An Introduction to Student Council
The Student Council is the main representative body of the Students’ Union. It is made up of Student Councillors who represent students from across the University. It is primarily responsible for serving as a discussion and debate forum for students to discuss relevant issues and propose policy proposals to the Students' Union. Motions passed at the Student Council direct the SU's work and Student Councillors play a key role in holding our five Elected Student Officers into account.
The Student Council discusses issues and concerns of the student community locally and nationally, voting on all decisions. The Council sets the policy direction of the Students’ Union. It also provides an opportunity for students to share information about their course, school, student group, or forums with fellow students. The Student Council is also an excellent way for students to develop their skills such as confidence, communication, interpersonal, and public speaking skills.
If you would like further information or have any questions about the Student Council, you can get in touch via ausareps@abdn.ac.uk.
Student Council Meetings
The Student Council has agreed to meet on the following dates:
Meeting Date |
Motion Deadline |
14th December |
30th November |
23rd January |
9th January |
27th February |
13th February |
Dates for Student Council meetings to be held in March, April, and May will be agreed upon at a future Student Council meeting.
Meetings are held in KCG7 and are open to all students to observe.
For further information, please contact ausareps@abdn.ac.uk. The papers and minutes of previous meetings can be found below.
Student Council Reading Materials
Student Council reading materials are papers that are presented to Student Councillors ahead of each meeting. These include the agenda for the meeting, the minutes of the previous meeting, Sabbatical Officer Work Reports, motions, any other information on the topics being discussed at each meeting. You can download the papers for each meeting below and if you have any questions about them, you can email ausareps@abdn.ac.uk.
Chair of Council
The elected Chair of Council regulates the discussion and makes sure that everyone gets a fair chance to speak and is being respected. The Chair and Vice-Chair also compile the Agenda and the reading documents before each Council meeting. The Chair of Student Council is Nirvan Abedi and the Vice-Chair is Mathla Al Salmi.
Membership of Council
Student Council is comprised of the five Elected Student Officers, the Chairs (where this role is not performed by an Elected Student Officer) and Vice-Chairs of each standing committee, the School Conveners, and three Postgraduate Representatives. In addition, there are two representatives from each liberation or section forum, and one representative from each formally recognised Student Group. The current Elected members of Student Council are listed below. Details of our Student Groups can be found here (select filter 'Student Group'. Details of our Liberation and Section Forums can be found here.
Name |
Position |
Nirvan Abedi |
Chair of Council |
Mathla Al Salmi |
Vice-Chair of Student Council |
Elena Bolotina |
Vice-Chair Sport |
Vadym Kapliuk |
Vice-Chair Societies |
Christina Schmid |
Vice-Chair Communities |
Harmony Wopara |
Vice-Chair Environment & Ethics |
Kaitlin Agius |
Vice-Chair Welfare |
Akhil Anchamparathy |
Qatar Chair |
Sadia Naveed |
Vice-Chair Qatar |
Adam Lambert |
Foresterhill Chair |
Miles Rothoerl |
Vice-Chair Undergraduate Education |
Fred Byrne |
School of Divinity, History, Philosophy & Art History Convener |
Finn Abou El Magd |
School of Language, Literature, Music and Visual Culture Convener |
Khalifa Muhammad |
School of Law Convener |
Shane Painter |
School of Social Science Convener |
Ankita Sinha |
School of Business Convener |
Niels Imrie |
School of Biological Sciences Convener |
Aarushi Chakraborty |
School of Medical Sciences Convener |
André Justin Carpio |
School of Medicine Convener |
Emily Mckay |
School of Psychology Convener |
Kate Kostick |
School of Engineering Convener |
Mark Kurz |
School of Natural and Computing Sciences Convener |
Muhammad Faraaz Dheen Mohamed |
Vice-Chair Postgraduate Education |
Kevhvan Graham |
Postgraduate Education Rep |
Sanaa Al-Azawi |
Postgraduate Education Rep |
Vanessa Mabonso Nzolo |
Student President |
Ainhoa Burgos Aguilera |
Vice President for Communities |
Rhiannon Ledwell |
Vice President for Education |
Sai Shraddha S. Viswanathan |
Vice President for Welfare |
Tõnis Tilk |
Vice President for Activities |