LeadLUU
LeadLUU – What does that mean?
LUU is led by students, and every year students get to choose who represents them during LeadLUU, the annual student leadership election.
It’s your chance to stand for an elected student leadership role, vote for the people you think will represent students best and help shape the direction of your Students’ Union.
Who gets elected?
There are currently 15 elected student leadership positions at LUU.
Student Executive Officers
There are five full-time Student Executive Officers.
They are elected by students and work at LUU full-time during their term of office. Together, they represent students and work with students, LUU staff, the University and external organisations to make change happen.
The five student Executive positions are:
- Academic experience
- International Experience
- Opportunities and Development
- Union Affairs and Community
- Welfare and Liberation
Student Executive Officers can work on everything from improving university services and student support to running campaigns, representing students nationally and working with local decisionmakers.
Engagement Leaders
There are also part-time Engagement Leaders, work alongside the Student Executive Officers.
They help students get involved, build community and influence change in their areas of work.
There are two groups of Engagement Leaders:
Liberation and Identity Engagement Leaders, who focus on liberation, identity and making sure marginalised and underrepresented students are heard and worked with.
Faculty Engagement Leaders, who focus on students’ academic and faculty experiences.
What do elected student leaders actually do?
There’s no single “typical day” for an elected student leader.
They might:
- Meet with students to hear about their experiences
- Work with LUU staff to improve services
- Meet with university staff and decision makers
- Support or lead campaigns
- Work with clubs, societies, reps and student groups
- Speak to local councillors, the Mayor or MPs
- Connect LUU with national student campaigns and organisations
- Develop new projects and initiatives and help turn student ideas into action
- Represent LUU and its students at meetings and events
Most importantly, they work with students.
Being elected is about listening to students, understanding what matters to them and working with them to make change happen.
How do elections work?
Step 1 - Nominations open
Want to stand for election? You'll first need to nominate yourself for a role.
Nominations open before the main election period, giving you time to decide which role is right for you.
Step 2 - Get support and training
You won't be expected to know everything straight away.
LUU's Student Voice and organising teams support candidates throughout the process, including training and guidance on campaigning.
You'll get help understanding the election, developing your ideas and communicating with students.
Step 3 - Campaign
Once nominations close, candidates have a period to campaign.
This is your opportunity to tell students who you are, what matters to you and why you think you'd be the right person for the role .
Campaigning can take lots of different forms, and you'll be given guidance on what you can and can't do.
Step 4 - Students vote
Students vote online during the election period.
LUU uses Single Transferable Voting (STV) – where rather than just choosing 1 person to vote for, students can rank the candidates in the order you'd like them to be elected - 1st choice, 2nd choice, 3rd choice and so on.
This means you can vote for the candidate you like best while also ranking other candidates.
Step 5 - Results night
Once voting closes, the votes are counted and the results are announced.
Results night is a chance to celebrate everyone who took part, congratulate the successful candidates and look ahead to the year of student leadership to come.
When does LeadLUU happen?
The main LeadLUU Election takes place in early Term 2, usually between February and March.
However, if you’re thinking about standing, don’t wait until February. Nominations open earlier, and you’ll have time to prepare, take part in training and plan your campaign.
Why should I run?
You don’t need to have been a Rep, ran a campaign or held a leadership position before.
You might have experienced something at university that you think needs to change, make sure students like you are better represented, you might have an idea for something LUU could do differently or you might simply want to spend a year working with other students to make university life better.