Hi all, I'm Mahamed Abdullahi, VP Welfare and Community at KCLSU and the first postgraduate student in a full time role in 5 years.

It has been a honour and a privilege to represent you all over the past year and I hope to continue to do this in a different role. This role was introduced as I fought to create it and respond to the call from the postgraduate community for a dedicated role and the amount of candidates running is heartening and a testament to its need.

Re-elect me, if you want a union that challenges staff on student sexual harrassment, that centres the most vulnerable/marginalised, that not only fights for GTA pay but to train and unionise them, that wants a liberated curriculum but also a reimagining of the structures of the university itself. A university where cleaners are paid the living wage and that doesn't invest in arms and fossil fuels. Another university is possible and I hope to continue the great collaborative work of students to make this university a better space for us all.

This year I hope to:

• Tackle the postgraduate attainment gap for BME students and increase participation at PGR level
• Combat sexual harrassment/violence particularly staff on student at PGR level. I aim to work closely with the 1752 group and other stakeholders/groups.
• Support the GTA pay campaign - improve training of GTAs and unionise them.
• Increase postgraduate study space
• Scrap postgraduate course deposits and introduce termly fee installments so economically disadvangtaged students/students of faith are able to access education
• Support student parents and carers - I hope to fight for subsidised childcare and spread awareness of caring responsibilities at an institutional level. Flexible assessments and extensions for those with caring responsibilities.
• Fight for better mental health provisions - to continue to push the institution to adopt a counsellor to student ratio of around that is proprotional to the student body to cut waiting times for counselling services. 
• Secure divestment from fossil fuels and arms companies 
• Increase hardship funds and scholarships for all students
• Ensure an accessible campus (and accesible accomodation) for disabled students with a focus on Strand, Waterloo, Guy's, Denmark Hill.
• Reform services available to international students and to protest fee increases for international students

Achievements to date: 

1.  Pushed the university to develop a mental health policy, and to create an institution wide strategy to mental health and map the existing services.
2. Stopped fees being increased for continuing students via the KLCSU freeze the fees campaign and opposed TEF.
3. Lead officer on college’s sanctuary program work - I pushed for increased support for Syrian refugees, scholarships and adopting the equal access pledge. 
4. It Stops Here- lobbied MPs to ratify the Istanbul convention and led a delegation to the Yarl's wood demonstration.
5. Championed right to protest - given arrestee support to student actvists, challenged the university on surveillence/policing of protest on campus 
6. Liberating the union project - secured and embedded an institutional commitment from kclsu to tackling oppression
7. Preventing prevent - refused to sit on prevent working group/stopped good campus relations working group from reporting into it
8. I have worked closely with KCL Student Action for Refugees (refugee outreach), Demilitarise King's and Justice for Cleaners.
9. Organised work experience for refugee students. 
10. Worked with residences to develop affordable accomodation for those most in need.
11. Supported the November 19th demo - no fees, no cuts, no debt!