Life on the NEC is quite simply an incredible experience. No two days are the same, and the opportunity to meet such a diverse range of students and other people connected with education is amazing. That said if you want it to be, it can also be very intense to operate within. On coming into NUS as a full timer the one thing that caught me slightly off guard is the speed with which things happen, and the constant demands this brings. I’ve adjusted now, and I’ve every enjoyed second of what I’ve experienced so far, but it is worth bearing in mind quite how much some members of the NEC do. I hope that my latest blogs, charting my key meetings and activities in my final two months (May and June) at the University of Leicester Students’ Union and officially coming into NUS, will convey this.

In the three months between conference in April and officially starting at NUS in July, I have already visited 22 University campuses, and an even greater number of towns and cities for a variety of other meetings on anything from the student experience, to student involvement in Centres for Excellence Teaching and Learning (CETLs) through to debates on higher education funding. Given I’ve reached 22 campuses in the three months before even starting at NUS, I think it’s quite feasible to reach 100 before my year is up (this is now an unofficial target I’ve set myself), here are the Universities I have visited between April and the end of June:

University of Leicester

University of Manchester

Leeds University

Wolverhampton University

Derby University

Warwick University

Oxford Brookes

Sheffield University

Aston University

Kent University

Chester University

Nottingham Trent University

Sheffield Hallam University

Royal Holloway, University of London

Exeter University

Bath University

Plymouth University

Leeds Metropolitan University

Bishop Grot

University of West England

University College London

York University

Before taking you though a whistle stop tour of my key meetings and events, I want to dwell on what I consider to be three of the most significant activities I’ve been involved with in May and June.

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