Here are your candidates for Health, Social Care & Medicine President.

During this year's nomination process, all candidates were asked to answer the following questions as part of their manifestos:

👉 Question 1. Supporting students in a changing and pressured environment

Students are facing increasing pressures, including cost-of-living challenges, academic demands, and wellbeing concerns. As an Elected Officer, how would you work to support students to feel safe, supported, and able to succeed both on and off campus? 

👉 Question 2. Representation, trust, and meaningful student voice

Student representation is most effective when students trust that their voices lead to real change. How would you engage with a diverse range of students and ensure their feedback is meaningfully represented and acted upon during your time in office? 

👉 Question 3. Faculty Focus

Each of the three faculties at Edge Hill has its own distinct challenges and priorities. What do you see as the most significant challenge facing students in the faculty you are standing to represent, and how would you approach addressing it as an Elected Officer?

 

Please note: In the interests of fairness, the manifestos are published as submitted by the candidates. Edge Hill Students' Union has not edited any of the below manifestos. 

 

**ALICIA LOUISA BOMBA **

Hi, my name is Alicia Bomba and I am currently a third year Health and Social well-being student at Edge Hill University, whilst great change has been made by the university and previous presidents for the faculty of Health I am applying myself to become the new president as I believe OUR uninversity, deservers the upmost support, compassion and care from thier new president and for all students voices to be heard and for students to feel seen. 

My mission will be to support students who are feel as they are facing the increasing preasures of things such as, academic demands, cost of living demands and wellbeing concerns, I will aim to push for assesment spacing, enabling deadlines are managable for students whilst aiming to champion for students who may need extensions for mitgating circumstances by promoting dignaty for all, furthermore, I will ensure students have meaningful oppertunities to communicate with thier student reprisentives and staff student forums. I will also advocate for students who are facing financial worries and promote paid oppertunites on campus and around the area of the univeristy so students have an oppertunity to flexiable part-time roles around thier studies. Whilst buliding a community and influence chage for those who are underrepresented feel safe, and promote wellbeing weeks at the university to strengthen and tackle any well-being barriers. 

Student representation only works when transparent, accessiable and fair so all students feel their voices are heard to promote real change, I would ensure to activley engage with students allowing students to feel heard focusing on engagement with students hosting reagual forums and drop ins, whilst using online surverys and social media Q&A's for students who may not feel comfortable expressing their individual concerns in a public setting. Ensuring diversity is promoted throughout my time as president, bulding strong conections with all as being president should amplify voices that can often be overlooked. furthermore, to ensure feedback is actually taken into action to build trust for students and see results, setting action plans and providing regaular updates whilst giving students the oppertuinty to see change when they might not think it is possible. I would build a space for students to have confidence in that their voices matter and shape the direction of thier future at Edge Hill.

As a student myself, I understand challenges arise, however as a problem faced at my current faculty this year was our third year students struggling to find a placement on the Health and Social wellbeing course, as our course is so broad we really struggled finding the approprite placement and that when we did find a sutiable placement we stuggled with communication, my goal for any students facing this problem in the future would be to support student during this proccess and sign post students to the correct and approprite teams to ensure they did not feel alone and that they needed more to worry about ensuring students feel as they have an understanding faculty president to assist and help them at their time of need. 

My commitment to students will allow students to feel as they have an oppertunity to thrive, feel conneted and capable or success during both their studies and beyond.

Thank you,

Alicia 

 

** SYED SHAHAB ALI **

Supporting students in a changing and pressured environment:

Students are facing growing pressures around cost‑of‑living, workload intensity, and wellbeing, especially within health-related courses that demand long hours and emotional resilience. As an Elected Officer, I would work to create a supportive environment where students feel safe, valued, and able to succeed. I would advocate for expanded financial guidance, increased access to hardship funds, and better awareness of existing support. I would collaborate with the University to provide flexible academic support, such as deadline extensions and accessible study resources. Wellbeing is central, so I would champion more mental‑health dropins, peer support networks, and wellbeing workshops tailored to the realities of placement heavy programmes. I would ensure students on and off campus feel included by improving communication through course reps, social media, and regular open surgery sessions. My priority is to make sure every student feels heard, supported, and empowered to thrive academically and personally.I will visit Saint James campus Manchester to ensure students are heared and not being neglected. 

                                      

 

Representation, trust, and meaningful student voice:

 

Building trust starts with visibility and transparency. To meaningfully represent students, I would prioritise active engagement with diverse groups across the faculty undergraduate, postgraduate, placement-based, commuter, international, and part time learners. I would be regularly present in open surgery sessions, placements, and common areas, creating approachable opportunities for students to share experiences and concerns. Their feedback would be gathered through course reps, open forums, digital surveys, and in open surgery conversations. Crucially, I would close the feedback loop by clearly communicating what actions were taken, what outcomes were achieved, and what is still being worked on. Transparency builds trust, so I would publish regular updates, run “You Said, We Did” campaigns, and work collaboratively with staff to ensure student voice shapes real decisions. I will also establish a Liberation Reps Network to ensure the voices of the underrepresented groups are amplified. 

My goal is to create a culture where students genuinely feel their voices influence change, and where representation is meaningful, inclusive, and impactful. As Faculty of health social care and medicine has two main campuses i.e. Ormskirk and Saint

James campus. I will visit Saint James and talk to students so that the students feel involved and included.

Also, my presence at Saint James campus will increase students’ confidence and will help me understand any ongoing support that students need. I will focus on creation of Societies and events along with university to help students build their skills and communication. I will also create networking opportunities for women students within the Faculty of Health, Social Care and Medicine.

                                   

 

 

Faculty Focus – Health, Social Care & Medicine: 

One of the most significant challenges facing Health faculty students is balancing demanding academic requirements with the intensity of placements, which can lead to stress, burnout, and financial strain. Students face long travels, unpredictable schedules, and emotional pressures, all while trying to keep up academically. 

As an Elected Officer, I would focus on improving placement support, advocating for clearer communication, fairer scheduling, and greater flexibility around assessments during high pressure periods. I would work to ensure students have access to consistent wellbeing support, including placement specific mental health resources and peer support networks. 

Additionally, many students face financial challenges related to travel and unpaid placement hours, so I would campaign for improved reimbursement processes and greater awareness of funding opportunities. My approach is to work collaboratively with staff, professional services, and students to create a healthier, more supportive placement experience that enables students to succeed confidently and sustainably.

 

Saint James campus in Manchester has deficiency for staff for mental health support and I will try to solve this problem. My goal is to ensure that students feel supported and not just surviving the course.

 

 

 

** RE-OPEN NOMINATIONS **

You might have seen RON listed as a candidate in our elections before.  Don’t get confused though, RON isn't a person, it's an acronym, and it stands for Re-Open Nominations. 

If you vote for RON, that’s your way of telling us that you don’t think any of the current candidates are the right fit for the role. So, if RON gets the most votes, then no candidates win, and we’ll start the election process again. 

Students will always have the option to vote for RON in the elections.  They’re all about who represents you as a student, and if you don't think any candidate represents you, then you should have the opportunity to tell us.