We caught up with Rahma Hegy, this year’s President of the Barts and the London Student Association (BLSA) and Executive Officer in Queen Mary Students’ Union (QMSU) to learn more about her goals for the academic year ahead, including exciting opportunities for students studying fully online.
Rahma shared that her aim, in a sentence, for this academic year is “making sure that everyone feels the BLSA can be for them, that BLSA welcomes them”. The BLSA is working on creating inclusive spaces by creating guidelines and governance structures. Part of this is making sure that BLSA officers consider three things when putting on events:
But how do BLSA create inclusive spaces? Rahma explained that one key aspect of their approach has been to offer students choice. She noted how they have greatly increased the use of the Griff (the student café in the Garrod building) by simply arranging certain times when there is no alcohol served. This inclusive approach has been extended to many BLSA events by offering both online and in-person options, enabling students studying fully online to get involved with the BLSA. Similarly, societies make sure that whenever possible, talks are recorded and live-streamed. This idea of options and choices is something that we can also learn from as educators - we might look towards frameworks like Universal Design for Learning to help us formulate different ways we can build choice and flexibility into our courses.
Inclusivity and accessibility are at the heart of many of the BLSA’s education and welfare projects. Rahma highlighted two education projects co-created with staff from the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry - a curriculum review, and a review of assessment practice with the aim of improving student satisfaction and outcomes. In describing the BLSA’s role in education Rahma noted, “It's about keeping the university accountable for what they do and reminding them that [they] have different students to cater for”
Welfare-wise her main priority will be the QM Bursary and financial support for students in the cost-of-living crisis. Rahma also wants to make sure students feel able to approach BLSA to ask for help and support if there is a barrier developing between them and the university.
There is lots of support from the BLSA for online students, and many ways they can get involved.
Being part of the BLSA offers access to a community to help students feel more connected to the University and to each other, especially when studying online. Students can connect with this community through societies or events, or access support through the Welfare Officers. They also offer academic workshops throughout the year, many of which are available online.
Rahma is keen to get more online students involved in setting up events or societies, whether a one-off online board game night event or a society hosting online speakers. BLSA is actively encouraging students to reach out to them and share ideas - you can help by encouraging your students to get in touch, using the contact details on the BLSA’s societies and events pages.
Online students can also take on more formal roles within the BLSA. For students studying online looking to become Course Representatives and explore opportunities to get involved with the BLSA please direct them to the Student Union’s nomination page where they can view open positions and put themselves forward.
Rahma ended the interview with us by reflecting on her goal of ensuring “When a student is asked what Barts and The London means to them, they should be able to instantly think of something they are truly passionate about.” emphasising that this includes online students and encouraging them to get in touch.