Imperial College Union
Encyclopedia
Imperial College Union is the Students' Union
of Imperial College London
. It is host to many and varied societies, and has student bars situated around Albertopolis
. The Union is based in the north wing of the Beit Quadrangle on Prince Consort Road
.
, a member of the governing body, who saw the need for a place for students to congregate and develop a collegiate social life http://www.imperial.ac.uk/centenary/timeline/1910.shtml.
In November 2006, after a petition proposed a debate to affiliate with NUS at Freshers' Fair
2006 collected 617 valid signatures, from just above the 5% minimum of Imperial College Union members necessary to call a referendum http://live.cgcu.net/news/1290, a referendum was held between Tuesday 14th and Thursday 16 November 2006. The result of this referendum, which had a record turnout of over 30%, was a yes to NUS affiliation by 53.26% for to 46.74% against.
After the failure of governance reform measures supported by Imperial College Union at the NUS conference in 2008, the union council voted in favour of holding a referendum on disaffiliation from the NUS. The resulting referendum showed that the Members of Imperial College Union decided that their Union should no longer affiliate to the National Union of Students. 2074 ballots were cast giving a turnout of 15.4% with the votes being as follows:
Yes: 617 (29.7%)
No: 1457 (70.3%)
.
Clubs and societies at Imperial College Union are grouped by interest and are administered by either Clubs and Societies' Committees (CSCs - e.g. the Recreational Clubs Committee) or Faculty Unions (FUs - e.g. the City and Guilds College Union), who deal with the majority of procedural issues and who are responsible for representing the clubs within their care to Imperial College Union.
The clubs contained within Imperial College are supported by a number of features, including 15 minibuses which are available for clubs to hire. Imperial College also owns a mountain hut in Snowdonia, Wales, which it lets clubs use free of charge.
. The Cinema is considered a club under the Arts & Entertainments Board, however provides a service to members and non-members.
The cinema is a professionally equipped cinema with a 33ft screen, Dolby Digital surround sound system, Kinoton projector and seats up to 200. Pre-show advertisements are provide for by Pearl & Dean
.
unions which run as constituent parts of the Union. These are largely historical in origin and retain many traditions, such as their names when most of the actual faculties now have different names. They represent the students in their respective faculties: the City and Guilds College Union (for engineers), the Royal College of Science Union
(for scientists) and the Imperial College School of Medicine Students' Union
(for medical students). They are all run by part-time officers elected from the student body, with the exception of the Medical Union President, who is an elected full-time sabbatical officer with a one year tenure.
In 2002 the Royal School of Mines Union was absorbed into the City and Guilds College Union and became a clubs & societies committee (CSC). However in 2010 after running autonomously from City and Guilds Union for many years. The Royal School of Mines regained its student union status, solely looking after the social aspects of its students.
. The project's first phase will include the installation of a lift and inbuilt cash machines as well as adding french doors to Da Vinci's, opening out on to the Quad. Further details of the project can be found here.
All three phases of the building project were completed by 2011, including the full bar and nightclub refurbishment and moving the Union Gym to level 3 of the building.
Students' union
A students' union, student government, student senate, students' association, guild of students or government of student body is a student organization present in many colleges and universities, and has started appearing in some high schools...
of Imperial College London
Imperial College London
Imperial College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine...
. It is host to many and varied societies, and has student bars situated around Albertopolis
Albertopolis
Albertopolis is the area centred on South Kensington, Kensington & Chelsea, London, England, between Cromwell Road and Kensington Gore, which contains a large number of educational and cultural sites, including:*Imperial College London...
. The Union is based in the north wing of the Beit Quadrangle on Prince Consort Road
Prince Consort Road
Prince Consort Road is a street in the City of Westminster, London, England. The road is named for Albert, Prince Consort to Queen Victoria. The road is located between Queen's Gate to the west, and Exhibition Road to the east, and runs parallel to Kensington Gore.Several notable buildings have...
.
History
The establishment of a students union was recognised with the construction of the north building of Beit Quad in 1910-11 designed by Sir Aston Webb. The original idea for the building came from Sir Arthur AclandArthur Dyke Acland
Sir Arthur Herbert Dyke Acland, 13th Baronet PC was a Liberal politician and political author. He is best remembered for his involvement with educational issues and served as Vice President of the Council of Education under William Ewart Gladstone and the Earl of Rosebery between 1892 and...
, a member of the governing body, who saw the need for a place for students to congregate and develop a collegiate social life http://www.imperial.ac.uk/centenary/timeline/1910.shtml.
Timeline
- 1907 Formation of Imperial College of Science and Technology incorporating Royal School of Mines, Royal College of Science and City and Guilds College
- 1907 Imperial College Union formed as a federation of the 3 College Unions
- 1911 The Union building in South Kensington is constructed
- 1922 Founder member of NUS (leaves for the first time in 1923)
- 1949 Felix is founded
- 1969 First directly elected sabbatical President
- 1984 The Union starts catering operation
- 1985 The Union Starts running own bars
- 1987 First professional welfare advisor at the Union
- 1988 Imperial College School of Medicine is established at St. Mary’s
- 1996 Union Council is made the supreme governing body
- 1997 Union stops running bookshop on campus.
- 1997 First medical student to be elected President (Andrew Heeps)
- 1998 First Deputy President (Education & Welfare) Sabbatical
- 1998 Imperial College School of Medicine merges with Charing Cross and Royal Postgraduate Medical schools
- 2000 Merger with Wye College and Kennedy Institute
- 2001 Sir Richard Sykes appointed Rector of Imperial College
- 2003 College adopts Faculty structure in place of constituent Colleges.
- 2004 College rebrands as "Imperial College, London"
- 2005 Union Building Redevelopment - Project starts
- 2005 First Deputy President(Graduate Students) at the Union.
- 2006 Union Building Redevelopment - Construction work starts
- 2007 Imperial College Centenary
- 2007 The Union rejoins the NUS (again)
- 2007 Imperial College leaves the University of London
- 2008 The Union leaves the NUS.
Organisation
The Union is controlled by a variety of democratically elected representatives who sit on Union committees, control Union resources and represent the views of students to the College and external bodies. The Union is led by officers who act as representatives to the 14,900 Union members. The most senior officers are the five sabbatical officers who work full time for the Union on a variety of areas ranging from commercial services to campaigns and representation. These officers are supported by 28 full time and up to 250 part time staff, and the 1,000 elected officers of the Union's 300+ clubs and societies.Imperial College Union and the NUS
Imperial College Union is most noted for the history of its relationship with the National Union of Students (NUS). Despite being involved in the founding of the NUS in 1922, Imperial College Union withdrew its membership of the NUS a year later. Since then, Imperial College Union has spent long periods outside the NUS, interspersed with brief periods of membership. A referendum for NUS affiliation held in 2002 was overwhelmingly rejected by members of the Imperial College Union.In November 2006, after a petition proposed a debate to affiliate with NUS at Freshers' Fair
Orientation week
Student orientation or new student orientation, is a period of time at the beginning of the academic year at a university or other tertiary institution during which a variety of events are held to orient and welcome new students. The name of the period varies by country...
2006 collected 617 valid signatures, from just above the 5% minimum of Imperial College Union members necessary to call a referendum http://live.cgcu.net/news/1290, a referendum was held between Tuesday 14th and Thursday 16 November 2006. The result of this referendum, which had a record turnout of over 30%, was a yes to NUS affiliation by 53.26% for to 46.74% against.
After the failure of governance reform measures supported by Imperial College Union at the NUS conference in 2008, the union council voted in favour of holding a referendum on disaffiliation from the NUS. The resulting referendum showed that the Members of Imperial College Union decided that their Union should no longer affiliate to the National Union of Students. 2074 ballots were cast giving a turnout of 15.4% with the votes being as follows:
Yes: 617 (29.7%)
No: 1457 (70.3%)
Clubs and Societies
Imperial College Union has the largest number of Clubs and Societies of any student union in the United Kingdom. While the precise number of clubs changes regularly, owing to the relative ease of starting (or closing) a new club, there were 306 as of November 2011. Funding for clubs and societies at Imperial College Union is immense, taking up a sizable portion of the Union's annual subvention provided by Imperial College LondonImperial College London
Imperial College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine...
.
Clubs and societies at Imperial College Union are grouped by interest and are administered by either Clubs and Societies' Committees (CSCs - e.g. the Recreational Clubs Committee) or Faculty Unions (FUs - e.g. the City and Guilds College Union), who deal with the majority of procedural issues and who are responsible for representing the clubs within their care to Imperial College Union.
The clubs contained within Imperial College are supported by a number of features, including 15 minibuses which are available for clubs to hire. Imperial College also owns a mountain hut in Snowdonia, Wales, which it lets clubs use free of charge.
Bars
The main Union bars are located in Beit Quadrangle. There are three:- 568 is a bar serving food, with large screens often showing sports events or popular music channels. It is the longest student bar in London.
- Metric is a new nightclub opened in November 2010, which often plays host to DJs or to live bands performing to the backdrop of an electronic lighting wall.
- The Union Bar is a small wood-panelled bar, having the largest selection of real ale in the Union and the boasts the largest collection of pewter tankards in Europe, with many dating back to the early 20th century - each tankard represents a club and only the current or former club presidents are allowed to use the club's tankard.
- The Union also runs the Reynolds Bar situated in Charing Cross HospitalCharing Cross HospitalCharing Cross Hospital is a general, acute hospital located in London, United Kingdom and established in 1818. It is located several miles to the west of the city centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham....
, largely frequented by the students of Imperial College School of MedicineImperial College School of MedicineThe Imperial College School of Medicine is the medical school of Imperial College London in England, and one of the United Hospitals....
. The bar was originally run by CXWSU for the Charing Cross and Westminster Medical SchoolCharing Cross and Westminster Medical SchoolCharing Cross and Westminster Medical School existed as a legal entity for 13 years, as the midpoint of a series of mergers which strategically consolidated the many small medical schools in west London into one large institution under the aegis of Imperial College LondonIn 1984, Charing Cross...
.
Cinema
Imperial College Union has a student run Cinema located in the Union Concert Hall, in Beit HallBeit Hall
Beit Hall, otherwise known as the Beit Quadrangle, is one of Imperial College London's oldest and most historic buildings. It is located on Prince Consort Road, next to the Royal Albert Hall and the Natural History Museum in London...
. The Cinema is considered a club under the Arts & Entertainments Board, however provides a service to members and non-members.
The cinema is a professionally equipped cinema with a 33ft screen, Dolby Digital surround sound system, Kinoton projector and seats up to 200. Pre-show advertisements are provide for by Pearl & Dean
Pearl & Dean
Pearl & Dean is primarily known as a British cinema advertising company. It was founded in 1953 by brothers Ernie and Charles Pearl, and Bob Dean....
.
Faculty Union Structure
There are three facultyFaculty (university)
A faculty is a division within a university comprising one subject area, or a number of related subject areas...
unions which run as constituent parts of the Union. These are largely historical in origin and retain many traditions, such as their names when most of the actual faculties now have different names. They represent the students in their respective faculties: the City and Guilds College Union (for engineers), the Royal College of Science Union
Royal College of Science Union
The Royal College of Science Union is a student sub-union at Imperial College London, which represents over 4,500 students of the Sciences at the university.- History :...
(for scientists) and the Imperial College School of Medicine Students' Union
Imperial College School of Medicine Students' Union
Imperial College School of Medicine Students' Union is the students' union of Imperial College School of Medicine. It is charged with caring for the educational, pastoral, social and extracurricular needs of the students of the Faculty of Medicine of Imperial College London, and is a faculty union...
(for medical students). They are all run by part-time officers elected from the student body, with the exception of the Medical Union President, who is an elected full-time sabbatical officer with a one year tenure.
In 2002 the Royal School of Mines Union was absorbed into the City and Guilds College Union and became a clubs & societies committee (CSC). However in 2010 after running autonomously from City and Guilds Union for many years. The Royal School of Mines regained its student union status, solely looking after the social aspects of its students.
Redevelopment of the Union Building
As of August 2006 £2.2 million had been raised out of the total £6 million required for the redevelopment of the Union wing of Beit HallBeit Hall
Beit Hall, otherwise known as the Beit Quadrangle, is one of Imperial College London's oldest and most historic buildings. It is located on Prince Consort Road, next to the Royal Albert Hall and the Natural History Museum in London...
. The project's first phase will include the installation of a lift and inbuilt cash machines as well as adding french doors to Da Vinci's, opening out on to the Quad. Further details of the project can be found here.
All three phases of the building project were completed by 2011, including the full bar and nightclub refurbishment and moving the Union Gym to level 3 of the building.
Former ICU Presidents and Sabbatical Officers
Notable former sabbaticals include:- Piers CorbynPiers CorbynPiers Richard Corbyn is a meteorologist, astrophysicist, consultant, and owner of the business Weather Action which makes weather forecasts up to a year in advance, and which he also bets on.-Personal life:...
, President 1969-70. - Trevor PhillipsTrevor PhillipsTrevor Phillips OBE chairs the Equality and Human Rights Commission and is a former television executive and presenter...
, President 1975-77. - Pallab GhoshPallab GhoshPallab Ghosh is a science correspondent for BBC News. Born in India, he came to the United Kingdom in 1963, he read physics at Imperial College, London between 1980 and 1983 and has been a science journalist since 1984...
, Felix Editor 1983-84