Aston Students' Union is a democratic membership organisation.  This means that it exists to serve its members (which are Aston students), and that members (also Aston students!) are elected to run it.

Every year, four Sabbatical Officers and ten Part-Time Officers are elected to lead the organisation. If you're an Aston student and you want to make a difference to the lives of other Aston students, then becoming an Officer might be for you!

If you're an Aston student, then almost definitely. You must have opted in to Aston Students' Union membership - although if you haven't, or are unsure, you can check on opt in on MAP. There is no charge to be a member of Aston Students' Union.

For the Full-Time, or Sabbatical roles (President, VP Education, VP Welfare, VP Student Activities), you must be prepared to undertake a year's full-time, paid work in the Students' Union. Students often do this as a Placement role, or in the year immediately after graduating, although theoretically any student can get involved.

As with most elections, to be elected, you'll have to get the highest number of votes! Voting will take place from 9-13 March 2020, and all Aston Students' Union members will be able to submit one electronic vote. The voting system used is called Alternative Voting - you can learn about it here. During that week, you'll try to get as many students as possible to vote for you - you can do this online (for example, through social media) and in person (for example, through flyering, talking to people, and lecture shout-outs).

There are a few things you'll need to do - firstly, you'll need to think about which role you'd be best suited for. Are you looking to work alongside your studies, or would you like to work in the Students' Union full-time? Are you interested in working on projects to do with mental health, education, sports, or something else? Read through the Officer Roles if you're still unsure.

Then you'll need to create a manifesto to show potential voters why you'd be the best candidate to vote for. This can be text-based, or a visual manifesto (made on Publisher, Photoshop, GIMP, Canva, or a similar programme) - or you can submit both. Click here to watch a video to find out how.

After the nomination period has closed, you must attend a training session. These sessions will be on Monday 2 March and Wednesday 4 March. You'll also need to get your photo taken by the Students' Union's Marketing team. If you don't get a photo taken, your nomination will be removed from the election.