Guild Catch Up: February 2024

Welcome back to the Guild Catch-Up series! As your Guild Executives are elected by students into a paid role, we find it important to provide as much clarity as possible to students and created this series to show you what your elected students have been up to. This is a monthly series, so stick around and hold your QUT Guild Executive accountable and keep in the loop with what’s going on with our organisation.

All executives (including Glass editors) are required to submit a report to council, outlining what they have been working on since the previous council meeting. These reports are then uploaded to the publicly available SharePoint so that any student can read them. To make things a little easier, we compile them in these Catch Up articles. Keep reading to find out what your elected officers have been up to.

President – Aaron Bui

Three-day directorship course at the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Three management catch-up meetings (between Governance team & General Manager)
Board meeting & board debrief.
Council of Australian Postgraduate Association (CAPA) meeting (with Postgrad Officer, Secretary & other universities).
Visa Support Initiative – meeting with Advocacy, Engagement Officer & Department of Home Affairs representative.
Three meetings with Executive Director of Student Services and Wellbeing.
Meeting with QUT Registrar.
Meeting between Guild management & HR.
QUT College Academic Board Meeting.
Strategy meeting with GPS.
UQ Market Day with Clubs Coordinator.
SSAF Commitee meeting.
Executive meeting.
Welcome Week stalls.
University Health, Safety and Environment Commitee meeting.

Secretary – Juliet Veskova

Organised information, corresponded questions/answers with candidates who expressed EOi for the Education, Clubs & Societies, and International Officer Roles.
Prepared meeting minutes from last SRC meeting, delivered within 14 days.
Prepared executive meeting minutes from Executive meeting, delivered within 7 days.
Meeting one-on-one with Execs to discuss how they’re going with their roles.
Updated messages to Execs regarding SSAF meeting.
Shared flyers around GP campus for QG initiatives at Welcome Week.
Attended Media Training and Project Planning Training inductions.
QUT Guild Board Debrief meeting.
Catch up with General Manager/Gov team.
Meeting to introduce new executive elect to role of SRC.
SDGO Clubs meeting: Took minutes on behalf of Clubs Manager.
Meeting with Student Services & Wellbeing: Took minutes.
Meeting with Clubs Manager regarding year ahead & new officer.
Meeting with UQU and APS regarding Fair Fare’s initiative in QLD to allow part-time and online students concession fairs to attend on-campus activities during the cost-of-living crisis.
Attended SSAF meeting and took minutes.
Attended Leadership Conference.
Attended Executive Meeting.
Presence for Welcome Week Wed-Thurs @ GP, and floating other days at GP.
Timesheet confirmations for SRC.
Other administrative duties, like emails.

Treasurer – Archer Skinner

Review and creation of a formalized SSAF funding application document to ensure consistency of information requested and provided, as well as transparent criteria.
Creation of a mandatory reporting document for SSAF funding – (including details of engagement, outcomes and costs).
Monthly meeting held with QUT Registrar, Guild President and Guild General Manager to discuss SSAF funding provided by QUT and how to ensure a strong and productive relationship between QUT and the Guild.
Monthly meeting with Student Services to talk about SAF funding allocations and the services provided by Guild and QUT.
In the process of arranging to speak with Simon about SSAF allocations.
In the process of creating strategies to secure the Guild more SSAF funding, in collaboration with our primary stakeholders.
General governance work – including working through resignations and assisting/supporting with filling these vacancies.
Working with the President and Secretary to identify gaps and risks in relation to Guild governance and create robust strategies to address.
Reviewing and actioning payment of invoices from previous Treasurer.
Met with the NUS General Secretary and President to discuss student unionism.

Education Officer – Callissa Leyden

Newly elected at February council meeting

Welfare Officer – Paulina Luisce

Participated in induction workshops and media training.
Represented students at the QUT College Academic Misconduct Committee meeting.
Attended a meeting with Advocacy to improve my understanding on the academic advocacy process and discussed potential initiatives for 2024.
Attended Executive meeting.
Prepared food bags for the foodbank for orientation week period.
Analysed food bank data to identify cost-saving measures and improves its operation.
Reached out to non-profit organization with partnerships with Foodbank Australia and OzHarvest to explore possible cost reductions. A meeting with them is scheduled for March.
Reviewed the handover documents from the past two Welfare Officer’s handover to identify and continue successful initiatives.
Wrote welfare officer profile for Glass.
Scheduled meeting with Jacqueline Harding to explore potential collaborations on mental health initiatives.
Worked at Guild stall for orientation week giving out merchandise and talking to students about our work.

Engagement Officer – Deepika Sharma

Amplifying guild presence: Shared some ideas with the governance and marketing team to increase the visibility of our guild, contacted four faculties to include Guild content in the faculty newsletter, shared Guild PowerPoint slides with faculties, and they have been executed, created a detailed list of contacts that is easily accessible to any member of SRC and GPS.
Migration strategy: Collaborated with the Postgraduate Officer on creating content for the international migration strategy, which will be shared on social media platforms, shared an article with Glass to promote our migration strategy.
Discussed ideas for how to engage volunteers with the governance and marketing team.
Working on Adulting one-on-one workshop: Created a comprehensive list of topics that will be covered during the workshops, shared this with a larger audience to receive feedback.
Attended QUT events to connect with students and network with the organizer. Shared learning with the governance and marketing teams.
Attended SRC induction sessions.
Meetings: Attended SSAF meeting and Clubs and Society monthly meeting.

Clubs & Societies Officer – Hong Le

Newly elected at February council meeting

Environment Officer – Milani Rawlinson

Attended SRC induction sessions.
Attended multiple Student Misconduct committee meetings.
Met with Leigh, the QUT sustainability manager, for an hour to plan further events throughout the year.
Attended to Clubs and Societies conference with other executive members.
Organized events for CUAD in the coming weeks.
Attended Executive meeting where I informed everyone about the progress with plans for the gardens and the organization for CUAD.
Attended Welcome Week and manned Guild stalls on multiple days.
Other administrative duties, including emails.

Women’s Officer – Lauren Cuthbert

SASH Action Plan Working Party Meeting: Took part in extensive discussion surrounding what the focus of the action plan should be, provided student perspective on the effects of SASH at the university.
QUT Appeals Committee Meeting: Took on the role of the student representative for the February Appeals Committee meeting, provided a student perspective on the matters dealt with by the committee.
Outlined what my plans are as Women’s Officer this year, and fleshed out and considered a timeline for my initiatives.
Attended SRC Inductions.
Wrote introductory article for Glass.
Assisted Engagement Officer with planning for Adulting 101 workshops.
Liaised with the GPS regarding beginning stages for some initiatives and fleshed out portfolio items more.
Started investigating ideas and plans for the Gardens Point Women’s Room.
Assisted the Women’s Collective with gaining access to their funding and provided general assistance regarding their o week preparations.

Queer Officer – Eli Spencer

Organizing my plans and goals for the year and how I’m going to achieve each of them: dead- naming policy, Queer/Binder drive, and my Queer safe services initiative.
Liaising with the Guild Professional Services on how to best launch my Queer safe services initiative – what websites would be the most accessible and convenient for students, how do I get my draft plans in motion and who should I liaise with. The LGBTQIAP+ Working Party of the university is assisting me with this project.
Organizing my proposals for the first LGBTQIAP+ Working Party meeting – which is scheduled for the beginning of March 2024.
Admin based work, answering emails, preparing for upcoming meetings.
Interacting with students who are already on campus to further raise engagement and presence of the SRC and Guild.
Attended and provided updates on my portfolio for the executive meeting.
Preparing and being actively involved with Welcome Week whilst increasing student engagement with the Guild.

First Nations Officer – vacant

International Officer – Jovan Fersando

Newly elected at February council meeting

Postgraduate Students Officer – Mal Fituch

Organized a meeting with Lyndelle Gunton (Coordinator, Information Research Skills, Office for Scholarly Communication) with regards to the project of Research Advancement Expo.
Organized a meeting with Andrew Kerslake (Director of GRC) with regards to the project of establishing an umbrella association for postgraduate students and the matter of different categories of scholarships for research students.
Attended a series of meetings with representatives of CAPA (Council of Australian Postgraduate Association).
Attended a meeting with representatives of UQU and APS at the University of Queensland with regards to postgraduate students’ engagement and representation as well as active participation at the national level (CAPA).
Organizational planning regarding the proposed initiatives – timeline, funding strategies, required human resources and next steps that need to be taken.
Prepared an article regarding the upcoming migration strategy of Australia – together with the Engagement Officer.
Prepared content for Guild’s social media regarding the upcoming migration strategy of Australia – together with the Engagement Officer.
Spoke to international postgraduate students about their concerns related to the upcoming migration strategy of Australia.
Attended induction workshops and media training.
Conducted preparations for the QUT Appeals Committee’s meeting.
Attended Executives’ Meeting.
Attended SSAF subcommittee’s meeting.
Other administrative duties, including e-mails.

Disability Officer – Ethan Johnstone

Created project portfolio: Corresponded with relevant groups regarding items 1, 3, 4, 5.
Attended first Council meeting: Presented motion on value of NDIS and support for disabled students.
Attended NUS Disability Action Group meeting.
Attended Disability and Inclusion Action Plan Reference Group meeting: Made important connections regarding above item numbers.
Viewed new low-sensory spaces at KG library and GP library.
Met with Disability Collective about goals and wishes for 2024.
Helped organise Australians with Disabilities Network (ADN) employment workshop (Occurring 21 March).
Attended accessibility testing of KG accessible tour.
Created presentation about Guild services and my role for accessibility tour and presentation.
Met with Digital Business Services about campus accessibility issues and wayfinding solutions.
Created SRC profile for Glass.
Attended two SRC Executive meetings and presented what I was working on.
Attended Welcome Week.
Attended second Council meeting.

Media team – Celeste Muller, Ben Steele, Jacinta Rossetto, Tione Zylstra, Jess Morgan

Published 41 articles on the website during February: including student submissions, club profiles, SRC profiles and editors’ own work. This includes copyediting, liaising with writers, sourcing submissions, preparing articles on WordPress, designing graphics and promoting articles on social media.
Designed and created Summer 2024 print edition: Including copyediting articles, liaising with printer, liaising with advertiser, preparing document for printing, creating illustrations and graphics, sending acceptance/rejection emails and planning launch party.
Regular distribution of print magazines across Gardens Point and Kelvin Grove campus: at minimum weekly but increased drops at high traffic locations.
Ordering books for review from various publishers and sourcing reviewers.
Attended multiple SRC induction sessions.
Preparing for Welcome Week and Block Party, including creating buttons, wrapping mystery books, creating flyers, and designing limited edition puzzle book.
Attended Welcome Week, managing stalls on two days. Three editors attended each stall.
Editor-in-Chief attending Executive meetings.
Attending Council meetings, taking notes and preparing council report to publish online. At least two editors attended each meeting.
Working on creating Glass podcast: including planning, sourcing music and editing stings, planning episodes, creating graphics.
Redesigning social media formats.
Regularly managing website.