There are over 400 positions available in the Autumn Elections. Every single student at Imperial College London is eligible for at least one role - which ones will you nominate yourself for?
- Academic Representatives speak up for students on education issues such as coursework, feedback and learning resources
- Wellbeing Representatives campaign and lobby on issues affecting students' lives, such as stress, finances, relationships and health
- Council Ordinary Members propose and agree Imperial College Union's policies on critical issues such as tuition fees, widening access and the environment
- Constituent Union leaders organise social events and campaigns within their communities, as well as maintain Imperial's traditions and mascots
- Our Gender Equality Officer is one of our Liberation Officers, leading campaigns on gender discrimination
- Our Departmental Society committee members arrange activities, trips and careers events for all students in their department
Become an Academic Representative
Imperial College Union works in close partnership with the College to maintain the quality of the Imperial educational experience. At the heart of this partnership is the Academic Representation Network, which brings together over 400 student volunteers from every campus, department and faculty.
Academic Representatives are students who volunteer to speak up for their peers and to collaborate with senior academics and professional staff to tackle problems within their course. Our Reps have succeeded in making significant and long-lasting improvements in a wide range of areas, such as the content of curricula, feedback quality and timeliness, exam timetables and formats, online learning resources, and the physical facilities available to our students.
The Autumn Elections is an opportunity for every single student to become an Academic Representative. The following roles are available:
- Year Representatives - two Reps for each year of Undergraduate study in each department. Role description
- Course Representatives - at least one Representative for many of the Master's courses available at College. Role description
We also have Academic Reps for the Horizons courses available to Undergraduates. As students are still choosing their Horizons course at the start of the academic year, elections for these Reps will take place later this term. Many Master's courses and PhD groups will have Academic Representatives elected locally - please contact representation@imperial.ac.uk if your course or PhD group is not available on the Nominations page.
Become a Wellbeing Representative
New for 2017 is our Wellbeing Representation Network - a project unique amongst British universities, bringing student volunteers together to identify and tackle wellbeing, pastoral and mental health issues across the Imperial community.
The Wellbeing Representation Network will radically increase our capacity to tackle the academic, social and emotional challenges of studying at Imperial College London, by bringing together student volunteers from across the Imperial community.
Wellbeing Representatives will work with College staff, Welfare Officers and Academic Representatives to tackle big issues such as stress and pressure, mental health, the quality of personal tutoring, how our students are supported to be resilient and independent, the transition back into study for students who took time off, and more.
The following roles are available:
- Wellbeing Representative - four Reps for each department. Role description
- Departmental Wellbeing Representative - one or two roles leading Wellbeing work in each department. Role description
The Wellbeing Representation Network will be piloted for Postgraduates through a small number of selected volunteers, including the existing Academic & Welfare Officers of the Graduate Students' Union. If you are a Postgraduate interested in the Wellbeing Representation Network, please contact us on representation@imperial.ac.uk.
Join Union Council
Union Council is where our biggest political decisions are made. Council brings together student leaders from across all of Imperial College Union's activities - our Officer Trustees, Constituent Union leaders, senior Academic & Wellbeing Representatives, Liberation Officers, and Management Group Chairs. We also have sixteen Ordinary Members, made up of Undergraduate and Postgraduate students from across Imperial's faculties.
Ordinary Members speak up for the students in their Faculty on a wide range of issues, adding their views and opinions to those of student leaders of other areas of Imperial College Union's activities. Ordinary Members can lead debates and propose policies and stances on a wide range of issues. In recent years, Ordinary Members have led or influenced our stances on tuition fees, environmental change and ethical investment, bursaries and widening participation, and much more.
You can learn more about Union Council and the importance of democracy to Imperial College Union here.
The following roles are available:
- Engineering Ordinary Member (Undergraduate) - 4 roles
- Engineering Ordinary Member (Postgraduate) - 3 roles
- Natural Sciences Ordinary Member (Undergraduate) - 3 roles
- Natural Sciences Ordinary Member (Postgraduate) - 2 roles
- Medicine Ordinary Member (Undergraduate) - 2 roles
- Medicine Ordinary Member (Postgraduate) - 1 role
- Non-Faculty Ordinary Member - 1 role
- This role is available to students of the Imperial College Business School and the Centre for Languages, Culture and Communication as well as any other student not affiliated to a particular Faculty
Take part in your Constituent Union
Our Constituent Unions maintain the rich history and traditions of the various communities and academic disciplines within the wider Imperial student body. There are six Constituent Unions, one each for our Engineers, Scientists, Miners, Medics, Postgraduates and for students based at our Silwood Park campus. Unique to Imperial, the historic origins of our Constituent Unions can be explored here.
The following roles are available:
- City & Guilds College Union
- Graduate Students' Union
- Treasurer
- Secretary
- Marketing & Publicity Officer
- Sports & Activities Officer
- Events Officer
- Academic & Welfare Officer (one each for Medicine, Business School, Engineering, Life Sciences, and Physical Sciences)
- Website Officer
- Sponsorship Officer
- Outreach Officer
- Royal College of Science Union
Gender Equality Officer
The Gender Equality Officer is one of our nine Liberation Officers, students elected to campaign and lobby on a specific area. The Gender Equality Officer leads campaigns on gender and sex discrimination - tackling these issues within the Imperial community and beyond. More details about this role can be found here.
Join your Departmental Society Committee
Every student is automatically a member of their Departmental Society, or DepSoc - organising socials, activities and careers events for all students of a particular subject. The following DepSoc roles are available:
- Biochemistry Society
- Postgraduate Representative
- Biology Society
- Postgraduate Representative
- Publicity Officer
- Chemistry Society
- First Year Representative
- Industrial Relations Officer
- Postgraduate Chair
- Sports Officer
- Physics Society
- Tours Officer