How much of my time will it take up?
The Innovations programme will demand around half a day per week of your time - exactly how much will depend on the nature of your project. It’s certainly possible to fit it in with a student timetable – in fact, many of our project leaders come from courses with heavy time commitments like medicine and law.
How do I decide what sort of project to get involved with?
Think about what issues you're interested in. Have you volunteered before - and if so, would you like to do something similar? Would you like to do something related to your course, like the English students who set up a book club in local schools, or the Law students who ran citizenship & crime workshops for children? Are you a member of a club and society? What sorts of skills and experiences will help you in your future career?
What support do I get?
As a member of the Innovations Programme, you receive one-to-one supervision from staff at the VSU. We also offer training, administrative support, room bookings at UCL Union, and a comprehensive handbook containing lots of useful information. We'll also help you recruit other student volunteers once the project is up and running.
What does the training cover?
The project management training has been designed especially for the Innovations Programme. It covers topics such as:
- * Setting aims and objectives
- * Writing a project plan
- * Budgeting and financial management
- * Recruiting and selecting volunteers
- * Evaluations
- * Managing volunteers
- * Relevant regulations and procedures
The training takes place over one day – the next one is scheduled for late September - watch this space for details.
What is Junction49?
This year, we're giving even more support to students via the Junction49 project. This is a new youth-led volunteering programme from Timebank. Junction 49 is a website and creative space where students can share ideas, find opportunities to take action and connect with like minded people and inspiring organisations. It has ideas and information about student-led volunteering activities whether you want to do something big, or small, to improve your community. Visit www.junction49.co.uk/university/partner54.html, to find out more.
Running a project costs money - where am I going to get this?
UCL have a small grant fund especially set aside for the Innovations Programme - you can apply for up to £2000 towards your project. The staff at the VSU can advise you on your application, and can also help you identify other sources of funding - we subscribe to a national database of charitable trusts, for example.
We'll also pay for the travel expenses you incur as project leader, and also those of any UCL volunteers on your project.
You may also be able to apply for grants from Junction49 - visit the webpages to find out more.
Can a group of us run a project together?
In fact, we now require all projects to have at least two leaders. If you're setting up a new project, and do not know anyone else who can assist you, we help you find a co-leader.
What do I get out of it?
Firstly, you'll develop skills that will prove invaluable, whatever your career plans are for the future. The Institute for Volunteering Research found that UCL student project leaders developed skills in project management, planning, leadership, communication and motivating and organising people. Being a project leader is also a great opportunity to meet new students, and people from all walks of life outside of UCL. We'll also be able to provide you with a reference, and you'll get a UCL certificate of achievement at the end of the academic year. As mentioned above we'll pay your travel expenses.
How do I get involved?
You'll need to attend one of our training sessions, where you can find out more about what being a project leader will entail. You can also make an appointment to discuss the programme beforehand - email j.braime@ucl.ac.uk, phone 020 7679 0145, or drop into our offices on the second floor of the UCL Bloomsbury.
