Aparna Golla, Community Officer 

The Kids Crafternoon was a relaxed afternoon during which I had good interactions with parents, and learned about how their lives were impacted by managing studies and parenting. The children were involved in crafts and coloring. I am planning to host the final event, a picnic day for the students with responsibilities, in the later part of May or early June.

Jack Craig , LGBTQIA+ Student Community Engagement Lead 

I hope you’re having a great end to semester 2 and looking forward to a break!

Here are some updates on my recent activity for you:

• LGBTQIA+ Coffee Hour (every 2^nd Thursday 12pm-1pm in the Coach House): Your SU and Student Success Coaches have hosted 3 coffee hours for LGBTQIA+ students, this is a space to meet fellow LGBTQIA+ students, play some games, seek support, or just grab a refreshment! We have confirmed dates for the coming weeks should you want to attend: 11^th & 25^th of April, then the 9^th of May. I look forward to meeting any of you who come along!
• Transgender and Non-binary Awareness Campaign: Over 200 staff members have been trained on transgender and non-binary awareness, and I will be engaging more teams over the coming weeks/month. So far, the teams to complete the training are Student Success Coaches, Health and Wellbeing, Registry, and Info Point. We are also working on producing internal and external webpages to educate and support staff and students at the university on LGBTQIA+ identities, as well as the Trans Student Equality Policy in place at the university.
• Activities Awards: On the 26^th of March, I attended Your SU’s awards night and won the Achievement of the Year award for the Transgender and Non-binary Campaign mentioned above. This comes after Your SU won Campaign of the Year at the 2024 National Student Pride Awards too! It has been an honour to lead and implement such an important campaign across Coventry University which aims to address the adversities faced by transgender and non-binary students.

Oduduabasi Umo-Odiong, International Students’ Community Engagement Lead

In March, the International Community hosted the much anticipated International Festival. The festival spanned from the 18th to 22nd of March and we had three major activities which were:

• “Celebrate Your Culture” event on the first day (18th), where various international societies in the university showcased their various cultures at different stalls. Students had the opportunity to engage with our international and cultural games at the event.
•  On the 20th of March, we hosted a crafting events where participants had the opportunity to express themselves through jewellery design, bead-making, mask design, egg painting, and a host of other activities.
• The last session, the “International Fair”, was held on the 21st of March. At the fair, we had different commercial departments of Coventry University that provide services to international students show up to promote their services to our members. The community also provided games for students that engaged at the fair.
• On the 22nd of March, the International Community supported the Global Majority Community in delivering its Model United Nations event.
• Also, students across all the campuses of Coventry University were able to participate at the Festival in their respective campuses.

Overall, the International Festival presented an opportunity for students from different cultures to network and share learning experiences while engaging with the community’s activities. The engagements in the month of March and at the International Festival was great, and as we wind up this academic session, the Community will be introducing even more engaging activities to improve the welfare of our members.

Momina Moin, Global Majority Students’ Community Engagement Lead 

March was an exciting month for me as a Global Majority Community Lead. Me and my team members managed to arrange Coventry University Model United Nations (CUMUN). This event was a replication of United Nations General Assembly session and students participated as delegates of the country of their choice. The event turned out to be a success, the students enjoyed the discussion and debates. The topic that we discussed was “what are the implications of digital globalization, including internet access and social media for human security and individual rights?”

This topic served the interests of majority of the students as it aligns with the contemporary issues faced by the global community as a whole. Hopefully more CUMUNs will be held in the future as well with improvements

Sophie Horton, Women’s Student Community Engagement Lead 

This month the Women’s community have had a very busy and exciting time, as we’ve celebrated International Women’s Day on the 8th and Women’s History Month! 

All through the month, we’ve hosted events such as our women’s safety fair, providing students with information and resources to keep themselves safe. 

Our celebratory Women’s Poetry Night was a success at bringing women together in a night of solidarity and creativity. And our ongoing Women’s Students Photo Campaign is still running to collect imagery and celebrate all the amazing, diverse women we have here at Coventry University! You can take part in the photo campaign here.

We want to thank everyone so much for participating in our events so far. As we come to the end of the month we’re spending our time collecting feedback and information gathered from our events, to plan and move forward towards the end of the year.