Stand in the March Elections

From full-time, paid Sabbatical Officer positions to Liberation Officers, School, Section and Activities Representatives, this March we'll be elected over 50 student representatives.

Becoming an elected representative is a fantastic opportunity to have your say on the issues that really impact students' lives, gain valuable skills that will enhance your CV, and get more involved in the University community.

Students who run in our elections consistently describe it as rewarding, and say that win or lose, being a candidate is a great opportunity.

Nominations opened at 12pm on January 13th and will close at midnight on February 19th. You can nominate yourself by following this link or clicking the button below.

You can find out more information about the positions available below and if you're thinking about running but need some more time to decide, or know someone who should stand, click on the buttons below to let us know.

You can also email elections@eusa.ed.ac.uk with any questions and a member of the Students' Association's Representation and Democracy team will get back to you as soon as possible.

Becoming a Sabbatical Officer means working full-time for a year, with a salary of around £23,000, leading on Students' Association campaigns, and representing the interests of Edinburgh's 40,000 students. It's a fantastic opportunity to really shape students' lives as you work to influence the University, managing your own projects and developing the Students' Association's existing work, all while gaining valuable leadership experience within a charity with an annual income of over £12m.

Each Officer focuses on an area of students' lives from their welfare and wellbeing to their experience of learning and teaching, extra-curricular opportunities to their role in the local community, so there's a Sabbatical Officer role for everyone, whatever your previous experience or interests.

If you are a current student, becoming a Sabbatical Officer would mean taking a year out of your studies - for more information on how this works, check out our FAQs. You can also stand to become a Sabbatical Officer in your final year, meaning you would take up the role after you graduate.

You can find out more about the five Sabbatical Officer roles, including full role descriptions, at the links below.

President | Vice President Activities and Services | Vice President Community | Vice President Education | Vice President Welfare

Our Liberation Officers are volunteers who who work alongside their studies to support and campaign on behalf of Edinburgh's Black and Minority Ethnic (BME), disabled, LGBT+, trans and non-binary, and women students. Supported by the Vice President Welfare and staff within the Students' Association, they lead on projects to ensure that the experiences of Edinburgh's marginalised communities are on the University's agenda, and whether they're organising events or sitting in high-level University meetings, their focus is on empowering the students they represent.

There are five Liberation Officer roles - Black and Minority Ethnic Officer, Disabled Students' Officer, LGBT+ Officer, Trans and Non-Binary Officer, and Women's Officer - each with responsibility for representing a different community of students.

In order to stand as a Liberation Officer you must identify into the community you would be representing if elected. If elected, you would receive an honorarium of £1,200 - split into three payments across the year - in recognition of your commitment.

You can find out more about the five Liberation Officer roles, including a full role description, here.

Our Section Representatives give a voice to non-traditional students and those who may face additional barriers in accessing education. As a Section Representative you would be responsible for building supportive communities for the students you represent, and ensuring that their experiences are on the University's agenda.

In the past our Section Representatives have secured additional student funding for disadvantaged students, ensured key information on the University website is up-to-date, and run seasonal meet-ups.

There are five Section Representative roles up for election in March - Student Parents' Representative, Student Carers' Representative, Mature Students' Representative, Part-Time Students' Representative, and International Students' Representative.

In order to stand as a Section Representative you must identify into the community you would be representing if elected. The Section Representative role is a voluntary one, and is deliberately flexible - designed to fit around your studies and any other responsibilities you might have.

You can find a full role description for the Section Representative roles here.

As an undergraduate School Representative, you'll have the opportunity to really shape the experiences of students in your School. Whether you're passionate about feedback and assessment, or focused on building a supportive student community, our Undergraduate School Representatives have access to senior decision-makers within their Schools, and work to ensure that students' voices are being listened to on the issues that matter to them.

Many of our Undergraduate School Representatives have previously been Programme Representatives or involved in Peer Learning Schemes within their School, but there's no experience neccessary and the School Representative role is designed to be flexible, fitting around your studies and any other commitments you might have.

You can find a full role description for the Undergraduate School Representative roles here.

As an Activities Representatives, you'll be giving a voice to the students involved in societies like yours, ensuring that issues like space, funding and training are on the Students' Association's agenda. You'll also have a seat on Activities Executive where you'll be responsible for approving new societies and shaping the regulations that determine how societies and volunteering groups run.

Each of our Activities Representatives is responsible for one of fourteen society and volunteering group categories:

You can find out more about which societies sit under each category here.

You can find a full role description for the Activities Representative roles here.

Following our October elections, we still have seven places left for delegates to attend NUS Scotland Conference in March 2020. Attending NUS Scotland Conference is a great way to meet students from across the country, find out about student-led projects and campaigns at other universities and colleges, and shape the political direction of the National Union of Students.?

If elected, you'll attend the conference on March 19th and 20th, but you'll also be expected to work with the other delegates to ensure you're well-prepared - reading through the Conference motions and gathering student feedback.

As the Conference takes place in the 2019/20 academic year, any student can stand as a delegate, even if you will be graduating in 2020.

You can find a full role description for the NUS Conference Delegate roles here.

If you have any questions, just email elections@eusa.ed.ac.uk and a member of our Representation and Democracy team will be in touch as soon as possible.