The day in the life of an Academic Affairs Officer differs a lot from day-to-day and week-to-week.
During the exam period it is quiet, so today I had a 1:1 meeting with our external coach and then will be ticking things off my to-do list and having lunch before going to a 2hour meeting about MEQ questions and then straight to a meeting with the university executive group.
My to-do list will include things like posting about my Diversify campaign, looking at papers for tomorrow’s meetings and writing the weekly emails I send round to Academic Reps and Postgraduate Network.
All officers and the CEO of the union attend the meeting with the uni exec, monthly, to chat about what’s important for students and the university right now. Tomorrow is a bit more relaxed on the meeting side, I have one meeting in the morning and then I’ll be chatting with a Faculty Officer to see how I can support their role. Making connections with Faculty Officers and reps is important as Academic Affairs Officer as you’re able to help them, and their role is very valuable to you.
On the weeks where there is more going on, for example the week of the Academic Zone or the week of meet & greets, the job is more like events management! There are still meetings to go to in the day, but in between you’re more likely to be organising a meet and greet of some sort.
I run the Postgrad Network and hope future Academic Affairs Officers will too, so I plan cheese and wine evenings for them during the week of the meet & greets. I also usually organise the women’s meet & greet, as this is the one I identify with, and so make bunting, little tasks to do and an A3 women’s tree where everyone writes down one woman who inspires them. I love doing these meet and greets as everyone’s always so grateful for something to bring them together.
During the week of the Academic Zone, I will also plan a meet & greet for academic reps afterwards, as they are the ones who mostly attend the Zone. This meet & greet may include a quiz, or games, and as with all meet & greets, we always provide free refreshments! The Academic Affairs role has a good mix of these event planning and running moments, and also meetings. This has given me a range of skills and experiences which makes me feel confident for any jobs I may do in the future.