Posted on Fri 03 Oct 2025 at 11:28 by
Anthony Foster I always like it when projects we work on come to fruition. They kind of creep up on you, happen and then they are done and we move on to the next thing (sometimes without a breath!). It was great to see the Student Community Code this week and thinking about the meetings we had with University, academics and ENSA staff and feeding it in to the Student Council and Reps for feedback. And now it is here and on posters around the University, but with about nine months of work behind it. The title also ties in with our new title for the Strategic Plan - the Student Community Development Plan. As if we designed it that way. Amazing!
SPORTS AND SOCIEITIES
We are doing some work on Sports and Socieities and we are asking students if they wish to start a club and how best to facilitiate that. Suggestions have (and can be made) and details can be found here. Staff also caught up with some University Deans to talk about Academic Societies. This week I was told we had 90 more members for clubs and societies than last year, which was a record breaking year. You can make friends, have fun and its great for future employment, improving your skills and your general health and well being. Behind the scenes we give a lot of support. So seek out a sports club or society that suits you today.
Please note due to inclement weather the beach clean at Portobello has been cancelled this weekend
WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY
We are celebrating this next Thursday 9th October and detail of the programme can be found here . Our events and welfare teams have been working on this with the University. There is lots of work behind these projects and I've seen the blog which will be shared soon about what goes on behind the scenes of our Advice Team. It's well worth a read to understand the inner workings of ENSA - check it out on this website next week.
START CAREER PLANNING
It's never too early to start planning for your career alongside your degree and extra curricular activities. Details of Careers Fairs happening next week can be found here with a really useful article on how doing something 'extra' can set you apart. I've seen this around the office this week with staff and sabbaticals popping off to do interviews for intern roles at ENSA with more interviews and job opportunities to come over the next few weeks with some roles currently being advertised . This creates a vibrant atmosphere around your Students' Association, has students doing specific activities, has students learning more about ENSA and giving their student voice. More importantly it makes students sometimes interested in doing and being more. This helps them be set apart when going for those future job interviews while providing, for some key roles, additional financial support for doing activities (this is provided as part of our annual grant from the University). We are very welcoming but well done to those students who take the next step and apply for these opportunities - paid or unpaid. It's not just a job - you are helping us become who we are as a membership led organsiation.
ARE YOU AN ENTREPRENEUR?
Meantime some people are already entrepreneurs on campus and we have a Makers Market for you in November and some people have been making their own movies that are showcased at the Edinburgh Napier Student Film Festival in November. So if you have a side hustle go for it and if you enjoy movies go and see the shortlisted films from all over the world. Work on the Film Festival started in January and these films have been selected by a jury of students and staff (they had to look through a LOT of films!). You can also get involved further by becoming a volunteer for the event - details here. This is great for our film students, events students, journalism students and more for real world experience on a big event. This year its even got a partnership with the British Council and £5000 of support. Wonderful!
We are building a community of activity with students at the heart of it, creating memories for life. What's next?
TONY FOSTER, CEO