know!
As part of this, we have been working on a partnership with Bournemouth Food Bank to achieve more support for students. Us and the other universities in Bournemouth are hopefully coming together more to help our students across the area. Bournemouth Food Bank has now opened a hub in Winton, the main area student live. Check out their website to see all their locations and when they are open: https://bournemouth.foodbank.org.uk/locations/
In addition to this, I have been making sure the bathrooms are regularly restocked with sanitary products. Please email us if any bathrooms are ever empty or feel free to come to our office to grab supplies, we have boxes full of them.
Cost of Living Fair
On the cold day of 25th November, I ran a Cost of Living Fair in the Courtyard. With the help of Bournemouth Food Bank, BCP Cost of Living, Lewis-Manning Hospice Care and Chartwells (AUB Catering Service), we set up a mini fair to show students the range of support and opportunities available to them… as well as give out some free items.
Chartwells showed students how much healthy and nutritious food you can make with just £10 and gave away free tasters of the food. Bournemouth Food Bank talked to students about what their favourite flavour of Angel Delight was as well as answering any questions about the support available to them alongside BCP Cost of living. Lewis-Manning set up a stall selling clothes from their charity shop and promoted volunteering opportunities. And Finally with the help of staff and students giving us mass amounts of donated clothes, books, kitchen supplies, materials and more we had several tables full of free things for students to rummage through and take as well as free hot drinks to give out.
The tables were almost empty by the end of the event and any clothes that were left over were donated to Lewis-Manning and anything else has plans to either make an appearance at the next Cost of Living Fair or will be donated to other charities too.
Have a Brew with AUBSU
We started running our monthly Have a Brew with AUBSU. This is a great opportunity for students to come chat to us, give us feedback and have free drinks and snacks.
Attending Important Meetings
Of course, amongst all the fun events we get to do, there are a lot of meetings to attend. I am a part of a wide range of working groups and committees that work to make sure the university is giving students the best experience they can and make the changes and improvements that need to happen to ensure this. I am there to be the voice of students and ensure that your ideas, concerns and questions are heard and answered.
You can see on my main page a list of all the committees and working groups that I am a part of.
