On Saturday 12th February, four candidates for Guild Postgraduate Officer accepted the invitation from BURN FM to be interviewed by Sonny Elliott, Kitty Grant and Seth Nobes about their campaigns. This is what they had to say. The candidates are listed in alphabetical order by their surnames.

Ben ‘Big Ben’ Lockley

‘I’ve been at Birmingham since 2018,’ said Ben when asked about why he was running for Postgraduate Officer, ‘and I have developed a very clear understanding of some of the issues that postgraduate students face and the wider student body.’ The issues he listed include ‘cost of living and housing for postgrads,’ the ‘root causes of poor mental health,’ and said he aimed to ‘revive a postgraduate student experience.’ ‘There are so many areas where the Guild can be making a difference for postgrads.’ He went on to commit to being ‘a really active officer’ with ‘a lot of passion and a lot of drive.’

When asked about his manifesto, Ben described it as ‘comprehensive’, admitting that some promises were to ‘catch people’s attention’ while still being ‘implementable.’ He went on to say he ‘wants to work 24/7 for students, I want to be really accessible,’ adding ‘I won’t be swallowed up into a bureaucracy, I want to be that independent voice’ who is ‘not scared to speak out when I see something’s wrong.’

Ben also called for more regular postgraduate forums and emphasised the importance of ‘hands-on accessibility.’ He aims to ‘be in more WhatsApp groups, more Facebook Messenger groups for different years and different courses,’ and wanted to promote a ‘walk-in policy for the Guild Office.’

I won’t be swallowed up into a bureaucracy, I want to be that independent voice

Policies he promoted during the interview include ‘taster sessions for undergraduate students at UoB who are thinking of becoming postgrads’ as well as a ‘Rate Your Landlord scheme.’ He also wants to ‘revive postgraduate societies,’ calling for a ‘proper offer of an academics society, a proper offer of a freshers, a proper Postgraduate Ball.’

The discussion then changed to the current incumbent, Danielle Murinas, who he said ‘has done a great job’ despite it being a ‘particularly difficult year for the Guild.’ He praised her for the ‘brilliant job of bouncing back from the p

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

andemic’ but there was still ‘a lot more to build on.’

When asked about improving education and careers prospects for postgraduate students, Ben pledged to ‘fight to end deadline clumping, not just for postgraduates but for all students,’ and described the wait for Reasonable Adjustment Plans lasting weeks or months as ‘unacceptable.’ He wants to encourage the promotion of a ‘Guild guide to access welfare tutors’ for postgraduate students who are new to Birmingham, and wants to work with the Careers Network to ‘highlight how you access support.’ With regards to communications from the Guild, Ben is calling for ‘more regular updates from the Guild via email regarding what’s out there.’

Ben’s response to questions about his manifesto being achievable highlighted the fact that for some issues his role can only go so far as a ‘lobbying voice,’ but that he was determined to ensure tuition fees paid by postgraduates ‘is being spent on their experience here.’

He also dismissed the idea that Guild Officers do not do anything, but says the Guild should do better at ‘making sure achievements are championed,’ and wants to bring ‘new ideas’ to the Guild in the role.

Lakshmi Pillai

When asked why she decided to run for Postgraduate Officer, Lakshmi admitted it was ‘on a whim,’ but realises ‘power is a way to exercise agency over a certain situation.’

Talking about her strengths for the role, Lakshmi said ‘I’m someone who can empathise with a whole range of people,’ and pointed to her ‘empathetic strength’ that can help her. She said she is someone who ‘deals with every problem as efficiently as possible without victimising the person who’s going through the problem.’

When asked if she would do anything differently to the current Postgraduate Officer, Lakshmi pointed to some of the issues international postgraduate students specifically have faced, as ‘many of them had to quarantine’ when coming into the country, and as a result there were a ‘number of postgrad events that were being held during the first week – a lot of them weren’t able to attend.’ She described this as ‘quite a major oversight.’

If elected Lakshmi spoke of her aim to ‘organise more postgraduate mixers,’ saying ‘a more regular event would be more well received.’ Despite this she acknowledged the challenge to ‘balance a fine line between being as inclusive as possible but at the same time giving someone their space.’

My manifesto is realistic because it acknowledged that there are going to be a few hurdles

Nonetheless she feels she is realistic with the aims on her manifesto, and understands that ‘when you start facing specific problems, going through a streamlined process to find a viable solution will probably be challenging,’ adding ‘my manifesto is realistic because it acknowledges that there are going to be a few hurdles.’

With regards to leadership experience, Lakshmi mentioned in passing her roles at school, but emphasised ‘I’ve always been running away from power but I’m here to embrace it again.’ She was then asked about her plans to help postgraduates access funding, and replied ‘if this is an issue that postgraduates have then I’m willing to give it my all to make sure we have avenues for funding as much as possible.’

Lakshmi also wants postgraduates and undergraduates to be treated ‘with the same respect,’ and ensure they are ‘on an equal footing in every way possible.’ She concluded her interview by relaying her slogan: ‘Embrace Power.’

Alex Stanier

Alex Stanier is studying for an MSci in Health, Safety & Environment Management, and told Redbrick she decided to run for Postgraduate Officer because ‘I love being a postgrad and I just want to help the other postgrads […] have a better experience.’

Alex said ‘I want to increase the amount of opportunities and events there are for postgraduates to make them feel like they belong here,’ which would include ‘socials,’ ‘workshops to help people […] understand how things work,’ and ‘a big focus on welcome week.’

When asked what sets her apart from other candidates, Alex said, ‘I know this Uni really well, I work at Joe’s so I’ve seen a lot of people throughout the years, and I’ve spoken to a lot of people. I’ve also been a college rep for LEES.’

Alex thinks the current Postgraduate officer, Danielle Murinas ‘is doing a really good job,’ but if elected, she says ‘I would publish what I’ve achieved a bit more, make it a bit more obvious what I’ve actually done.’

While some may criticise Guild officers for not doing enough, Alex says ‘it’s just something people say, they just don’t see what you’re doing because sometimes it’s a bit more subtle compared to big things that people do […] little things like helping with the pandemic are not obvious things but they are things that they’ve been doing, so you just have to ignore it.’

Alex has leadership experience as ‘a senior assistant at Joe’s which is kind of like a supervisor, so I lead the team […] I’ve also been on a couple of society committees, I was Geology Society Social Sec.’

When asked about ‘panic masters,’ Alex told Redbrick ’I think they are good for the uni, and I think it’s a good chance for people to expand on their knowledge and get a further qualification, but I do think that people choose to do a panic masters not really knowing about the course, so I just want to emphasise the importance of researching the course and knowing everything they can before they make that decision.’

Alex then said, ‘I want [the University] to tell people about the hidden course costs and commitments because they’re really not good at publishing that information.’ ‘I think they should publish it on the pages […] and also make it known on open days.’ She continued, ‘they need to advertise open days a bit more, advertise the opportunities,’

The Uni needs more transparency and they also need to highlight the opportunities for postgrads

In terms of how the University supports postgraduate students financially, Alex said, ‘I think they could do a little bit more to help out students, especially ones who are choosing to stay.’

When asked how the University and the Guild fails postgraduate students, Alex said, ’they fail them by making them feel really excluded from the rest of the student body.’

Many postgraduate students are often reluctant to get involved with societies, but Alex said ‘it’s making sure that they know that the societies are there for them […] even if they’re only here for a year they can still get involved and they can still make a difference, especially PhD students.’ She emphasised that ‘any age can join any society.’

Finally, Alex told Redbrick, ‘the Uni needs more transparency and they also need to highlight the opportunities for postgrads.’

Elizabeth Talatu Williams

A current International Development masters student, Elizabeth Talatu Williams is running for Postgraduate Officer with a manifesto that emphasises ‘Information Dissemination,’ ‘Professional Skills & Development,’ ‘Inclusive Social Events & Networking,’ and ‘Wellbeing Support.’ She told Redbrick she decided to run because ‘postgraduate students have, over time, been left out in terms of programmes, and in terms of ensuring their voices and needs and interests have been heard at the school level, so I plan to be able to bridge that gap.’

With regards to what makes her standout above other candidates, Elizabeth says, ’I currently serve as a student rep which has enabled me to face a lot of postgraduate students, it has enabled me to find some of the pressing issues that we have, so I’m not just speaking of things that I might have heard or read somewhere, but I’m talking about my own personal experiences and also experiences of my fellow students […] it puts me in a better position to address some of those needs and challenges.’

For Elizabeth, transparency and open sharing of information is key for postgraduate students. She said ’I know that the school has a lot of resources for postgraduate students, but a lot of postgraduate students do not have this information for them to capitalise on, and so I plan to bridge that gap by ensuring that postgraduate students have easy access to postgraduate-tailored information and I plan on doing this by leveraging the social media platform which the postgraduate officer has, and having a dedicated newsletter for postgraduate-specific information, as well as working with the student reps.’

There’s been a gap between the Guild officers and the students […] I plan on bridging that gap

While some may critics Guild officers for not doing enough, Elizabeth says, ‘there’s kind of been a gap between the Guild officers and the students for which they are serving […] and one of the things I plan on doing is bridging that gap so that students have easy access to who their officers are, because if I don’t know who my officers are then I don’t even know how to engage them with the issues and the challenges that I might have.’

Elizabeth then told Redbrick, ‘I’ve been working in the development sector for the past seven to eight years, I currently have my own non-governmental organisation back home in Nigeria,’ which she believes gives her the leadership skills she would need as Postgraduate Officer.

With regards to how achievable her manifesto is, Elizabeth said, ‘I understand that one year could be a very short period to get all of these things done, but one of the things I plan on doing is […] working with the other team members. So for example, the International Officer, I was opportune to have conversations with some of those aspiring to have the International role and I can see that some of the things I want to do and some of the things they want to do align.’

To help bridge the gap between undergraduates and postgraduates, Elizabeth suggested ‘Hav[ing] knowledge sharing sessions, so I believe that having postgraduate students who are currently here sharing their own experiences with students who are aspiring for their postgraduate programme definitely would help […] another thing that I am also planning to do is to put the spotlight on postgraduate students who are currently in Birmingham doing amazing work. I feel that a lot of times […] they are not recognised for the amazing work they are doing.’

A major element of Elizabeth’s manifesto is the focus on community based support groups. She explained this to Redbrick as: ‘Community based support basically just means that, you know, the University of Birmingham is a very diverse community, we have people from different races, different ethnic groups, and so for me I just want to be able to establish community based support groups, this way these different communities will be able to come together, share their experiences together, what their challenges are, and come up with solutions together […] because we are diverse, because our needs are different, definitely our solutions should also be different. We can’t tailor one solution to everybody’s challenges.’

Finally, Elizabeth said, ’the postgraduate officer is not possible without the postgraduate students.’

 

The other candidates running for this role are Chiko, Abdullah Alghamdi, Rahul Ravindranath, Damodhar Janarthanan, Muhammed Yusuf Ozdemir, Maven Nongrum, Kirk Baker, Ravindra Pracheth, and Alex Stanier. Voting opens at 10am on Monday 28th February on the Guild website and closes on Friday 4th March at 4pm.

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Read more candidate interviews here: