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What is your role and what does it involve?

I am the Democracy and Engagement Officer at ¹û¶³Ó°ÔºU, the Students' Union. The Union is run by students, for students, so effectively I have 24,000 line managers! Whether it is our environmental policy, the type of events we run or our stance on a national issue, we work to involve students through open meetings, forums, referenda and elections and we take our direction from them.

How long have you been at ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº and what was your previous role?

I have been at ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº since 2005 and am currently on sabbatical from my Medical Degree, which I will be going back to for the 2011-12 academic year to complete my finals. While the medical degree is already long (six years), I still didn't feel ready to leave ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº so I ran for election to a full-time position.

What working achievement or initiative are you most proud of?

For a number of years we have been reviewing the way we engage students and our strategic plan research indicated that students felt our democratic structures were complicated and inaccessible.

In response, I led a complete overhaul of our governance and put the proposals to students for a campus wide vote. The result was our first quorate referendum in history, with 3,000 students voting and 90% supporting the proposals.

This means that from August 2011, we will have a more open, forum-based structure rather than the committee-heavy, bureaucratic structures that we have been held back by for decades. The membership also voted to allow us to Incorporate as a Company Limited Guarantee, and following all of these changes we were able to register ¹û¶³Ó°ÔºU with the Charity Commission.

What is your life like outside ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº?

I am really interested in patient safety and quality in healthcare so I spend a lot of time reading around the subject, and will be involved in a research project at Great Ormond Street Hospital next year.