Saturday 22-10-2016 - 12:00

Arham Haris, President of the USFSS (University of Salford Flight Simulation Society) activity group, explains the benefits he has gained from being a committee member and being involved in the funding panel.

I was delighted to be given the opportunity to sit at a funding panel where I was hoping I would be able to put my decision-making and teamwork skills to practise. Being a committee member for a society, I was keen to develop an in-depth understanding of how the Student Union operates and more importantly, how crucial funding decisions with regard to University Societies are made.

My role on the funding panel was, primarily, to discuss the dissemination of money to new and pre-existing societies. It was apparent that an opportunity such as this was key to flourish my skills not only as a team member but also my skills as a future prospective employee. Early on into the meeting, I inferred that the overall goal was to support the arguments presented and add to the discussions, rather than simply pointing out flaws of the arguments and decisions being made.  Additionally, rather impetuously, in evaluation of the impact of the meeting and assessing the options presented to me, I ascertained that it was important to bear in mind that there was no single right answer to the issues raised during the discussions as to how much each society should be awarded, it became clear that in order to come to a conclusive and effective agreement, compromises and trade-offs of some sort were required.

For example it was paramount to take into consideration that new societies required funding to encourage participation nevertheless it was also imperative to foster innovation and efficiency in the operations of the more well-established societies. This allowed me to develop my skills in terms of establishing key principles towards active potent thinking, which will in turn help my employability skills in the future with respect to productive and persuasive decision making.

Being a member of the funding panel indubitably helped my employability in that it enhanced my skills in the areas of teamwork, cooperation, leadership, and self-reflection. It has also aided me in being able to develop and produce effective, practical and cogent principles in order to come to efficacious decisions. This will assist me not only as a future prospective employee but also as the leader of my own society, not to mention it will aid my in many aspects of my degree.

 I would most definitely do this again and would recommend anyone presented with this opportunity to do take part. Through the process I have gained valuable knowledge and insight into how the funding panel works to ensure that fair and effective decision are reached, whilst developing personal teamwork and employability skills.

If you are interested in joining one of our Activity Groups, or just want more info, head here.

Nominations for the new volunteer Sport and Activities Officer are also now open! You'll be able to develop the skills Arham talks about if you're elected into this role. To find out more go here.