What are the Leadership Elections By-Elections and why should I care?

The Leadership Elections 2026 are an annual democratic exercise here at AUBSU in which all students choose who represents them for the next academic year. They took place in February/March this year but unfortunately we didn’t get any candidates for the Student Executive Officer position, hence why we are giving you another chance to be apart of this leadership team and take on this role!

Across the country student union elections exist to make sure that students have representation across the institution and on issues that matter to them. Student Union leaders are elected to advocate for students and ensure their voices are heard. Whether you are thinking of nominating yourself or you are just planning on voting – engaging in the elections is integral to ensure you have had your say in who represents you and your student experience.  

Results in the Leadership Elections By-Elections 2026 for Student Executive Officer

In this election 138 votes were submitted with the winning quota being 27.

In Round 1

Lauren Grant received 73 first preference votes and was therefore elected.

Alana Simms received 20 first preference votes.

Evelyn Green received 20 first preference votes.

Indy Quartel received 20 first preference votes.

Akio Salem received 5 first preference votes.

Round 2

As Lauren Grant had been already elected, their votes above quote were removed and redistributed amongst candidates in order of voters second preference.

Alana Simms received 15.13 votes and so was elected.

Evelyn Green received 15.13 votes and so was elected.

Indy Quartel received 8.90 votes and so was elected.

Akio Salem received 6.23 votes but unfortunatly did not meet quota and the positions were already filled and so therefore was unsuccessful in this election.

Congratulations to…

Alana Simms
Lauren Grant
Indy Quartel
Evelyn Green

They join Achilles, President (Student Union) and Lily, President (Student Experience) as part of the Executive Committee for the 2026-2027 academic year.

The Leadership Elections will be back in January 2027 to elect our next group of student leaders for the 2027-2028 academic year.

Meet the Candidates for the Leadership Elections 2026 By Elections for Student Executive Officer

What are the Leadership Elections By-Elections and why should I care?

The Leadership Elections 2026 are an annual democratic exercise here at AUBSU in which all students choose who represents them for the next academic year. They took place in February/March this year but unfortunately we didn’t get any candidates for the Student Executive Officer position, hence why we gave you another chance to be apart of this leadership team and take on this role! 

Across the country student union elections exist to make sure that students have representation across the institution and on issues that matter to them. Student Union leaders are elected to advocate for students and ensure their voices are heard. It is really important you vote – engaging in the elections is integral to ensure you have had your say in who represents you and your student experience.   

What roles are available?

Student Executive Officers x 4  

Along with the Sabbatical Officers, the Student Executive Officers make up the Executive Committee which meet monthly. The Student Executive Officers don’t have portfolios (not mandated to a particular area) are part time and are voluntary. Their job is to campaign for the issues that matter to students and to ensure their voices are represented and their feedback is heard. Every day is different and you will get involved in various ways. This could look like being involved in planning, jumping on social media, attending meetings (such as the student assembly) or running campaigns.

Candidate Reveal

Evelyn Green

More Access. More Belonging. More Creativity.

Expanding on accessible and affordable university transport

-Starting university is a big change for local and moving students so making public transport more accessible for everyone can help students explore, travel and live across the wider BPC area. To do this I would fight to expand the uni bus pass to include all Zone A buses not just ones going to bournemouth to make commuting more affordable and to share more of our local area

Easier transitions for all freshers students

-The transition of starting university is difficult for all students and I believe that not enough is done before freshers week to help everyone adjust to this big change in their lives. Because of this I would suggest creating more guides and opportunities for both local and moving students to help make this process smoother. I would also look at offering volunteer positions in person and over the phone a few weeks before starting to answer any questions, connect students to the right people, offer support and help anxious students feel more prepared.

Exploring new creative opportunities for all art mediums

-Outside of work experience you don’t see many more unique mediums being represented online and in many creative opportunities, because AUB offers so many unique creative degrees I believe it is important to highlight what makes our university stand out and offer more opportunities that are tailored to every type of medium. This could be done through themed exhibitions, interviewing students about their work or highlighting different courses and students every month through social media to help get students work out to larger audiences.

Encouraging university spirit

-Something that shocked me when I joined AUB was the lack of merchandise, I assumed that a creative university like this one would have different pieces of merchandise for students to show pride in where they’re studying. I think that if Bournemouth University has a merch shop we should too where we sell wearable and functional pieces of merch designed by students. It could also be a fun way to put some money back into the students union or there could be certain collections or limited drops to help fund different events hosted by the union.

Lauren Grant

Connecting this incredible community

Support:

During second year I went through something really hard and, whilst the university was incredible at supporting me and I had a brilliant network of friends, there was so much in-between space where I was kind of on my own and functioning became really hard. I know that this is a common experience and that just because your struggles are not being recognised doesn’t mean they aren’t impacting you. Therefore, I want to create resources for students going through a variety of challenges. I plan to work to integrate all of the services available to uni students into a guide specifically designed to support those going through a particular difficulty (e.g. support at uni after/during a bereavement, after trauma, through a friendship breakup or a breakup-breakup) and make this readily accessible and distributed.

Skills-sharing fairs:

My plan is to facilitate a regularly skills-sharing fair where you can learn specific niche skills taught by fellow students. Skills such as: basic clothes mending, how to stretch , how to sketch a face, or anything else you feel like YOU could teach – it will be run by volunteers. This will give students an opportunity to gain valuable experience teaching/ running a workshop which will look great to employers and help build our university community!

Anti-loneliness schemes:

We all know how lonely being at uni can be – it’s a universal feeling and can sometimes exist even when you’re surrounded by others. I plan to run ‘future friend dates’ – activity-based projects or coffee mornings where the whole idea is creating an environment where it is easy to make new connections and foster community.

Jobs/volunteering opportunities at uni:

I plan to work alongside the SU in their current goal to provide opportunities for students to gain paid and unpaid experience in university-based projects and jobs. This includes campaigning for more student art collabs, such as murals on our university buildings, student skills being used and commissions being made. In addition, I want to create a system where volunteer job roles are created/ advertised and students are more supported to take part in these, as volunteering is part of building community and can be a great stepping stone to becoming more employable!

Ally information:

As a white cis woman, I have a certain amount of privilege that society has given me that it withholds from others, mainly trans and gender non-conforming folks, people of colour, disabled people and other marginalised groups. To create a functioning society, it is important that those of us with privilege recognise this and educate ourselves on any harm we may be unwittingly causing, whether this be through what we say, activities we choose to partake in, or things we see but do not address. I want to make this vital knowledge a part of university education by creating ally guides, informed by thorough research and marginalised voices, and make this information easily accessible to help make AUB feel like a safe space for everyone.  

Indy Quartel

I want the bus to run more

My name is Indy Quartel and I’m a 3rd year illustration student.

Last year I was a part time officer and I hope to continue the work I was able to begin before, such as:

Better bus routes and times for students

Making student support easier to access/ find

A lot of students are unaware of the different kinds of support the school offers due to a lack of clear ways to find what the school has to offer. I would like to help make the schools websites and social media more accessible for students to utilise what help aub has to offer.

Bus routes have also been a common concern with students as people living outside of the main accommodation routes have irregular or untimely busses. I would like to work with the students union to push for the different routes and times people need the bus for, as the constant changing and/ or inconvenient times make living and commuting in Bournemouth harder.

Akio Salem

Striving for a perfect creative environment

As art students, one of the most important factors to be able to be creative in the first place, is the environment which we create in.

This environment ranges from things as simple as the rooms we sleep and work in to the people we interact and befriend. Even the smallest things which are inconsequential to most people can have a great impact on our ability to create.

What I would aim to achieve is to be able to get the university, with the help of students, to be able to create this perfect creative environment. In doing this I would strive to take a holistic approach and try to take aim at the real issues that students are concerned with.

When I first came to AUB and inspected my room, along with filling out the room checklist which im sure many of you know about. My bathroom had black mold growing in it and the walls were (and still are!) dotted with chipped paint. Now my curtains are falling apart and I am worried about paying the cost for this. Small things like these cause stress which impedes our ability to create. I would aim to tackle issues which cause stress to students.

This also includes issues of inclusivity. AUB is thankfully very inclusive and welcoming to people who identify in a variety of ways. And in contrast to the rest of the UK it feels like a safe haven in this respect. Nonetheless we can always strive to be better in this regard, as artists we often lead the way in terms of social progressiveness and we should strive to push this further.

Along with this, it is unfortunately at times difficult to ascertain the universities stance on ai. I have a hard stance against ai. I believe it is poisonous to creativity especially. It seeks to replace us, reducing the arts to a commodity and the people who seek to push it hard are often quacks.

We are one of the largest student cohorts in AUB compared to previous years. If we are able to organise we would be able to push to further improve on what is already an amazing creative environment.

Alana Simms

Help me make AUB more accessible and supportive for neurodivergency

I’m Alana, a 3rd-year illustrator, and the role I am running for is part-time student Executive Officer. If I’m elected, I will be focusing on getting better and more reliable accommodations permanently in place for neurodivergent/ AUDHD students on campus.

Key things I would like to focus on:

Continuing to work on getting a sensory room on campus

Ensuring AUB and AUBSU events are accessible

Introducing education accommodations

Introducing neurodivergent events!

To go into more depth for working on getting a sensory room I would like to get the idea signed of by AUB and then I can work out specifics, funding and where it should be placed. For AUB and AUBSU events I would like to extend the quite hour and make sure there is either a quite space or sensory tent on the day of events.

education accommodations I want to work on getting us an automatic one-week extension for neurodivergent students. As for nuerodivergent events I would really like to have some things on for nuerodiversity celebration week with connection and wholesome elements.

I am passionate about this opportunity as I am an AUDHD & dyslexic student myself, so I know from lived experience how important accommodations are, especially in education. This will also enable me to more easily spot things at uni that need to be changed than someone without lived experience might not recognise as issues/ a barrier for some. 

Voting is open NOW so make sure you VOTE, check out the candidates campaigns for more information.

You will be sent a direct link to vote from Choice Voting, or you can click the link on our page.

Voting closes Thursday 29th October at 12pm. Results will be released Friday 30th October at 12pm.

Question & Answer

Lauren Grant

What is the biggest challenge you want to make to AUB?

The biggest change I want to make at AUB is helping us expand and deepen this community. We are such a brilliantly talented, skilled, hardworking bunch of people and together we create magic! And I believe there are avenues we can go down to further increase collaboration, student networking and generally help people build their villages. By that I mean not just academic and industry networks, but VILLAGES – spiderwebs of people you can turn to for support, learning, growth and encouragement. I want to do this through encouraging skills sharing and education, creating more tailored support systems, providing opportunities for student connection and building anti-loneliness schemes as well as creating resources for those of us with privilege to learn how to be good allies and support marginalised or vulnerable people within our society. 

What is your number one priority if you get elected?

My number one priority is always to make people feel like someone has got their back, therefore I would focus immediately on building stronger and more tailored support channels. Whilst I myself have felt very well supported here at AUB, there is always that space in-between accessing formal care where people can feel lost, isolated and alone, especially living away from home or when you have a lot on your plate. I know that is true for me. My mission would be to find ways of cushioning that in-between time and helping find ways to make it easier for people to access extra support available and giving education to those struggling through tailored support guides informed by community feedback. 

Why should I vote for you?

I am good at connecting to people. As an ADHDer, I am deeply empathetic and can slip into the metaphorical shoes of anyone, which means I care about everyone. The role of a student executive officer is all about that bridge between the students and the university. I am skilled at communicating and articulating my own experiences as well as the experiences of others and am deeply curious about the world around me, especially other people. I know what I believe in and fight for what I think is right, and I believe in the profound power of community and raising up people’s voices – YOUR voice. We are powerful as a collective and can make real change, and I know I am good at making change.

How will you make sure you’re representing ALL students, and not just the ones you know?

Ask everyone about their experiences – not just my friends and the people in my every day. Whether it’s waiting in line at Bad Hand or chatting to someone at a society event, I LOVE asking people about their lives and will chat to any friendly stranger given half the chance. I try my best to educate myself on my experience of the world as it differs to those from other walks of life and will use that to inform decisions I make so that everyone feels supported – not just those who fit neatly into boxes. I will also work to create easier avenues of communication for ALL students to the university and staff, as everyone deserves to feel supported, fulfilled, empowered and joyful during their time at university and beyond. 