Director of Student Development & Activities

Sam supports co-curricular development opportunities for students.

• DoSDA@

About the Role

Read the Director of Student Development and Activities's full role description.

Sam Gorman, as the Director of Student Development and Activties, reports to the Student Representative Council. All students are entitled to attend and speak at meetings of the SRC, provided they give reasonable notice to the Association chair SAchair@

Societies

St Andrews has a lot of societies – currently around 150. These cover everything from cultural/arts-based groups to things like medieval re-enactments, dog walking, and Scottish Dancing. With the help of the Societies Committee, the Association and I are here to support and manage all of our affiliated societies. You can get involved in a society from as little as £3 per year. Can't find what you’re looking for? Start your own!

Subcommittees

Subcommittees are basically bigger societies, funding or hosting free events for students, which are managed by the Association. There are a few of them, and every student is automatically a member. You can find out more on the subcommittees page, or you can get involved in the yearly elections in March to run for a position.

As DoSDA, I line manage the following subcommittees:

• Charities Campaign raises tens of thousands of pounds for charity every year through a number of different events including Race2, CATWALK, and RAG Week. This year they were nominated for Student Fundraising Group of the Year at the NaSFA awards, as well as winning the award for Event of the Year.
• Union Debating Society is the oldest of its kind in the world, founded in 1794. They hold weekly debates and training sessions for anyone who wants to get involved, as well as competing at an international level every year..
• PG Society is our branch of the Students’ Assiciation for Postgraduate Students. While all societies and subcommittees are open to postgrads, PG soc provides specific representation, events, and support to postgrads through their President, Academic Convenor, Development Officer, and committee.
• SVS is the Union’s branch of volunteering for local projects in and around St Andrews. They run a wide variety of different projects which anyone is able to get involved in.
• Mermaids is the student body for theatre, comedy, music, and other performing arts. Any student can propose a show that they want to put up, and Mermaids provide the funding, advice, expertise and enthusiasm to help you put on the show that you want.
• Environment Subcommittee advocates for sustainbility in the University and the Students Association
• Societies Committee supports all of our 150+ affiliated student societies.
• The Employability Officer liases with School Presidents and the Careers Centre to promote student employability.
• The Postgraduate Development Officer supports and enhances the non-academic aspects of postgraduate students’ lives at the University of St Andrews.

Volunteering

There’s a wide array of volunteering opportunities available to students in St Andrews, as a committee member or volunteer for a society, Union subcommittee, or hall committee, or through the projects run by SVS or University departments.

Volunteering with the Union can be logged on the Volunteering portal, which is jointly managed by me, Saints Sport, and the Centre for Educational Enhancement and Development (CEED). If you have any questions about logging submissions for Societies, Halls, Subcommittees, or community volunteering, you can get in touch with me.

Student development and Employability

I support the Employability Officer in implementing the Student's Association's Employability Strategy, and serve as a point of contact for students who want to engage with the University Careers Centre, CEED, and Entreprenurship Centre, and liasing with them to promote their activities to students..

Awards

I take the lead on organising the application process, and awards ceremonies for the Student Excellence Awards, Volunteering awards, and Honourary Life Memberships, and provide support to the Society Awards, Gives Back awards, University Drama and Music committee awards, and the Entreprenurial mind of the year award.

Funding

The Association provides a number of different funding opportunities for activities, such as specialist funds like Mermaids Performing Arts Fund, and Societies Committee Grants. You can also apply to the Student Project Fund (SPF) or Employability Fund for other student events. If you have a project you would like to get off the ground, get in touch with me and I can give advice on the best best to get funding.

University Challenge

I manage St Andrews' University Challenge team, with try-outs happening late in first semester. Keep an eye out if you want to get involved!

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