SU21 - Tasha Montgomery for Postgraduate Officer
My name is Tasha Montgomery and I am your current Postgraduate Officer. I am a working-class PhD student in the School of Mathematics and Physics. I completed my undergraduate Master’s degree (also in Mathematics, at Queen’s) in 2016.
If my eight years at Queen's has shown me anything, it is that the student movement directly influences and drives change. Our voices matter and should not be ignored. It has shown me that there are significant barriers to postgraduate study and that the experiences of Research students need continuous review and support for quality supervisions. You deserve to be equals in your education, not consumers.
When I ran last year, no-one knew the pandemic was coming. I made a promise to you all to make key changes within the university, and Students' Union. The cumulative effects of these strategic, minor changes have major scope across the board. While some of my projects have been side-lined due to prioritisation of the SU’s Covid-19 response, the groundwork has begun. My work is not yet complete and I have so much that I still want to do.
Please vote for me so I can finish the job and ensure the changes students need are followed through!
Read on if you want to learn more about what I’ve done so far and what is still ongoing.
Here’s what I am running on.
· Funding for Postgraduates: #FundOurPostgrads!
o Continue lobbying Stormont to ensure that no student faces financial barriers to their education.
o Increase pressure on the NI Executive to implement maintenance loans for postgrads and to properly funded tuition loans for our postgrad taught courses
o Fight for another round of funded extensions for PGR students. Further support is needed next year for all PGR students as research has been impacted by COVID-19. Especially current 1st and 2nd year PhD students.
o Secure an agreement for a PGT fee cap to prevent increasing costs.
o Continue with #StudentsDeserveBetter campaign fighting for refunds for students and extending monetary payments to all students.
· Mental Health Matters: We are in a mental health crisis and support is so vital!
o Platform mental health issues within the university, incorporating the PG Mental Health working group.
o Work with VP Welfare to design a Mental Health checklist and a toolkit for identifying poor mental health.
§ Campaign focusing on wellbeing problems within the postgrad community. This will be based on reducing the stigma around burnout and getting more students to speak out about toxicity in research and unrealistic academic pressures.
§ Ensure that mental health check-ups are available during key stress points in the year, such as differentiation and dissertation submissions. This is under review as we speak.
o Provide all Postgrad Reps with mental health first-aid training so they can better support their peers
· Representation, Educational Experience and Supervisions:
o This year Postgraduate Reps were elected for the first time. Since then, we’ve begun shaping the way this representation occurs within SU structures.
§ Internally selected research-cluster reps need to be included going forward.
o The Postgraduate Forum has been completed overhauled to allow for stronger voices and wider issues to be raised and discussed.
o Once in-person meetings are safe again, I intend to roll out the drop-in sessions at various locations during the week, both during and outside of the normal 9-5 for maximum accessibility.
o Expand the Supervisory Toolkit to include the PGT dissertation experience.
o Work to increase awareness to postgraduate opportunities for undergraduates so they make informed decisions.
· Community Building, Inclusion and Partnership:
o Develop a comprehensive events calendar of existing symposia and seminars across research centres to facilitate interdisciplinary learning for students.
o Better disability facilities in the Graduate School, including the loop system, more sign-language catered events and implementation of the JAM card scheme.
o Create a dedicated quiet room in the Graduate School.
o Multilingual Signage throughout the Graduate School to help welcome and assist our diverse international students. Negotiations are ongoing and more work is required for implementation within the building.
o Official Postgraduate Discord to run regular events and allow for better community discussion.
o Work with clubs and societies to encourage more PG memberships and engagement.
To see all the candidates running for this position, visit the QUB SU Website.