Hull Students’ Union is best in the country!

10 July 2012

Hull University Union has been crowned the ‘Students’ Union of the Year’ at the National Union of Students Awards 2012

The award was presented at a glittering ceremony in Exeter, where the Union, which has some 22,000 members, was also applauded for its outstanding work in developing positive and inclusive community relations as it picked up the ‘Community Relations Award’.

Now in their fifth year, the NUS Awards highlight the achievements of Students' Unions, Students’ Union staff and officers as well as individual students from across the UK.

The award for ‘Students’ Union of the Year’ recognises the HUU’s active engagement with both prospective and current students, their constant strive for long term development and achieving high levels of student satisfaction.

Successful campaigns include the UniClub initiative, which continues the work of AimHigher and encourages local secondary school students to consider higher education.  The Students’ Union was also a keen campaigner for the redevelopment of the Brynmor Jones Library which has resulted in a multi-million pound investment.

The ‘Community Relations Award’ recognises the success of the Union-led campaign against the implementation of Article 4 Directions on Houses of Multiple Occupancy in the Newland Avenue area of Hull as well as the introduction of an effective Street Reps scheme which sees students work within the community to build relationships with local residents and help reduce noise.

It is the latest in a string of successes for the University and HUU. It comes in the same week that the Money Doctors project, a collaboration between the HUU Advice Centre and the University of Hull’s Student Support Services, won the Best Partnership Award in the 2012 National Association of Student Money Advisers Awards (NASMA). And in June, the HUU was also presented with an Innovative Student Engagement award we by the NUS in June for its work to engage with hard to reach demographics and deepen participation within our student representation system.

Aidan Mersh, outgoing President of HUU, said: “The ‘Students’ Union of the Year’ award shows appreciation for the hard work, dedication and the character of all those involved in HUU. Hopefully as an officer team in the past year we have shown our appreciation to those in the movement who have done great work for their fellow students.”

Professor Calie Pistorius, the University of Hull Vice-Chancellor, said: “This is a fantastic achievement and really demonstrates why students who come to the University of Hull enjoy their experience so much. The support offered by the Union in combination with that provided by the University creates a well-rounded experience that is reflected in our consistently high student satisfaction scores.”