DUNDEE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS ASSOCIATION

Annual Report 2012/2013

VOTED No. 1 STUDENT UNION FOR NIGHTLIFE AS VOTED FOR BY 10,000 STUDENTS
Successes
Voted the best students union in the country by Times Higher Education Won the overall National Award in the Best Bar None Scheme Won Specialist Entertainment Gold Award in Best Bar None Scheme Won Best Dundee City Centre Establishment in Best Bar None Scheme Ranked No. 1 in the International Student Barometer Survey. Named best in the UK for student nightlife by Which?

Dundee University Students Association Airlie Place, Dundee, DD1 4HP Tel: 01382 386060 Fax: 01382 386061 Registered Scottish Charity No. SC016047

DUSA Supports Recycling. All DUSA Publications are printed on 100% Recycled paper

Contents
003 Our Vision 013 Student Welfare 023 Freshers & Refreshers Week 004 The Presidents Statement 014 Welfare Campaigns 025 DUSA Finance 005 About Us 016 Events 027 Executive Manifesto 007 Governance and Elections 018 Societies 028 The Future

009 Message from the Rector

019 Annual Awards

011 Representation

021 Engaging with Our Members

Our Vision
DUSAs vision is to be the number one students association in the UK by 2016
Dundee University Students Association is continually voted the best students union in Scotland, but we want to continue striving for excellence and improvement. We are here to offer help, support, guidance and a whole range of services to the students of the University of Dundee. We want their experience with us to be a positive one that stays with them for the rest of their lives.

Our Mission
DUSA represents every student at the University of Dundee in academic and welfare issues, as well as providing recreational activities for our members. We want to continue improving all parts of our organisation so that we can provide an excellent all-round experience for everyone here in Dundee.

Our Promise
DUSA is a democratic organisation. We are committed to ensuring that every student on campus can have their say in how we are run. Whether this is achieved through voting in elections, speaking up in AGMs or individual meetings with students we will do what we can to make sure that DUSA represents the views of our members.

Our Values
First and foremost DUSA is here for the students. We aim to provide an outstanding service to students in all areas of campus life representation, advice and guidance, societies and media, entertainment, engagement and involvement with the wider community.

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The Presidents Statement

As one of my last acts as President of DUSA it gives me great pleasure to introduce the 2012/13 Annual Report which highlights some of the many activities and successes of the Students Association over the past twelve months. This year DUSA was again ranked as the best students union in Scotland by Times Higher and achieved the best ranking in the National Student Survey. We are now in the second year of our strategic plan with the goal of becoming the number one students association in the UK and as you will read we are making steady progress towards this goal. The Executive exists to represent the interests of the student community and through effective lobbying and representation the Executive, together with the Student Representative Council, ensured that the student voice was heard within the institution. I am especially pleased that this years team managed to secure a 10% increase in funding to DUSA from the University. This money will be spent on new posts to ensure that we continue to deliver first class advice and support to our members. Providing social facilities and personal development for students is also a key part of DUSAs role and this year we continued to support over 100 student societies with financial grants and space to pursue their activities. The many achievements showcased in this report are only possible due to the extraordinary contributions from students actively involved in the community that is DUSA. I would like to take this opportunity to thank every student, member of staff and everyone who has contributed to the work of DUSA this year. Finally I wish the best of luck to the new Executive team. Iain Kennedy President 2011-2013

DUSA is a prolific employer and currently has over 200 part-time student staff and 50 full-time staff with our longest serving staff member having over a 35-year record with us!

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We work closely with the University to ensure the best possible experience for students while studying in Dundee.
Dundee University Students Association, referred to as DUSA or The Union, is the legal representative and charitable organisation for matriculated students of the University of Dundee.
As a charitable organisation we exist to serve our members the students of the University. This is achieved in a variety of ways, whether that is through assisting their search for accommodation, funding student societies, providing reasonably priced catering or ensuring the existence of a safe and affordable venue to enjoy. We work closely with the University to ensure the best possible experience for students while studying in Dundee, and this relationship has continued to expand over the past year. The Student Executive is responsible for the overall management and administration of DUSA, liaising with the University at every level, running campaigns, providing students with opportunities to become more involved with the academic community and much more.

About Us
Retail
DUSA has four stores which serve the day to day needs of our student population, three of which are on campus with the fourth being situated in Ninewells hospital. The Premier store situated in DUSA is recognised as one of Scotlands leading convenience stores this 2,000 square feet unit offers a huge selection of everyday grocery lines as well as University branded hoodies and a varied range of stationary to suit all students. Premier also offers some fantastic promotions that change on a regular basis, and in a recent student survey it was found to be cheaper than any of the other local convenience stores surveyed. We are committed to listening to what our customers want and stocking lines requested whenever possible. Our College Shop operation is situated in a small unit near the Universitys Tower Building and offers a grab-andgo selection of sandwiches, crisps, confectionary and coffee, as well as some grocery essentials. Cantina Express, situated in Duncan of Jordanstone, offers a similar selection to the College Shop and will offer a caf experience from September 2013. Fresh cakes and bean-to-cup coffee with comfortable seating and Wi-Fi make it the ideal venue to chill out between lectures. Our Ninewells store is the smallest in our operation but is none-the-less still very important in servicing the needs of our students in Ninewells Teaching Hospital. A good range of sandwiches, crisps and confectionary is offered as well as a limited range of stationary.

It is of course worth noting that all of these stores are operated by DUSA and any profits made are reinvested back into DUSA and the services we provide to students. Our catering facilities have dramatically developed within the past year. Liar bar provides a grab and go service where homemade fast food such as baguettes and pizza are available. Air bar provides a full service restaurant, which included the introduction of themed buffet nights this year. Yum Yum, the Unions nighttime catering service, provides fast, hot, cheap food. DUSA also operate over 60 vending machines throughout the campus, again serving the on-the-go snacking needs of the students. Our nightclubs, Mono and Floor 5, play host to a wide range of events, often hosted by student DJs or promoters. Our legendary night, Skint, continues to see around 1,500 students through the doors every Tuesday evening. DUSA continues to provide diverse facilities whilst acknowledging that students disposable income is treasured. In return, our excellent facilities and services are repeatedly used by our members and have led to our national recognition as one of the top three Student Unions in the UK.

Catering
Our catering operation continues to grow and develop almost on a daily basis with a single mission: to provide the best quality and value for money we can for our members. This allows us to reinvest in new food concepts for tomorrow and beyond. Our current activities in the Main Library on campus centre in our coffee shop. This fuses together a collection of classic coffee shop offerings such as cakes and paninis with confectionary snacks and small hot food items such as soup and locally produced pies and pastries. This area is run by a team of around five members of student staff with a dedicated manager and is one of our busiest operations on campus. Our catering operation on level 4 of DUSA breaks down into three key areas each with its own unique style of service and products as well as opening times.

Commercial Activities
When students talk about The Union, theyre often talking only about our commercial activities: clubs, bars, catering and shops. Running such a large commercial outfit allows us to reinvest back into things like societies, media groups and representation. This means that we rely on the custom and support of our members to perform to the high standard for which we are internationally renowned. When it comes to running the operational side of DUSA our bars, shops, nightclubs and other facilities were lucky to have an expert team that works hard to ensure the facilities and services available best represent the needs of the student body.

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Air Bar is the premium product in our catering portfolio. This bar-restaurant combination is by far and away our most popular product and service in DUSA with an emphasis on service and quality of product. The service here is operated by a core of full time staff led by a head chef, with the support of approximately fifteen student staff. Featuring a varied menu it offers everything from our signature burgers and freshest salads to the best cocktails found in Dundee, with daily specials supplementing the regular menu. Liar Bar offers simpler offerings than Air Bar, operating on the basis of a pay and collect system. Selling pizzas, paninis, baked potatoes, homemade soup and salad bowls, it is a quicker and cheaper service available to students on the move. Coupled with fresh coffee and cookies, Liar offers a great product at a fantastic price. Yum Yum is our late night club food offering, serving burgers, hot dogs and chips into the late hours to support our night-time operations. Ran by an allstudent staff we are open until the wee hours of the morning offering the best value late night food in the city.

Bars and Nightclubs

DUSA offers two of the best student bars in Dundee, ideal for chilling out with a coffee in the afternoon or partying through the night. We offer a range of soft drinks and alcohol at an affordable price, perfect for our members. Throughout the year we screen major sporting events on our seventeen HD TVs in Liar Bar, and offer free-to-use games consoles for whenever our members want to relax over a game of FIFA. During the week we offer nighttime entertainment in form of DJs, pub quizzes, live music and more. On St Patricks Day we showcased live music from 11am through to 3.30am, selling an astonishing 900 pints of Guinness throughout this time! Air Bar is DUSAs premium bar, offering stylish and laid back surroundings perfect for post-lecture coffees or cocktails. At night Air Bar is transformed into a top-class venue featuring karaoke and other events to liven up the proceedings whilst you can enjoy excellent cocktails shaken by our fully trained staff. Air Bar has seen a range of successes this year, including the successful introduction of a smoothie line and our Student vs. Food competition which pits students against the mammoth Spitfire Burger. Our nightclubs are the perfect place to enjoy your night out, with the cheapest drinks on offer in the whole city and student DJs getting those dancefloors filled. Floor 5 is our more specialised venue with our very popular events Distorted and Flava on rotation. Mono is more mainstream, where over 1,000 student revellers can dance the night away at the best student party in Dundee. This year has seen the lengthening of our main bar in Mono, along with a brand new Mono:VIP bar area overlooking the dancefloor. Sin City on Fridays and our own Saturdays club nights have gone from strength to strength as we continue to dominate the weekend market. Of course nothing is quite like Skint, our main weekly club event held on Tuesday which is never to be missed.

Events and Marketing

2012/13 has seen DUSA at its busiest in the last ten years, cementing its position both as Scotlands best students union and Dundees busiest night-time venue. In particular, footfall on a Saturday night increased by up to 33% to become Dundees busiest club night, for the first time overtaking Skint on Tuesday. The sale of our VIP passes increased 72% on the previous figure thanks to the increased offering of free evening entry, cloakroom use and food deals. Our one-off annual events such as Halloween, Xmas Party, St Patricks Day and the Car Park Rave continued to be extremely popular with the Car Park Rave ticket sales increasing 50% and both Halloween and St Patricks both selling out in advance of the event.

Airlies Kitchen
Airlies Kitchen has been conceived to offer high quality catering in and around the University of Dundee campus. With all its services available through a dedicated website (www.airlieskitchen. com), it offers everything from informal coffee breaks, working lunches, barbecues and formal dinners. We also offer bespoke catering solutions for any event designed to our clients requests. This service is headed by our Catering Manager Jackie Small and to date has catered for some of the most prestigious culinary events in the University calendar including the Annual Awards Dinner and the VIP Graduation Lunches. This area continues to develop, keeping up with current culinary trends and our involvement with Tuco-based culinary competitions where we were awarded Best Newcomer in the UK.
DUSA employs five full-time HSE qualified and highly experienced first aiders to help keep the Union the very safest place for students to enjoy throughout their time with us.

Customer Safety
It goes without saying that we are committed to ensuring the safety and comfort of everyone in DUSA. Our Customer Safety team is vital to ensuring this environment, and to this end we employ over 30 SIA Trained Licensed Door Stewards, who have also attained nationally recognised standards in physical intervention. When incidents do occur within DUSA we have a rigorous disciplinary procedure to make sure that everyone is treated equally and fairly. This process is overseen by a member of the DUSA Executive, the Honorary Secretary, and involves members of our Student Representative Council who sit as members of our Disciplinary Panels. DUSA offers a free night bus service which regularly shuttles students to and from our building. This service has been a great success once again this year and offers students a safe route from DUSA to their front door, and can also be utilised by students working late elsewhere on campus such as in the Library.

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Governance
Message from the Chair of the Board of Trustees
In the Rod Stewart song Ooh La La he sings: I wish that I knew what I know now when I was younger, I wish that I knew what I know now when I was stronger. These shared sentiments (and a mutual birthday), are unfortunately all that I and Rod have in common! As the years continue to roll on by, I look back with fond memories, no regrets, and the recognition that if I did have my time again I would indeed do things differently. The wisdom of hindsight is most powerful. My experience of life has of course influenced the way I think, live, behave and function today. But what I wish that I had thought about more deeply in my teens and early twenties was firstly what could I have done to ensure a happy career and secondly what could I have done to secure positive and beneficial relationships with friends and family. I have known people earning vast fortunes who are intrinsically unhappy in their work, so it is not just all about money. Satisfaction in work comes from the opportunity to learn and discover, to help colleagues and to be recognised for your achievements. Nothing is a greater motivator than a high personal self-esteem, and it is such a shame that so few managers understand this. Building up people contributes more to corporate success than doing deals. With regard to fulfilling the second of my wishes that of securing positive and mutually rewarding relationships it is important to have focus and to define your goals for life. Unfortunately for me it is perhaps too late to decide on the purpose of my life. I should have done this thirty years ago. In defining your purpose or goals, ignore the material and concentrate on the non-physical or spiritual, as clarity of purpose for your life will trump academic or business knowledge any and every time. So have principles and be principled in what you do. I have been privileged to have been able to work with and for young people throughout my working life, either in a paid capacity or as a volunteer. The most amazing attribute possessed by all young people I meet, is the enthusiasm, zeal and passion for the subject, project or idea that consumes the young individual concerned. I am perplexed as to why people lose this enthusiasm, zeal and passion as they grow older but I am convinced that if I had followed the two indicators or principles outlined above, then I might still function with more devotion and commitment and with less cynicism. Luckily for me I have my association with DUSA to keep me in touch with the fervour, intensity and passion of youth. It is my privilege to be associated with such a great organisation and team of people; and to personally learn and derive so positively from this connection. So perhaps Rods hit single of 1984 Some Guys Have All the Luck refers to me, but then perhaps it maybe his hit of 1988 Forever Young that is more appropriate?
Charles Doeg-Smith

Dundee University Students Association Board of Trustees

Charles Doeg-Smith
(Chair)

Ian Francis

(Vice Chair)
CBE

Bernadette Malone, Rev Dr Fiona Douglas,

MBE

Shaun Mackintosh Robin Harper,

FRSSA

Iain Kennedy
(President)

Rachael Doherty
(Deputy President)

Daniel McGlade Anna Dimitrova

(Vice President Communications & Campaigns) (Vice President Student Activities)

Andrew Jardine Sarah Getgood

(Vice President Engagement)

(Vice President Student Welfare)

Iain MacKinnon

(Honorary Secretary) With special thanks to Stuart Cross who stepped down from Board during the 2012-2013 academic year.

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& Elections
DUSA Governance
Dundee University Students Association is an unincorporated association of members who are chiefly students of the University of Dundee. DUSAs administration, development and management is entrusted to a Board of Trustees, seven of whom are the elected Executive student officers. The elected student members of the DUSA board of Trustees are selected on an annual basis by the student body. Every matriculated student of the University has the right to put themselves forward for election and to vote. The elections are managed by the serving Deputy President and a team of Returning Officers, made up of University staff from across the institution. They are run on a Single Transferable Vote (STV) system. Where students are unhappy with candidates, they can opt to re-open nominations. Each year DUSA holds elections for School Presidents, the Student Representative Council (SRC), the managers of DUSAs media outlets (The Magdalen, Discover Radio and DUSA-TV), an independent student member of the University Court, and the Student Executive. Other elections DUSA may hold from time to time include by-elections, the rectors elections and any referendum which requires the student body to be polled en-masse. This year, DUSA increased student voter turnout across the board. The SRC election turnout stood at 981, one of the largest ever recorded in an SRC election, and the total turnout for the March Executive, Media Manager and School President Elections was 2,547 (15.5% of the student body) which beat last years 2,346 (14% of the student body) and was the single biggest election in DUSA history. For the first time five years, DUSAs Annual General Meeting had four motions proposed and met quorum, with over 120 students in attendance. After fierce debate, 3 of the 4 motions were passed although DUSA can only legally implement 2: DUSA will suspend the sale of The Sun in all of it stores until they cease to publish Page 3 Girls DUSA will seek to further the case for the Living Wage policy through all means possible including the use of its Court representation, the SRC, Executive Committee and media outlets. As well as these motions being passed, the Annual Accounts and Interim Executive Statement was presented. The Executive Committee also passed a change to the Constitution to bring it in line with our current governance structure.
Our rectors have included Steven Fry, Fred MacAulay, Lorraine Kelly and Brian Cox (current rector).

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Message from the Rector

We need to continue striving for excellence in our facilities, both educational and extracurricular. And it is here that DUSA is perfectly placed.
I was very pleased to once again be asked to contribute a message to DUSAs Annual Report. This year was an important one for me and my relationship with both DUSA and the University of Dundee, as I was elected to serve a second term as Rector. The City of Dundee is going through a period of great change and development, and the University is at the forefront of this. With the redevelopment of the Citys waterfront beginning to take shape and the arrival of the V&A at Dundee looming on the horizon there are some amazing things in store for Dundee. With our campus situated right in the heart of the city we are perfectly placed to take advantage of this. Our campus itself is also continually improving and the developments made in my first term in office are clear to see. But this doesnt mean we should sit back and be complacent, we need to continue striving for excellence in our facilities, both educational and extracurricular. And it is here that DUSA is perfectly placed. Dundee University Students Association deserves its place as the number one students union in the country. It is an excellent resource for the students of this institution, providing them with opportunities to engage with their campus and wider community through student media, societies and the ever more important representation structure of the University. Student representation allows every single person on campus to directly influence how their University is run, and it is only through listening to the students that the University can really improve. In this past year I made a number of visits to the University of Dundee. In this time I have had numerous fruitful discussions with staff and students within DUSA and throughout campus in places such as the wonderful Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, the world-renowned Medical Sciences Institute and of course Dundees own Rep Theatre who we work closely with on our fantastic Theatre Studies postgraduate course. Of course I am extremely proud to say that I was once again grateful to the students of the University this year for choosing me to represent them as University Rector for a second term. I look forward to a further three years working alongside DUSA and the University and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for this great institution.

Brian Cox

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Photograph by Ryan Mcgoverne ryanmcgoverne.co.uk

Rector Brian Cox received over 250 students at his Q&A session.

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Representation
The Student Led Teaching Awards
Now in its third year, the Student Led Teaching Awards 2013 were yet another big success for DUSA, allowing the students themselves to recognise excellence in inspirational and innovative teaching, student advice and academic feedback. We had a huge number of nominations received from students across the University in a range of Schools. This allowed us to ensure that every person nominated is a credit to the institution and the fact that they were chosen by their own students shows that they have really engaged with teaching.

At DUSA we have one of, if not the best student representation systems in Scotland. With students involved in every level of the University decision-making process, we are integral to the success of the University.
The winners were as follows...
Brian Hoyle: Humanities (Most Inspirational Teaching of Undergraduates) Fiona Raitt: Law (Most Innovative Teaching) John Peters: Medicine (Best Student Advisor/Personal Tutor) Neil Verow: Architecture (Best Student Advisor/Personal Tutor) Craig Ramsay: Computing (Best Assessment and Feedback) Christopher Kydd: Humanities (Best Graduate Tutor)

Student Representative Council

The Student Representative Council (SRC) is a body made up of students from all areas of the University, including all the School Presidents, a number of students elected to represent various constituencies and a number of other student-filled positions. The SRC allows every student at the University a chance to get their voice heard and influence all areas of campus life, with the SRC being able to affect the decision-making process not just within DUSA but for the University of Dundee as a whole. It is a fantastic source of democracy on campus and all students are welcome to attend meetings.

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SRC Elections
In September we held elections to fill the 2012/2013 SRC. Most of the positions were hotly contested this year, including the relatively new position of SRC Councillor without Portfolio which received the most nominations. One candidate only won their position by a single vote, proof that every students vote really does matter! The 2012/13 SRC was the first for many years that had every position filled, a real achievement for everyone involved and a testament to the increasing engagement of students in the running of their institution.
Gary Lightbody, lead singer of Snow Patrol, once attended Dundee University.

Successes
The SRC has had a great many successes this year building on the work of previous Councils. Members of the SRC worked tirelessly to improve the service provided by the University with regards to timetables and reading lists, both of which will hopefully see great improvements for next years students which would not have happened otherwise. The SRC worked on a number of minimum standards which as of next year must be met by Schools in their election of student representatives, as well as the work of these representatives once they are chosen. This will ensure that at every rung of the representation ladder the students and the University both take into account the important role of these people and their work will be better supported. The SRC were also visited by a number of high profile members of University staff this year, which allowed them to speak directly with those who make the important decisions on campus. These guests included University Principal Pete Downes, Deputy Principal for Learning and Teaching David Coates, Director of ICS Ellen Keir and Richard Parsons and Denise Jackson from the Library & Learning Centre.

University Committees
Once again, student representatives have made valuable contributions across a whole range of University committees during the 2012/13 academic year. These committees have influenced every aspect of student life on campus and feedback from students allows us to have a real say in what happens here in Dundee. School Presidents have once again proven their worth on their own School Boards, and have been widely commended for their work within such groups. This year we reintroduced our School President of the Year Award due to the increased work put in by this group of very talented individuals and we hope that next years cohort do just as well.

The DUSA Executive Manifesto

This years DUSA Executive had their work cut out for them with an expansive and varied Manifesto full of objectives for them to complete in their short term in office. Due to their hard work and tremendous effort, and despite some difficult circumstances, the majority of their objectives were completed. Notable successes from the Manifesto include an expansive revamp of DUSAs online presence through a whole new website and its physical presence with the new VIP section in Mono, an increasing engaged SRC, a fantastic International Festival on campus and a number of successful welfare campaigns.

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Student Welfare
DUSA provides advice and guidance to its members. The University also assists students with any major issues and concerns, though generally just a friendly face and a helping hand from a fellow student or member of the Executive is needed.
Advice & Support
Currently located in DUSAs Level 4, the University Advice Team is composed of staff from the University Student Services Department, offering advice and pastoral support. This includes frontline queries, Peer Connections and a dedicated Student Support Worker for students living in University Residences. Help is available here no matter the query, and if the team cant answer, they can find out who can. The reception offers a small area for impromptu meetings, as well as access to advisers for drop-in sessions or scheduled appointments. The Advice Team run a number of welfare campaigns throughout the year, as well as events and training such as Knit and Natter and ASIST training.

Nightline Service
Student pastoral care is normally limited to the 9-5 working day, which isnt always the most effective method of provision - student life isnt always exactly 9-5! Nightline, an information and listening service, was launched in March 2012 to increase pastoral coverage, dealing with topics ranging from suicidal thoughts to DCA showings and taxi numbers. This year, Nightline provision has been increased from the previous three days a week to seven days a week during semester time, from 8pm to 8am, and can be contacted by phone or email. DUSA and the University work together to assist in providing the best care Nightline can give.

Financial Aid
The Student Funding Unit provides students with financial advice and guidance, and can provide funds in exceptional circumstances to assist students in financial difficulty. DUSA and the University have been praised for being one of the few institutions to include student representation on their Panel for Financial Aid, with the Vice President of Student Activities and Vice President of Student Welfare attending the weekly panels.
The original design for Mono was a swimming pool and the Campus Green was once a car park.

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Welfare Campaigns
Safer Sex
One of DUSAs long-standing goals is to encourage students to be open when talking about sex and sexual health. This year saw a second week-long campaign aimed at providing information regarding sexual health, particularly regarding sexually transmitted infections. DUSA also worked in tandem with the University Health Service to promote on-campus testing for chlamydia and gonorrhea.

DUSA campaigned creatively to convey their message, introducing Mocktails (non-alcoholic cocktails), encouraging students to eat before drinking, and to arrange transport home in advance.
Cybersafety
The DUSA Exec Facebook became host to the cybersafety campaign, with regular tips on a variety of subjects from internet banking to password management, with input from the Universitys Student Funding Unit.

Drink Safety
DUSA continues to be the safest students union in the UK and aims to educate students to remain safe. DUSA invited Womens Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre (WRASAC) to participate in a risk awareness campaign, distributing anti-spiking resources and information about possible risks.

Pet Therapy
By far the most popular of DUSAs welfare campaigns this year was the Pet Therapy initiative. This year saw the pilot run of Pet Therapy at DUSA. Students who felt the need of some pre-exam de-stressing emailed the Vice President Student Welfare, who then booked a twenty-minute slot with either Max and his owner, Anne Marie, or Kaiser and his owner, Dave. When the appointment time came around, the student made their way to DUSAs Level 4 offices where they and the dog could have some valuable bonding time.

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Events
RAG Week
International Cultures Festival
city such as the Lord Provost of Dundee, the University of Dundees Principal, many businessmen and local politicians. In addition to introducing the campaign, this event was the official launch of a series of custom-made card designs line by children affected with cancer and leukaemia. Three designs of Christmas cards and one of Happy Birthday, based on childrens drawings, were officially made available for sale with nearly 2000 cards being sold. RAG Week took place in the last week of January with events such as Speed Dating, a Comedy Night, Slave Auction, Hot Dog Eating Competition, International Cinema Night, Ladies Day and a Dundee Ghost Tour. More than 10 societies got involved, with 20 businesses providing raffle prizes and the initiative managed to raise 4300! The success of the event led to the drafting and approval through the Student Representative Council of a RAG Committee Constitution that details the campaigns objectives, the membership of the committee directly in charge of it and the logistical matters around organizing it. For the first time DUSA committed to organizing a week-long festival of events to celebrate the incredible cultural diversity represented on campus. The International Cultures Festival allowed the Association to appreciate the international diversity and to create an annually occurring event to showcase this. Some of the events organized with the help of dedicated societies on campus were the Chinese Lanterns release evening, an International Awardwinning Films Festival, traditional crafts workshop, and interfaith dialogue evening, a mini World Cup football tournament and the launch of the United Nations Association branch in Dundee. The UNICEF and Oxfam societies on campus organized a poverty banquet to educate students on the vast differences in access to food across nations. The Festival brought some 500 students together over the course of the whole week proving there is a thirst on campus to know more about foreign cultures, traditions, music, cuisine and art. This year has been an exceptional challenge for DUSAs resurrected initiative Raising and Giving Week. After more than three decades of no RAG Weeks, last year it was re-established. The challenge this year was how and whether DUSA would be able to build on last years momentum and develop the campaign in order to make it an integral part of the Associations annual calendar and confirm the campaigns importance in promoting its charitable objectives. Leading on from last years campaign, DUSA joined with Cash for Kids Dundee and ran a series of events to raise money for the Tayside Children with Cancer and Leukaemia charity. Their aim is to construct a fully equipped holiday home for children suffering from cancer or leukaemia and their families to relax in between treatments. TCCL are a childrens cancer and leukaemia charity, who work closely with the oncology staff at Ward 29 in Ninewells Hospital. TCCL has been serving the Tayside and North East Fife community since 1994. DUSAs partner in fundraising for TCCL Lodge is another well established and recognisable Tayside charity, Tay FMs Cash for Kids. Cash for Kids worked alongside DUSA and TCCL Lodge to publicise the campaign. RAG was launched on October 25th at a cocktail reception in DUSA. The campaign was introduced to the media, along with the events that were planned and the initiative that would run all the way through to the start of RAG Week in January. To emphasize the importance of the event as a tool to bring the University of Dundee closer to Dundees community and public life, showcasing the town and gown relationship, the campaign was endorsed by key figures to the

DUSA has spent over 16,000 training the Customer Safety team to the mandatory industry standard on Physical Intervention.

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Societies
Positive Changes
The number of societies on campus grew with about 15 new societies being officially affiliated to the Association. This included Oxfam, UNICEF, Feminist, Chess, Care of the Older People and Friends of Childreach International. All these societies have put in tremendous effort showing that DUSA is a hub for student activism and extracurricular activities on campus, which outreach far beyond its night-time activities. Many of DUSAs hundred societies joined the Executive Committee in organizing welfare campaigns, RAG Week and the International Festival. The Feminist Society was incredibly active on campus, joining forces with the Universitys Advice Team and external organizations to hold a series of self-defence workshops, movie screenings and lectures. The Model UN society helped the UNICEF society make brave steps on campus by partnering with other international child-related societies such as Save the Children and Child Reach International to organize interactive activities and educate the student body on these groups experience of poverty and curable diseases. The Diplomats at Dundee Society has attended a number of international conferences in Europe thus giving the opportunity for nearly 50 students to interact with others from the continent, exchange contacts and build lasting relations for future partnerships. The society is ambitiously organising a second Discover to Inspire conference to be held in Dundee this time focusing on the issues of sustainability. The artistic societies on campus, such as LIP theatre, the Music Society and OpSoc yet again mesmerised the student audience and proved that talent can be found everywhere.

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Annual Awards
On an unusually warm Saturday evening DUSAs Air Bar became the stage for DUSAs Annual Awards Dinner at which the efforts of societies, journalists and student representatives were celebrated. Societies, media outlets and SRC councillors had over a month to nominate others for ten different awards. It is important to note that despite the fact that there were winners in each category, all nominated societies and those who did not make it to the shortlist, showed exceptional dedication to campus activism and extra-curricular life over the past year. The Best Society Event award was won by the Music Society for their exceptionally successful events The Cooler and Carmina Burana. The Oxfam Society was awarded the Best New Society prize for running several poverty awareness events on campus and cooperating successfully with existing societies. The title Most Progressive Society was granted to the Model United Nations Society for the increase in conferences attended and their willingness to engage the student body in international affairs through simulations and working with other societies. The Feminist Society with their various protests on campus, active feminism awareness focused events such as lectures and self-defence workshops and their successful AGM motion to ban The Sun from campus shops were named the Most Active Society on campus. Jivko Jeliazkov was awarded the Societies Achievement Award for his work forging partnerships with other organisations across the globe. Two societies were named Best Societies of the Year. The OpSoc group, which this year celebrated their 50th anniversary put on the tremendous show Evita! and won for their continued efforts to perform professional musicals year after year. The Diplomats at Dundee Society was awarded the same title for their work off-campus to develop the University of Dundees international reputation and for their success in organising an international youth conference on campus.

Most Active Society

Save the Children Diplomats@Dundee Feminist Society

Society of the Year

GESS Diplomats OpSoc

Best Society Event Society Achievement Award

Jivko Jeliazkov Douglas Schreiber Thalea Turowski Evita! The Cooler and Carmina Burana GESS Pub Quiz

Most Progressive Society

Save the Children Model UN Music Society 019

Best New Society

Oxfam Society Feminist Society UNICEF Society

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Engaging With
The Magdalen
Dundee Universitys student magazine has continued to increase its presence on campus this year, proving to be a credible read with great influence. This year has seen the physical transformation of the magazine as it dimensions have been cut in size to a newly improved sleek, small style which is more convenient for our readers to carry around, consequently enticing more students to pick up a copy. More thought went into what the magazines demographic was and articles were commissioned accordingly. Content was directed away from current affairs and towards more light-hearted stories such as 50 Shades of S**** and A Doomsday Guide to Leaving University. The Magdalen and the Exec worked together to increase transparency between the DUSA Exec and the student body through the monthly column VPE Update in which the VPE wrote about the projects that the Exec were working on each month. Over the past year some of the highlights for the Magdalen have included guest speaker Steve Bargeton, Deputy Editor of The Courier coming in to lead a Q&A session with the team. For the first time one of The Magdalens writers had an article published in The Courier, showing that the skills acquired through involvement in The Magdalen can be applied in more professional publications. They also carried out an interview with the Universitys Rector, Brian Cox. Furthermore the Sports section has transformed into Meet the Team as opposed to reporting sports news on campus as we feel it gives a more personal insight to the members of the team and consequently may urge more people to get involved in campus sport.

Discover Radio
Following a difficult year for Discover Radio, the decision was taken to rebrand and re-launch it as DUSA Radio. With a brand new set of equipment and a fantastic new radio manager, Craig Donoghue, we are extremely excited to see what DUSA Radio has in store for us in this following year. We have great faith and are enthusiastic about witnessing the level of success we believe DUSA Radio can achieve. Furthermore the Executive are extremely keen to get involved and work with DUSA Radio in any way we can, consequently creating an opportunity to engage with our students.

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Our Members
DUSA TV
This year DUSA TV has gone from strength to strength following the success of the previous years. As well as continuing on with our flagship show The SOC Adventures, which was piloted last year, our news show has been reinvigorated and has taken a new form, consequently allowing for a more comprehensive outlook on the state of affairs on campus. Incorporating new presenters who have reported on the latest news and events from the field and our studio has further enriched the quality of our output. DUSA TV has been allowed to be more flexible with how they create their content following an investment in new equipment. We have refocused our efforts to put more emphasis on current events allowing us to engage with the wider student community. This falls in line with our increased collaboration with our sister outlets, following the rebranding of the student media as DUSA Media. Furthermore, now that we have been officially affiliated with NaSTA (National Student Television Association), this has paid the way for future collaborations with other studios and opening up DUSA TV to the larger student community. Highlights of the past year include the in-depth coverage of the DUSA Elections along with the increase of creative shots only made possible by a great intake of new members this year. We wish the new DUSA TV Manager Doug Young all the best in this following year and are eager to see how he can help DUSA TV flourish even more.

DUSA Media Website

Over the past year we have been working to create a DUSA Media website. This will serve as a single forum, hosting information about all three of our Media outlets here at DUSA in one place rather than on separate web pages. We have appointed our new Online Manager Felix Reimer who is very enthusiastic about building this website and making it a success. We are eager to see what Felix has in store for us and how he can utilize the website to promote each of our media outlets and show their full potential.

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Freshers & Refreshers Weeks

Freshers Week
Freshers Week kick-started the academic year with performances from the likes of Tinchy Stryder, Radio 1s Scott Mills and Ibiza Rocks in addition to personal appearances from stars of the BAFTA award winning Made In Chelsea and Geordie Shore. The Monday of Freshers Week was particularly challenging when both that nights headlining acts cancelled in the afternoon. However despite the shortest of notice the Events & Marketing Department still booked two credible replacements and ensured that the night was busier than the previous year. This year DUSA launched two one-day festivals as part of its Freshers programme. Unfortunately these failed to meet expectations, highlighting the difficulties of introducing changes to what is a successful formula and Scotlands best programme of Freshers Week entertainment. Despite ticket sales achieving budgeted targets, for the first time DUSA noticed the effects of pre-loading on Freshers Week attendance. Building numbers, prior to midnight, were up to a third below that from the previous year and as a result, although peak attendance figures remained at the same level as 2011/12, bar sales dropped by 20%.

Refreshers Week
Once again Refreshers Week started a week before the start of Semester 2, at a time just four years ago when The Union would have still been closed. Running for two weeks, this years highlights were Radio 1s Jaguar Skills, Rudimental and stars from TVs TOWIE. Attendance in the first week dropped by 13% on 2012, however in the second week footfall increased significantly to 14% ahead of the previous year.

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DUSA Finance
It may come as a surprise to many people to discover that DUSA/The Union is in fact a charity and is designated as a Not for Profit Organisation.
Initially this might appear unusual as our services are not open to members of the public; however, we do exist to meet the charitable needs of our members. Although we operate a number of high-profile services such as affordable catering, entertainments, cafes and bars, we also provide a whole host of pastoral services such as campaigns, representing the students when they may be in difficulties with the University and supporting the many clubs and societies. Unlike most charities that obtain their funding from donations, DUSA only receives in the region of one-ninth of its funds in the form of donations. This means that the vast majority of our funding has to come from trading with the students. So if you have ever wondered what happens to the money that students handover in the campus shops, bars, caf or indeed Mono, it doesnt go to pay shareholders dividends or fat-cat bonuses; it is invested back into the charity for the benefit of the student body as a whole. This is a point worth reiterating to students when they are bombarded daily by messages from all the citys commercial nightclubs, restaurants and pubs. We dont expect students to spend their hard-earned money with us simply because we are their own private Club. We do our very best to ensure that the goods and services offered are as good as, if not better, than the High Street and priced at a level that our members can afford.

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Projected Financial Results 2012/2013

DUSA Income (000s)
DUSA derives the majority of its income though trading with its members via the DUSA bars, shops, catering and entertainments. An annual grant is also received from the University of Dundee.
University Grant Income from Trading with Members Other Income

DUSA Costs (000s)

DUSA spends its income on the costs of providing bars, catering and entertainments, together with the cost of all the services DUSA provides.
Other Costs Costs of Trading with Members

DUSA Financial Summary (000s)

The surplus DUSA makes from trading with its members is added to the University Grant and other income. This is then used to pay for all the services which DUSA provides, resulting in a projected deficit for 2012/2013 of 66,000.

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Executive Manifesto
Next years Executive are already hard at work on their campaigns and pledges for the upcoming year. For the fourth year running they are putting together a Manifesto that will outline their goals for the year which will be given out to students when they arrive in Dundee in September. Your DUSA
DUSA has come on leaps and bounds in previous years when it comes to our representation. With increased turnout in elections and a successful AGM under our belts next year we are going to give every student on campus the chance to have their say on issues which matter to them. To this end we will be introducing referendums, which will let any student submit questions that will be voted on via MyDundee, making DUSA a more democratic body. The Executive also want to build on the successes of previous years by encouraging the growth of DUSA Media, welfare campaigns and awareness of the DUSA Exec. They will ensure that adequate support is given to all the media outlets so that they can be the best that they can be and become leaders in their field. They will work with the University to ensure that welfare campaigns are more successful than ever before and they will be keeping students informed of all of their work throughout the year.

Your Degree
The DUSA Exec realise that the main reason you are here in Dundee is to obtain a degree and as such are basing a range of campaigns on improving upon the students educational experience. Student representation is obviously at the core of this and next year they will introduce in-house training and minimum standards for all class representatives, which will make sure that every student rep is well-trained and able to fulfil their role expertly. DUSA will also be working alongside the University on a number of other issues. The Careers Service run a great Careers Fayre every year but the Exec want to work with them to make this even better. They will also be putting their weight behind campaigns to improve the Universitys advisor system, as well as lobbying to ensure that reading lists and timetables are released as early as possible for students to allow them to prepare for the year ahead.

Your Dundee
Of course a students time in Dundee isnt just spent within the University environment and next years Executive want to ensure that students at Dundee are well-informed about the world around them. To this end, they will be running a series of political campaigns throughout the year dealing with issues relating to the Scottish Independence Referendum and also other matters relevant to students. DUSA will also be hosting a number of events throughout the year to broaden the horizons of its members. These will include an Aspire lecture series where inspirational people will come speak directly to students, and also an International Culture Festival where everyone can learn about the many and varied cultures on campus.

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The Future
Over the course of the last year DUSA and the University have continued to work together on a range of issues. This has meant that we have been more closely involved than ever before in the important decisions made on campus. For the first time in a number of years we will be receiving an increase in our annual subvention from the University. This will allow us to hire two new members of staff to aid the DUSA Executive in their work. DUSA will be hiring a Clubs and Societies Coordinator who will be able to assist the VPSA in their role of organising and working with over 100 student societies, as well as in the planning of our ever-growing Raising and Giving Week. We are also hiring an Executive Policy Officer who will be able to assist the Executive in their Manifesto pledges, work on University committees and responses to government consultations. DUSA will also see some substantial changes to our building over the coming years, following on from the successful expansion of Mono earlier this year. Most notably to students will be the opening of a student hub in the space previously occupied by the bank on Level 2. This hub will offer frontline support to students provided by Student Services, with the aim of bringing together people from various departments to create a first-stop point of contact for students on a whole range of issues. We will also see an expansion to our Premier store next year which will allow us to offer a better service to students, increase the range of items we stock and hopefully increase our profits which are of course reinvested straight back into DUSA. Finally, we will also see some movement behind the scenes with our senior management and administrative staff moving offices from Cross Row across from the Main Library to the top of Airlie Place. This will situate them a lot closer to DUSA and allow the organisation to expand as needed. With Dundee moving in a great direction over the past few years and continuing to do so with the expansion of the Waterfront, the building of the V&A at Dundee and our bid to become UK City of Culture 2017 it is important that DUSA keeps up. We have a great few years in front of us and were all looking forward to seeing where it takes us.

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