🗳️ Course Representative

2023/24 Winter Term

We are recruiting a Course Representative for DS105W.

📑 Brief

Why become a course rep?

1. Course reps directly impact the student experience at the DSI. You’ll attend official meetings with DSI staff to voice your suggestions, concerns, and recommendations.

   Previous DS105 reps significantly improved the course, influencing lab sessions, assignment timing, lecture content, and even the course structure. Their feedback has also inspired us to propose splitting the course into two half-unit courses, which may take effect in the 2024/25 Academic Year.

2. Enjoy perks like guaranteed spots on two upcoming DSI Industry Trips!

The Process

The Data Science Institute (DSI) is excited to announce that the elections for Student Academic Representatives have now gone live! You can nominate yourself if you are taking DS105W this Term, and all students get to cast their votes anonymously on the candidates. The nomination and voting process will all be conducted via the #course-rep channel on Slack.

As a Student Academic Representative (Course Rep), you’ll work with staff to ensure your peers’ feedback is seen and acted on and that student voices are represented in institutional decision-making. It is also a fantastic way to develop new skills, to know the Institute better, and bolster your CV.

You can see the positions available in the table below:

Course	Number of Positions
DS105W	1

📝 Commitments

What can you expect from this role:

🏅 Engagement and Perks

• You get a guaranteed place in two upcoming DSI Industry Trips!
• You will have a direct channel of communication to voice suggestions, concerns, and recommendations to the teaching and administrative staff at the DSI.

Teaching Committees

As a course rep, you will be invited to attend one or two Teaching Committees ¹ at the DSI during Winter Term:

• Week 05 (exact date to be confirmed)
• Week 09 (exact date to be confirmed)

Plus, some informal coffee chats with our staff.

🧑 Why nominate yourself?

• You will play a significant role in making a difference and improving the academic experience for yourself and your peers
• You will build strong interpersonal skills, including confidence, effective communication, and dealing with and resolving complex issues
• You will get to know your classmates much better, as well as senior staff in your department and around the university

🗳️ The Election Process

There are two stages to this election:

1. Nominations

• Write down a short paragraph (max. ~50 words) explaining why you feel you would be great for the role!
• Head to your Slack group and post your short paragraph on the #course-rep channel.
• You can nominate yourself anytime but no later than Monday, 29 January 2024, 11.59 p.m..

2. Voting

• We will set up an (anonymous) poll on the #course-rep channel using the app Polly
• No one will be able to see who is winning/losing. Only when the poll closes will we know the results.
• All students will be able to cast their votes anonymously on their favourite candidates from Tuesday, 30 January – Thursday, 1 February
• Results will be announced on the #course-rep channel on Friday.

💬 Q & A

Q: What if no one nominates themselves?

A: No hard feelings! We will try again next term.

Q: What if there is a tie?

A: We will do a swift run-off election within a day (Friday 2 February)

Q: Can I nominate myself to represent more than one course?

A: No. If you are taking multiple DS courses this term, say DS101W and/or DS202W this academic term, you can only run for course rep in one course.

Footnotes

1. Teaching Committees are official meetings where academic and professional service staff at the DSI discuss how the courses are going, devise adjustments for what is not going as planned, and plan new ways to boost recognition of innovative work of students enrolled in DSI courses. These meetings typically involve Lecturers, the Teaching Support Officer, the Communications Officer, the Institute Manager, and the Director of the DSI.