We want to take a moment to recognise the incredible work of all our nominated Student Groups. 

These awards highlight the creativity, collaboration and community built by our students, who make LSBU a welcoming and fun environment for students to be. 

We also want to recognise how well our Student Groups have adapted to the new community model we use at Southbank, their hard work and feedback helps us to constantly improve and show the value of this new system! 

This year's nominees were nothing short of incredible. After much deliberation, we’re excited to reveal the winners in each category and highlight all the fantastic work everyone has done this year. 

🕒 Most Improved Group

Nominees:

• Southbank Radio - The Southbank Radio volunteers have been responsible for training new volunteers to run their own radio shows, creating a much needed revival of Southbank Radio.

• MENA Community - The MENA Community has been run by an incredibly dedicated group of volunteers this year, who have put on some fantastic events and given MENA a rebrand.

• Black Students Community (ACS) - The Black Students Community (ACS) have had countless events, almost one or two a week! From Sip & Paints to Beach Days, the volunteers have worked hard to create a variety of events, always ensuring there is something for everyone.
   

🏆 Winner: Black Students Community (ACS) 

In addition to the consistent event schedule, the Black Students Community (ACS) have provided their members with career and networking opportunities both internally and externally during their time at university.
 

🏡 Local Champion (Impact Beyond LSBU)

Nominees:

• Islamic Society - The Islamic Society committee have worked tirelessly to raise money for many different causes this year, from Charity Week at the beginning of the year to many different bake sales and stands throughout the academic year.

• Law Society - The Law Society committee came together to put on a series of bake sales and not only were their bakes incredibly delicious, they raised money for important causes.

• Women’s Network - The Women’s Network raised money for women’s charities this year through their movie night which raised awareness about important topics.
   

🏆 Winner: Islamic Society

The Islamic Society made a lasting impression through their impressive donations to various charities throughout the year, as well as volunteering in the local community. 

🌟 Newcomer Community of the Year

Nominees:

• Music Community - The Music Community have worked hard in weekly rehearsals all year to create a fantastic end of year performance, which saw The Venue Bar packed with attendees enjoying a night of live performances.

• Accounting, Finance &  Economics Community - The volunteers organised guest lectures and worked with academics on finance competitions to help their members gain more experience and career development.

• Pakistan Community - The Pakistan community adapted incredibly well to our new community model with a fresh volunteer team, whose hard work brought together many students to celebrate their culture and create a sense of belonging at LSBU.
   

🏆  Winner: Music Community

As well as their dedication to rehearsals and building their community, they have offered students many performance opportunities, for example Open Days. They have created a safe space and creative outlet for LSBU students to enjoy music and performance.

🤝 Most Collaborative Group

Nominees:

• Gaming, Anime & Comics Community (GAC) - The GAC volunteers have worked on countless collaborations between our Southbank communities which has built some great partnerships which we hope to see continue into the next academic year.

• Middle Eastern & North African Community (MENA) – The MENA volunteers have worked with other MENAs across London, creating wider social networks.

• Bangladeshi Community – The Bangladesh Community volunteers have worked closely with LSBUactive to create regular cricket tournaments and have even played against other Bangladesh communities from across London. This led to them even having a spot at our annual Varsity day against Greenwich University.
   

🏆  Winner: Gaming, Anime & Comics Community (GAC)

Not only have GAC collaborated with many of our student communities, they have also collaborated with communities outside of LSBU, which builds friendships between students across the city. 

🎓 Most Educational Opportunities

Nominees:

• Law Society - The Law Society put together a career fair for their members and other students to enjoy and benefit from.

• Islamic Society - Not only have they created a sense of belonging for their members, but have also provided people with a range of guest speakers covering a vast amount of relevant and informative topics.

• Bar & Mooting Society - The Bar & Mooting Society have organised Moot competitions for their members, which upskills their members in their field.

• Accounting, Finance & Economics Community - The committee members have provided their members and class mates with educational guest speakers and networking opportunities.
   

🏆 Winner: Law Society

Their career fair had an incredible attendance from students, which gave them direct access to real-world guidance and opportunities from an exciting range of companies, this is a great example of academic empowerment.

🎉 Best Event of the Year

Nominees:

• Inter-Community Iftar - This was a major inclusive celebration organised by MENA, Islamic Society, Bangladesh Community and Pakistan Community to celebrate Ramadan and break fast together.

• Bangladeshi Community Cultural Night - The volunteers came together to organise a celebration of culture, food and performance! The event saw The Venue Bar packed with people, all of which bonding over their cultures, learning something new and making new friends.

• Pakistan Community Meet & Greet - The volunteers organised an exciting celebration of the Pakistan Community here on campus, putting on fun games, snacks and more to bring their members together!
   

🏆 Winner: Inter-Community Iftar

Building on the success of last year’s event, the four communities came together to create an inclusive and welcoming atmosphere, making this event the biggest community event of the year! This was a true celebration of collaboration and connection across cultures!
 

🎭 Most Unique/Exciting Non-Academic Opportunity

Nominees:

• Southbank Radio - The hard work of the volunteers & members made great content and training opportunities.

• Music Community - The community took every opportunity it could get to showcase their members’ talents

• South-East Asian Community (SEA) - The volunteers put together a ‘Squid Game’ themed social which encouraged their attendees to complete a variety of game inspired tasks!
   

🏆  Winner: SEA Community

From suggesting the event to running a very well organised night, the SEA volunteers created a memorable and fun night, which was enjoyed by all. 

💚 Wellbeing Champion / Most Supportive Group

Nominees:

• Bangladesh Community - The Bangladesh community has made a huge difference to international students on campus, providing them with a space to feel at home and celebrate their culture.

• Women’s Network - The Women’s Network has created a safe space for women to participate in events and make friends.

• GAC - GAC’s consistent meet ups every week in the Student Centre, creating a reliable place for their members to hang out, play video games and more. 

🏆  Winner: Women’s Network

The volunteers’ created low-key and quiet events that felt inclusive and approachable for anyone to attend, from Sip & Paints to Quizzes, a huge amount of care was put into the events line up and communications from the group. 

🌱 Small Group with a Big Impact

Nominees:

• Women’s Network - Led by our Women’s Officer with a crew of dedicated volunteers, they created a high level events calendar with consistent attendance!
   

• Music Community - Despite the Music Community only being officially registered with the SU earlier this year, they have gone from strength to strength with their core members!
   

• Ukrainian Community - The community has created a supportive and much needed space for our Ukrainian students to find their community and belonging.
   

• Southbank Radio - The community has created career building media experience and has even been nominated for the Student Radio Awards earlier this year.
   

🏆 Winner: Southbank Radio 

The growth of Southbank Radio this year has resulted in award nominations, countless radio shows and opportunities for members to attend a variety of concerts in exchange for reviews. They have also dedicated a huge amount of time to revamping their Instagram page and hosting a very well enjoyed end of year quiz! 

🌟 Outstanding Contribution to the Students’ Union

Nominees:

• April Rodrigo (SEA) - For the past couple of years, April has dedicated her time working with a strong group of volunteers to create incredible events for the SEA members, as well as creating engaging stalls showcasing their community at Freshers fair stalls.

• Grace Anthony (ACS) - Grace has worked hard to create an active and involved community at Southbank, pulling together a variety of different events for everyone to enjoy.

• Amal Looby (GAC) - Amal has created consistent meet-ups with the GAC community every week as well as fostering incredible collaborations across the university and more.

• Patrycja Maria Weclawska (Sustainability Community & Women’s Network) – Patrycja has dedicated her time to supporting a range of communities, tackling difficult issues and making change.

• Andreea Apostol (Women’s Network) - During her time as the Women’s Officer, Andreea has spent her time ensuring the network has been inclusive and involving her members.

🏆 Winner: Grace Anthony (ACS) 

Not only has Grace run a staggering amount of fun events, her event planning and attention to detail has ensured the events are well organised and safe, adhering to all our procedures. She has also created a fantastic committee and developed the ACS instagram to be fun and informative about the community. Grace’s hard work has resulted in ACS having the most members out of all our student groups! 

💼 Employability & Career Development Award

Nominees:

• Bar & Mooting Society - The committee has helped organise career-prep moot competitions.

• Finance, Economics & Accounting Community – The committee led on guest lectures and employability events.

• Black Students Community (ACS) - The committee built opportunities for members to develop transferable skills.

🏆 Winner: Bar & Mooting Society

Their competitions gave law students practical experience in a realistic setting, which is preparing them for their future careers with confidence.

🙌 Thank you! 

All our groups, every committee member, and every volunteer has helped build a richer, more inclusive, and more dynamic student experience this year.
Every single volunteer has made an incredible impact this year, which has created more communities, belonging and overall student experience! All our nominees; your hard work never goes unnoticed and congratulations to all our winners! 

We are incredibly grateful for you all, we hope you stick around as volunteers next year if you can. 

Finally, we would like to thank the incredible Academic Staff and departments at LSBU that have contributed towards this year’s Student Group successes. 

We’d like to thank Jenny Owen (ACI), Nadia Gaoua (APS) and Benjamin Lishman (ENG) for their support on our Academic Enhancement Programme, which has meant that we’ve engaged with hundreds of students. 

Next, we’d like to acknowledge the support of various departments around the university. Many of our student groups have collaborated with LSBUactive, we’d like to thank them for creating spaces in which our students can host events with their communities. To the Careers & Wellbeing team, for collaborating with us on events throughout the year, as well as sharing and supporting our Student Leaders (and us!) to look out for their members’ wellbeing! We’ve worked closely with Estates & Chartwells to ensure we have spaces on campus to host events, and also with security to always ensure that these spaces are safe for our students to enjoy their events in!  

Here’s to another amazing year of student-led success at LSBU! We’ll see you in September! 

If this article has you feeling inspired to volunteer then drop us an email at opportunities@lsbsu.org for next academic year!