What is Conference?
The OU Students Association Conference happens once every two years and is a day filled with opportunities to get involved in your Students Association, take part in key Association business, find out about the services and support your Association offers, feedback to us on what matters to you, take part in workshops and network with other OU students.
Where and when will this Conference be held?
The OU Students Association biennial Conference 2024 will take place on Saturday 15 June 2024 and will be solely online to maximise the number of OU Students that can attend!
Why will Conference be online this year?
We believe that holding Conference online will make the event more representative, democratic and inclusive. It allows us to remove the cap of around 300 students who could attend and vote in previous conferences, and to be more inclusive in allowing those who wouldn’t be able to make it to one central site to join as well. The two week voting window also widens the opportunities to vote.
Am I eligible to attend?
All Open University students are able to attend Conference 2024 provided that they vote on Conference business beforehand, during our voting window. This applies to all OU students who have studied with the OU within the last two years unless they have completed their qualification. You will be asked to share your Personal Identifier (PI number), which is a letter followed by seven numbers; please make sure that this is accurate, as it is our way of verifying you on our system.
How do I get a place?
You will need to vote on Conference business during our voting window (24 May to 7 June) to be able to attend Conference, but numbers will be uncapped for the first time ever! Once the voting window closes, all students who have voted will receive a link to sign up for Conference.
How will you safeguard my personal data?
We will only ask you for information we require for the purposes of managing the event, including enabling you to vote and to attend the online Conference. After the event, once we have completed our evaluation, your data will be deleted. We may anonymise it to provide a demographic analysis of those participating in this process, but you won’t be identifiable from any analysis. You can read more about this in the Students Association’s Privacy Policy.
What does it cost?
The event is free of charge to attend but don’t forget to vote in the Association business to secure your place!
What if I can’t make it after all?
If you sign up then we encourage you to attend. However, we do understand that life can get in the way, so if you sign up and then something comes around meaning you can no longer attend, do not worry as spaces are not limited this year.
I am not active in the Students Association; can I still go?
Students who are not currently involved in the OU Students Association are more than welcome to sign up to attend, as long as you have chosen not to opt out of your Association membership. We are very excited to welcome students who haven’t been involved in the Association before as well as our active students.
Who runs Conference?
Conference is run by the OU Students Association. It is a charity organisation run by students, for students. A number of elected representatives, volunteers and staff will be online to help facilitate and run the online event. They will introduce themselves towards the start of the event.
What is meant by Conference Business?
Part of Conference will be dedicated to announcing decisions resulting from the official voting happening before Conference which will affect OU students. Before Conference, all the relevant information will be available online, where debates and discussions can take place so you can decide how to vote. You will need to familiarise yourself with the key issues you will be voting about and then tell us what you think.
Can I put forward a policy idea to be voted on?
We appreciate students wishing to put forward policy ideas to be voted on by fellow students. On Wednesday 27 March, we opened a webpage where students could make suggestions for policy, as well as up or down-vote and comment on other students’ ideas. This closed on Sunday 28 April, to give the Trustees time to consider the support of all suggestions, and to get all related documents finalised in time for debating and voting.
One of the suggestions made on the policy suggestions webpage received support and will be voted on as Resolution F, to: “Approve a motion for representatives of the OU Students Association to campaign for the University not to reduce the existing curriculum, even when making financial cuts, but rather to find ways of preserving and, wherever possible extending, the curriculum .”
The policy suggestions page can still be viewed here.
At all times, the student issues webpage remains available for students to submit anything they would like the Student Leadership Team (SLT) to look at on their behalf.
When do I vote?
You’ll need to vote on the business of Conference which will enable you full access to the Conference. We are planning to hold the voting online in the lead-up to the event from 24 May to 7 June, with further details to be announced.
What if I don’t know anyone?
The OU Students Association Conference is a fantastic opportunity to join in with fellow students, and this time we hope more than ever will attend as the event will be uncapped, which means that all eligible students who vote will be able to attend.
I don’t know anything about the OU Students Association or student politics – is it worth my while? (I’m worried everyone else knows all about it and it’s my first time)
Not to worry if you are new to the OU Students Association. You certainly won't be the only one. Our mission is to represent the community and the voice of OU students. Conference is an opportunity for you to have your say on a number of decisions that will impact OU students and also a chance to engage with your fellow students and find out more about your University. Everyone starts somewhere!
Is Conference suitable for my additional needs?
If you have additional needs please let us know by emailing oustudents-conference@open.ac.uk. We will do our utmost to ensure that materials and resources are accessible, as well as supporting students when online events are taking place.
Tech help and FAQs
On conference day, you will be able to contact our Helpdesk to receive support on: 01908 653819
How to I join the sessions?
Use the Association app on mobile devices or our Guidebook on a browser for links to the sessions within the event listings. They are mostly Microsoft Teams meetings and live events that you do not have to be logged in for and will open automatically in your browser.
Can I partake in Q&A and discussions in the meetings?
This will be dependent on the session type, although some will. Lots of the sessions are open for you to partake in and you can submit questions for some sessions prior to the Conference.
I cannot hear or see any content in the meetings and events and/or no one can see or hear me!
It's worth checking a few different areas before panicking:
-
Is your microphone and/or camera muted?
-
If using a browser rather than the Teams app, does it have permission to use your microphone and/or camera?
-
We recommend using the Teams app if possible (it's downloadable for your phone and desktop) though all sessions should work through your web browser too.
Do you have more questions? No problem!
Please email oustudents-conference@open.ac.uk