What do Derby students want to change about their experience at the University of Derby and how can it be done? Read more!
I'm sure we all remember that saying from childhood, your parents would tell you "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all". Well, during Freshers this year we tied a rock to that advice, threw it in the ocean and asked you to tell us, with brutal and unflinching honesty, what YOU wanted to see done better at the University of Derby and Union of Students.
At Freshers Fair this September, we held an Ideas Forum stall where we asked students to write down at least one thing which they really wanted to see done differently here, something they wanted to see added or something they really weren't happy with (with a little not-so-healthy-snack as a thank you for participating) - for example, 'i wish there were more veggie options at the canteen'.
This was amazingly successful and hundreds of you took part, giving us a real insight in to what's currently on the students' minds, so thank you so much to all of you who took part!
As you can see below, the themes were varied (and numerous!!). The word-cloud below shows the most recurring themes and the bigger the word or phrase is, this the more people gave us the same idea:-
Your wants and needs are really varied and this excercise really allowed us to see what's important to you (we were particularly thrilled to see ideas such as 'free pizza' and 'comfort kittens'....) As the word-cloud also shows - buses, parking and seating are some of the biggest issues to Derby students currently, with dozens of you providing us with the same suggestions. We didn't want this to just be a 'tell us what you think' exercise however, we of course want to hear your opinions but our aim is is to take what you want and try our best to make it a reality.
The Ideas Forum is the tool that we can all use make this happen. All you have to do is submit an idea to the Ideas Forum here https://www.derbyunion.co.uk/change/ideas/ get your friends/peers or any other Derby student to upvote your idea and if it reaches 25 upvotes we are duty-bound to act on it. You can upvote ideas you like and downvotes ones you don't (a-la Reddit) and you can cast as many votes as you like. How far we get on an idea relies on many things such as available funds and what the University says, but we will always do our very best to action your idea as best we can.
As buses, parking and seating are the biggest issues that came up from the Freshers Fair stall, we are putting these directly on to the Ideas Forum for you to vote on. Follow the link and vote, share the links with your friends and allow us to take action on the issues that matter to you most...
More Buses:- https://www.derbyunion.co.uk/change/ideas/?idea=210#idea210
More Seating in the Atrium/Canteen, Kedleston Road:- https://www.derbyunion.co.uk/change/ideas/?idea=197#idea197
More Parking at Kedleston Road: - https://www.derbyunion.co.uk/change/ideas/?idea=211#idea211
Remember, the Union of Students is completely separate from the University of Derby so you are free to voice your concerns and ideas without fear or hesitation. Real change comes from you and your voice so don't be afraid to use it, we promise we don't bite (but we do enjoy a cliche metaphor...)