This September MDXSU ran their first ever free 3 day residential for over 80 students who work with or for the union. This type of large scale training course for union interns and volunteers was a first both for MDXSU and for student unions, and MDXSU hopes to make these trips an annual event that will empower students to make the changes they wish to see happen during their time at Middlesex.

On September 2nd students met at Hendon campus to travel in coaches to the Scouts Association in Essex, a country estate where facilities are specially designed for conferences and outdoors activities. After the opening sessions and settling in to the dormitory accommodation, students split into groups to try out a range of teambuilding activities, with options including rockclimbing, ziplining, archery and aeroball.

The day was rounded off with a presentation from the director of MDXSU on the union’s rollercoaster history and an ice bucket challenge for MDXSU’s elected officers, Aman, Sophie, Jean and Sarah.

The next day gave students a chance to get stuck into specific sessions relating to their interests. These included how to give new starters a great freshers experience, how to access training and internships through MDX Sports, how to record a radio show, and how to advertise societies effectively.

Each elected officer ran group sessions to discuss ways to make the university community more welcoming to women, LGBT, disabled and black students, and in the evening when things wound down everyone had a chance to relax and enjoy themselves however they liked, with different groups playing cricket, making a campfire, going on a midnight run and holding a Bible study group.

On the final day students debated political ideas in a Bite the Ballot workshop, where they allocated limited budgets to the public services that they decided mattered most to them. The session sparked off in-depth discussions around the value of military defence, 2012 Olympics budgets and the welfare safety net among other things.

The morning culminated with everyone ‘voting with their feet’ by moving along a scale of agreement from yes to no on big questions like ‘should international students pay higher fees?’ and elected officers highlighting MDXSU’s General Election voter registration campaign to ensure that all Middlesex students have a say in who runs the country and their local council.

The residential was an ambitious project designed to help share exciting opportunities with every Middlesex student by equipping attendees with the confidence and skills needed to include everyone in a thriving university community. By offering a portion of students this training, the positive impacts will be felt throughout the academic year (and beyond) by any student who participates in a union activity, from societies to freshers week parties to elections.

The opportunities that MDXSU offer are open to all students, and if you are interested in finding out more about them please contact j.stratton@mdx.ac.uk; to view the trip photo album head over to our Facebook page!