If September was about finding our feet, October was about breaking into a sprint, and I've loved every minute of it. It brought firsts, bold ideas, and conversations that will shape Brunel long after the leaves have finished falling. Grab a cuppa and let me tell you how the month unfolded.
Every Voice, One Table
The month opened with our very first Welfare and Inclusion Council meeting, and what a room it was. The Home, International, Commuter, Black, Disabled, Women's, and PGR Student Networks sat alongside the Pregnant Parents and Carers Network and the LGBTQIA+ Student Network. Nine networks, nine lived experiences, one agenda, and a whole lot of heart. It set the tone for the entire year.
And the networks have refused to coast. Many have already held several meetings and some seriously good socials, with food, drink, and games (competitive, naturally), while others are still finding their rhythm, and we're right there with them. Watching students from opposite ends of campus meet, laugh, and build community together has been the joy of my month. Now it's back to the drawing board with three questions: what worked, what can we do better, and how far can we go?
Brunel Humanitas: Thinking Big
The idea I'm most excited about is Brunel Humanitas, the accreditation framework Abhishek and I have been building. It's a joint Union and University framework that assesses the modules already within each programme of study against a shared set of learning outcomes, agreed together. Those outcomes go well beyond personal and professional development. They cover critical thinking, ethics, effective communication, responsible citizenship, civic engagement, and collaboration across courses and colleges. In short, the ingredients that make a Brunel student unmistakably a Brunel student.
Humanitas has already made the rounds: the University Senate, the Student Experience and Welfare Subcommittee of the University Council, and the deans. The response has been encouraging, and we're now stepping into the initiation and creation stage, with a dedicated lead to drive it forward. Here's the part that makes me grin: nothing quite like it exists in the sector, and we're in conversation with NUS about making it a national framework. Brunel, setting the standard.
Rewriting the Reading List
I also joined the Decolonising the Curriculum working group, teaming up with two brilliant members of the Afro-Caribbean Medical Society: Lydia Olika, their Chair, and Naomi Duru, their Vice Chair. Together we put together a paper submission built around one deceptively simple question: how do we make the curriculum more inclusive and more reflective of the students who actually learn from it? Get that right, and we help close the awarding gap and build a Brunel where everyone thrives equally.
Thursdays Are for Listening
My weekly drop-ins, What's Your Story, run every Thursday from 12 to 2pm. Pull up a chair and tell me what's working, what isn't, and what you'd change. Praise, complaints, wild ideas: all welcome, and all received with open arms. We follow up on everything and report back, because feedback without a reply is just shouting into the void. So many students have told me how much it means to feel genuinely heard, and honestly, it means just as much to me.
What's Brewing
We've started conversations with the Meeting House and religious societies about an interfaith council, an idea that also came up at the Welfare and Inclusion Council. There's an EDI at 60 festival on the horizon too, in collaboration with the university, the Union, societies, and our local community. And at our first Brunel 66 meeting, issues like the student life apps made it onto the table, which brings me to my biggest takeaway of the month.
We need to get better at how we engage with students, because every one of you deserves to feel part of this community. I have a few ideas up my sleeve, and I can't wait to share them in November. Until then, come and find me on a Thursday. The kettle's metaphorically on, and I'd love to hear your story.