Union Council update May 2026 | Imperial College Union

On the 26th May 2026, Union Council met to consider a range of decisions relating to governance, representation and student experience.

The agenda followed the following papers:

Trustee Ratification (Union President)
Postgraduate Representation Restructure (DP Welfare)
IZI 2: “You Thought You Could Just Leave ICU On Read?” (Ethics & Environment Officer)
Amendments to Bye-law F (Officers of the Union)
Amendments to Bye-law L (Constituent Unions)
Union Digital Systems & Membership Engagement Update (ICU staff)
Democracy Review Update (ICU staff)

We started with our decision papers, beginning with trustee ratification, where Council approved the reappointment of two student trustees to the Board for 2026–27. This led to a wider discussion about transparency in appointment processes and ensuring strong representation across faculties and postgraduate cohorts.

We then moved on to the Postgraduate Representation Restructure, which was approved and will introduce new Postgraduate Taught (PGT) and Postgraduate Research (PGR) roles within constituent unions, as well as a Postgraduate Representation Chair and a tailored structure within the Faculty of Medicine. These changes are designed to improve how postgraduate issues are escalated, strengthening support and community for those students.

Council also unanimously passed the IZI 2 paper, committing the Union to push for greater transparency and meaningful student input in the University’s Imperial Zero Index decision‑making, particularly around fossil fuel partnerships, with further escalation planned if progress is not made by June.

We then moved on to governance papers, where Council approved updates to Bye-law F and Bye-law L, helping to clarify officer roles and responsibilities and their subsequent accountability mechanisms. Alongside this, we had a number of broader updates, including a Digital Systems and Membership Engagement update, which highlighted ongoing work to rebuild the Union’s online shop and improve overall system usability following student feedback. Council raised concerns about user experience, communication and transparency around costs, and agreed a number of actions to improve this moving forward. We also heard a Democracy Review update, with continued feedback around representation gaps following changes to officer roles, and confirmation that further work, including a Board Effectiveness Review (which is currently taking place).

Overall, this meeting focused on strengthening postgraduate representation, improving our governance systems and responding to student concerns on systems and democracy.