Union Council update June 2026 | Imperial College Union

On the 9th June 2026, Union Council for the last Council meeting of this academic year.

The agenda followed the following papers:

Commercial Report (ICU Commercial Services)
Operational Planning Priorities 2026/27 (Managing Director)
Threshold Student Experience (Imperial Staff / Education Office)
Online and AI-based Sexual Abuse (Mental Health Officer)
Honorary Life Membership (Council Chair)
Officer Trustee Report (Officer Trustees)
Consultation: Steps Toward an ICU AI/LLM Policy (Ethics & Environment Officer)

We started with discussion papers, beginning with a Commercial Update, which highlighted strong performance across Union services, including over 11,000 dishes served since the launch of in-house catering and continued growth in events and venue engagement.

We also heard about progress on the EPOS replacement and the upcoming full launch of the Impowered Student Temp Agency. There were additional updates on the ongoing work to maintain affordability in our food offering despite inflation.

We then moved on to Operational Planning Priorities for 2026/27, where Council fed into emerging themes such as improving staff capacity, strengthening digital systems, enhancing communication, and developing clearer customer service standards. This was followed by the Threshold Student Experience paper and consultation, which looked at seven ‘touchstones’ (including support, wellbeing, learning and space) aimed at creating a more consistent student experience across campuses.

We then moved on to decision papers, where Council approved a paper on Online and AI-based Sexual Abuse, committing the Union to push for stronger education, clearer reporting mechanisms, and explicit inclusion of this issue within College policy and consent training. Council also approved Honorary Life Memberships for a number of outgoing officers and student leaders in recognition of their contributions to the Union.

Following on from this, we heard the Officer Trustee Report, which covered ongoing work across housing, transport, AI in education, student employment opportunities and welfare initiatives, as well as continued engagement with the University on key priorities. Finally, Council discussed the development of an ICU AI/LLM Policy, opening conversations around the ethical, environmental and academic implications of AI use and how the Union should respond moving forward.

Last but not least we thanked the Union Council chair, Anthea MacIntosh- LaRocque for their hard work and dedication over the last few years to ensure we have a robust democratic voice. The newly elected 26-27 Union Council chair is Yuanze Xia, who will agree on dates of Union Council for the next academic year.