After winning Students' Union of the Year in 2017, Middlesex Students' Union have been shortlisted for another NUS award. 

MDXSU is one of eight students' unions from across the country to be shortlisted for the National Union of Students (NUS) Representation and Campaigning Award. 

We were nominated for our #RefugeesWelcome campaign, which began back in July 2015 with MDXSU working with local organisations to convince Barnet Council to resettle fifty vulnerable Syrian refugees in the borough - making Barnet one of the first councils in the UK to join the scheme. 

The campaign didn't end there: we recognised that allowing refugees access to the UK is not enough, and that we have a collective responsibility to ensure that the resettlement itself is a success. 

MDXSU is part of a local, monthly Refugee Welcome Board in Barnet, which meets to identify issues facing refugees and provide solutions. One issue was access to higher education, with many refugees having skills they aren't currently able to utilise in the UK. 

This year, we successfully campaigned for Middlesex University to provide fee waivers for those fleeing war and conflict, providing four refugees with the opportunity to study at our University. We are hopeful that the fee waiver program will become a fixed part of the university and we will be able to transform the lives of people who need it most for years to come. 

MDXSU Vice President Raquel Marques, who has been part of the refugee welcome board and worked with the University on this, 

“I am really proud of all of the work MDXSU has put into this. This has been such an incredible campaign to be working side by side with refugees, and achieving our goal of giving them access to education. Now reaching the end of my term as Vice President, I feel this campaign was not only successful for our new students, but I think the whole organisation feels richer from spending time with the refugees. I hope this campaign also encourages other Students’ Unions to do the same – to not only welcome refugees, but also to break down the barriers to education."

The winners of this years NUS Awards will be announced at the awards ceremony in Birmingham on Wednesday 4th July. Watch this space for the results!