The Student Opportunities team is the professional staff team who work at the Students' Union, focusing on how we can support student groups, student events and general enquiries (through our Helpdesk). With such a breadth of activity coming under one team, it can easily get confusing over who is who and who does what. The bottom line is, all of the team are here to help you where you need support, so don't be afraid to get in touch. Whilst you are responsible for driving your student group and leading from the front, we are here to support you and ensure you are operating safely, inclusively and within certain compliance and policy regulations.
How do I get in touch with the team?
Almost always, the answer is: submit a ticket! We use Freshdesk to streamline enquiries to the right person, based on their knowledge or skillset. But before you submit a ticket, check out our solution articles on the Freshdesk homepage using the search function- the answer to most questions can be found there.
The purpose of the system is to enable us to respond to your query faster through a series of smart solution articles, response templates and automations, so that we can work towards a 3 day working response rate. It also means that if any of the team are on leave, there will be someone else who will be able to access your query and ensure it doesn’t fall between the cracks.
When you become a committee member, we will set you up with an account using your university email address. You will be sent an activation email from RHSU Freshdesk to setup a password. This will allow you to login to the portal, where you can submit tickets and track the status of your queries.
This system is the main way you will communicate with any of the team, so we can work faster in one place- making your lives easier.
So who does what?
When you submit a ticket to Freshdesk, it will automatically be assigned to a staff member based on the type of enquiry.
Julia Saunders, Student Opportunities Manager | Bana Asqalan, VP Societies & Sport | Josh Miskin, Societies Coordinator | Will Harrington, Sports Club Coordinator | x3 Student Opportunities Administration Assistants | Helpdesk Team |
| Oversees the Student Opps team, student group support, oversees team wide events like Freshers' Fair | Committee or member conflict, representation and campaigning, sponsorship, starting a new group and governance and democracy (constitution, committee changes etc.) | Student group development, productions administration, large scale events, purchase requests, general group support and advice | Student group development, coaching administration, facility allocation, fixture administration, large scale events, purchase requests | Invoices, event proposals, administration support, group related queries, button requests | Expense claims, button requests and basic queries |
Need to speak to someone?
If you have a question, query or issue, the quickest way to resolve it is usually through submitting a ticket. However, sometimes you might want to talk through your question or meet with one of our team to support you. We hold weekly drop ins you can come along to:
Mondays 14:30-16:00 - SU Helpdesk (whole Student Opportunities team)
Thursdays 10:30-12:00 - SU Helpdesk (whole Student Opportunities team)
We're here to help with:
Support – We will make you feel valued, with proactive and consistent communication to answer your queries or attend to your specific needs. We want to understand your group, including the nuances which makes you unique, this will help us to help you! Of course, we don’t want to be intrusive but there are some things we need to know.
Protection – We know not everything will go to plan and issues may arise in rare occasions, but we have your back! Don’t be afraid to talk to us, positive or negative, you can trust us and we will do our best to help. We can also support you by dealing with external stakeholders and point you in the right direction when required.
Knowledge – We can provide you with expertise, we’ve been around the block a few times, so know how a thing or two. However, we don’t know everything and love hearing new ideas, so don’t be afraid to ask questions!
Facilities – We have the tools to facilitate your activity, whether you need space or just having the opportunity to catch up with the team. We can help make your event successful and provide advice and ideas you may not have previously thought of.
Training – We will upskill and inform you on various procedures and updates via regular training, to ensure you know who to contact or where to go.