Joe Kennedy for Business & Law Rep Manifesto
My names Joe Kennedy and I’m running for College Rep for Business & Law 2013/14. I am passionate about the position and will dedicate my term to representing the interests of all the students of the college of business and law and fighting for the changes we need.
Employment The college of business & law covers a huge range of diverse courses resulting in many different degrees. What unites the courses is that all they degrees can lead to employment in the same firms. My aim is to make graduates of the college of business & law the most attractive of their kind in the country. This will involve talking with these large firms and finding out what improvements they would like to see and lobbying the college to implement such changes. I want to give students of the college more opportunities to develop skills that employers are looking for. I want to make it easier for students to take language modules if they can’t currently. I’m going to give students assistance in writing CVs so that prospective employers can see just how skilled the students of UCC Business & Law really are. Experience is one thing we all know prospective employees look for. Therefore I want to increase the opportunities for students of the college to get summer placements and internships. This will involve developing new partnerships with many employers both big and small. I also want to provide help to students when filling out applications for internships so that they maximise their chances of getting a competitive placement. My aim is that every student of business & law who wants a placement will be able to get one.
Library Extending library hours has become a stock provision of manifestos for every position in the past number of years. This is because of its seeming popularity; if you were to ask a student (myself included) if they would like to see the library hours extended, they answer would be almost universally positive - but whether we’d actually use these hours is another question. Every time you scan your student card to go into the library it’s registered so that the library knows when business and law students use it. I will use this information along with a student survey I plan to conduct to find out what you actually want from the library: what times you use it, facilities you require and any other issues you may have. With such an arsenal of information we will finally see library reform for the students of business & law.
Module Choice: Choosing the right modules is essential for every student of business and law; it can effect employment, what type of degree you get and how much you enjoy your course. I will assist all students in every way I can in making this decision. I will create greater opportunities for students to meet with their prospective lecturers and tutors and also students who have completed the module so that they can decide if it’s right for them. I will also create a database of former student’s assessment of modules; these assessments won’t be the college trying to promote a particular module or tell you how great the college is – it will be honest feedback from those who have been to the lectures and sat the exams.
Timetables: Some students have raised concerns over their timetables, particularly when they frequently have just an hour off between lectures. This isn’t enough time to go to the library or run home for a cheeky nap. It would be far easier and more productive for students of business and law to have their timetable structured in such a way that they have breaks of several hours at a time. I am of course aware that timetabling is very complex and takes a great deal of time to finalise but this is no excuse for not making changes that would help students. I am committed to fighting for changes to timetables that students want and need.
Relevance When thinking about running for this position and getting signatures for the nomination I found that many students couldn’t name the current rep and some didn’t even know the position existed. If I am elected this will change. I am going to be coming to your classes and talking to you about your issues and what you’d like to see changed. I will go to as many of your lectures and tutorials as I can to see first-hand what your college experience is like. If you have an assignment I’m going to know about it and put pressure on the college to have your assignment corrected promptly and returned with adequate feedback. I will give you monthly updates on my activities so that you can assess whether I am doing the job you’ve elected me to do.