Your Officers

  union.president@foo@hw.ac.uk      0131 451 5333

As President, my focus is on academics and internationalisation. I work with the University’s Senior Management Team to ensure that you are at the heart of learning, teaching, research and innovation. My work spans across all five Heriot-Watt campuses and I work to support the Student Council teams in Dubai and Malaysia. Working with the VP’s and the Executive, my goal is to ensure you have the best possible student experience from Freshers to graduation.

Have suggestions or feedback about student experience? Want to learn more about advocacy campaigns and get involved? Well, get in touch with me! My door is always open…let's grab a drink in Geordies, or just follow Kieran's horrendous music to the Sabbatical Office.

  union.vpcommunity@foo@hw.ac.uk      0131 451 5333

Hi, I’m Kieran, and I’m your Vice-President Community. My role often gets referred to as Vice-President Fun as I’m the one that organises your Freshers Week and events throughout the year but my role is so much more than that!

As well as being here to help you organise Events or Activities, I’m also here to facilitate Volunteering and RAG efforts (Raising and Giving for charity), to help with Societies and Clubs, and to help out with any Housing or Transport issues you might run into. Basically, I’m here to make sure your student experience is the best experience it can be.

My remit may seem big, but thankfully, I have a team of fantastic Officers and Executives who will be working alongside me to help achieve these goals. Our biggest focus this year will be RAG and Volunteering; I'm hoping we can make this year the biggest year-to-date for charitable work because not only does giving back to those less fortunate help them, it also makes you feel good too!

We’ve got lots of Events already planned for this year, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled around campus and on our social media channels for updates and ticket info.

If you’ve any questions or ideas, regardless of whether it’s in my Remit, send me an email, find me on social media or catch me about campus – I’ll be about!

  union.vpwellbeing@foo@hw.ac.uk      0131 451 5333

I am Craig James Duffy, your Vice President Wellbeing. I have been working over the summer to ensure your student experience is the best it can be and I will be continuing that work throughout this year!

When I started University in 2015, I was eager to get involved with the University and became my Class Representative for the next two years. During that time I got to meet and discuss issues which affect students directly with members of the University Staff in order to improve the student life; it was an incredibly rewarding experience. I also joined Student Union Events Crew which is where I would engage with Union Staff and Sabbaticals. At the end of my 3rd year, I decided to run for Vice President (Wellbeing) and was, apparently, successful!

My Remit, Wellbeing, covers Equality and Diversity as well as Welfare. That means that if you are part of any of our liberation groups; Women’s, International, Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnicities, LGBT+, Disabled Students I will be working closely with your elected Officers alongside your Equality and Diversity Executive to ensure the University is providing your group with the support and services you require.

If you have any issues you'd like to help raise awareness of or if you need help with any issues, big or small let me know.

  union.vpsbc@foo@hw.ac.uk      0333 382 2230

Hello Scottish Borders students!

I’m your Vice President of the Scottish Borders campus. As you might have guessed I deal with campaigns and events at SBC. I’m the spokesperson for SBC students and look forward to helping you settle into Galashiels! 

  union.academic@foo@hw.ac.uk

I work closely with the President on all Academic issues and on the development of Learning and Teaching methods across the University. I also work closely with the School Officers and attend Student Staff Liaison Committee Meetings with Class Reps. As well as being a sitting member on the Executive Committee, I will also help oversee the new Academic Congress

  union.activities@foo@hw.ac.uk

My job involves overseeing Halls, Societies and Charities throughout the year, whether it be helping during Charities week or planning Society Slam Challenges! As well as sitting on the main executive committee, I work with the rest of the Community team to plan Freshers Weeks and other events whilst also supporting other executive and officer members with their campaigns!

  union.events@foo@hw.ac.uk

I work on all the great activities and events we have planned for you during Fresher’s and beyond! Make sure you get involved with our wide variety of societies or consider volunteering through the Watt Volunteers scheme.

  union.welfare@foo@hw.ac.uk

I work closely with the VP Wellbeing and the Advice Hub (a free student union run service that provides advice and support for you) to promote student wellbeing.

Look out for wellbeing and mental health week during the year which I’ll be helping to organise. Pet relaxation sessions, free stress packs and meditation things are just some of the things the union provides for you! 

  union.equalitydiversity@foo@hw.ac.uk

Hey, I’m Yusuf. I represent students and tackle issues relating to equality in both Galashiels and Edinburgh. My job involves working with VP Wellbeing and our Liberation Officers to promote and celebrate the diversity of cultures we have across all our campuses here at Heriot-Watt. This is done through Black History Month, LGBT+ History Month, Women’s Month, Global Day, etc.

I’m also a 4th year Chemical Engineering student. So whether you have a concern, an idea of what you want to see, or just need help with your mass balance, feel free to stop me in the middle of the corridor, or send me an email.

  union.postgraduate@foo@hw.ac.uk

The Postgraduate Officer’s main role is representing the academic or welfare issues of our postgraduate taught and research students. This involves sitting on our Postgraduate Representatives Group to air any issues they have and engaging with the Postgraduate Society to help them organise events.

  union.charities@foo@hw.ac.uk

This year, I am looking to assemble a team to help me fundraise, work with other charities and help out with charity events throughout the year. If you are interested in helping out and boosting your CV, drop me an email and I'll get back to you as soon as possible!

  union.halls@foo@hw.ac.uk

Our Halls Officer is one of the main contacts for any student currently living in halls that either has an issue or perhaps wants to arrange an event but doesn't know where to start. They attend regular meetings with our Halls Reps, and take on board any feedback they give to enable them to work better for the student population. They also promote our Battle of the Halls competition, and help ensure an accurate running total is kept of the points. As part of the Activities Team, they work with the VP Community and Activities Exec to plan events and activities for the semester.

  union.womens@foo@hw.ac.uk

The Women's Group at Heriot-Watt exists to provide support, opportunities and a place to socialise for all women at Heriot-Watt. We aim to represent all women in union meetings, fundraise for women's charities and allow women to network or make new friends.

  union.ethnicminority@foo@hw.ac.uk

I organise events to improve the representation of black and minority students on the campus. I work to improve the experience for our minority ethnic students and to put an end to discrimination. 

  union.disabled@foo@hw.ac.uk

I head up the Disabled Students Group here at HW and seek to fight inequality and injustice against disabled students. We strive to put the needs of disabled students at the forefront of the university’s mind. I arrange regular meetings for students with a range of disabilities. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with me and I’ll be happy to support you.

  union.trans@foo@hw.ac.uk

So, you’ve found yourself at the Officers section of the HW Student Union website and stumbled across some new faces. Possibly, mine is one of them, so I’ll let you know a bit about me and the role I play at the union.

Hi, I’m Ollie and I’m your Trans Officer for the academic year ahead. This year, I’ll be trying to make the university experience as gender-inclusive as possible. As well as working on set projects, such as gaining gender-neutral restroom facilities and organising all-gender and sexuality-inclusive sex education talks, I hope to be an approachable face around campus.

My job is to listen and act on transgender student’s worries and concerns, so if you’ve got anything you need to discuss (or just want a chat) please just drop me an email, message or find me around uni and I’ll do my very best to help!

Also if you’re shy like me and don’t really know how to start up a conversation with new people, video games, fantasy genres, fashion and music are always a good place to start with me 😉