Being a student officer in a students’ association can sometimes be challenging, but NUS Scotland is here to make life easier for you.

NUS Scotland offers advice, support and training, as and when you need it. Getting involved with NUS Scotland will help you to make the most of your year and make a difference to the lives of students in your union, and across Scotland.

NUS Scotland’s democratic pathway 1 July–30 June

Summer

The Gathering, held in August, is NUS Scotland’s first major event of the year and its aim is to introduce student officers to the plans of the student movement and get everyone excited about the coming year, allowing students’ association staff and officers to share ideas.

Winter

NUS Scotland Zone Conference, held in November, is the platform for students’ associations to start forming policy ideas for the future, to hold the SEC to account, and to interact with new thinking from outside the student movement.

Members will be challenged to think about the issues facing students in Scotland, challenge preconceptions and long-held beliefs.

Debates and new thinking from Zone will feed into the Policy Networks for the rest of the year and start to form the basis of initial work plans for the following year.

Spring

NUS Scotland Conference, held in March, is where NUS Scotland members come together to vote on the policies for NUS Scotland, and to elect the new student officers to represent them for the forthcoming year (from 1 July).

Conference builds on the policy formulation work that takes place at Zone to allow members to make policy decisions that mandate NUS Scotland in its future work.

Motions, manifestos and network reports debated and passed at NUS Scotland Conference are taken and used to shape the Plan of Work for the forthcoming year.

Current NUS Scotland policy