As the year comes to a close, it is worth reflecting on the achievements of the Guild. In spite of challenges set forth by the pandemic, the five Guild societies have collectively accomplished incredible things. Below, six representatives from the Guild committees detail their experiences and provide advice to their forthcoming committees.
Business Society – Valeriia Gorbatova
1) What do you consider to be the main achievement of your society this year?
The ability to withstand an incredible amount of change as a team. Going online this year has meant changing our events, communication, outreach and basically everything else that was done throughout the previous ten years. The fact that we made it through this year and tripled our following, initiated new events for hundreds of people and maintained the atmosphere of a true community makes me more proud than anything.
2) Do you have anything you wish to say to the upcoming committee?
Make sure that every person who joins the society feels like a part of something bigger. This is what make the Business Society and Guild unlike any other career hub. There will be bad days and it does get difficult, but knowing that you are doing it for others and helping them in determining their future makes all the efforts count. Additionally, do not forget that the people around you are working extremely hard and always appreciate them, because if you do not work as a team in a student organisation, it will get tough!
3) What has the Guild alliance meant to you?
The Guild alliance has meant knowing amazing people and making lasting friends. It is an incredible feeling to be surrounded by like-minded people who are all driven and excited to make the best out of any situation. Being part of the Guild has meant being a part of the support that comes with it, from boosting attendance in events to securing sponsors. It is incredible to know that we are an active community ready to help each other in everything, while also having fun!
Data Science Society – Yiheng (Scott) Fan
1) What do you consider to be the main achievement of your society this year?
The biggest achievement for me would be how our society managed to balance growth whilst maintaining the closeness we had before when we were much smaller. Given the current circumstances where all our events are online, it could have been extremely easy for our members to feel disengaged over the school term. I’m really proud that the committee put in 100% of their effort to ensure that none of our members felt this way, with different events like the Women in Data Science series to promoting inclusion in an intimate setting. This was not a small feat, and I’m happy that we continue to know our members well even as we have grown to a society of over 700 members.
2) Do you have anything you wish to say to the upcoming committee?
I’d like to show my gratitude to the current committee, and to those who will hopefully continue next year in the upcoming committee. The hard work and time that we have put into the society is cumulative, and will make next academic year even better than this one!
Aside from that, I wish everyone all the best and that we make a speedy recovery from the pandemic, so that they get the chance to bring our events to life again and to work with some of the most amazing sponsors in the technology space.
3) What has the Guild alliance meant to you?
The Guild alliance was especially important for us this year, as the alliance provided us with such a broad reach. Going into this year, I wouldn’t have thought that we’d continue to make progress on so many fronts, and I genuinely appreciate the support that we got.
UCL Entrepreneurs – Vitaliya Bortalevich
1) What do you consider to be the main achievement of your society this year?
I would like to take this opportunity to thank this year’s UCLE committee for all of all their hard work and commitment. Without a doubt there are many achievements worth celebrating, yet the one that we are most proud of as a society is the launch of a new initiative: Towards Entrepreneurship. This platform, which fits perfectly into our inspire category of the pipeline, is truly a great addition that will further support our mission of catalysing enterprise and innovative thinking across UCL.
2) Do you have anything you wish to say to the upcoming committee?
Each year the committee continues to set higher and higher expectations for the new team. This year is no exception. I would, therefore, like to encourage the upcoming committee to dream big and work hard to maintain and continue the great progress of this year’s committee to further enhance the experience of all members of our societies. And last but not least: make the most out of this short, yet memorable, journey.
3) What has the Guild alliance meant to you?
It is needless to say that the Guild is more than simply a union of five prestigious societies. To me, it is a community, which unites very talented, like-minded individuals with diverse perspectives, who all contribute towards providing UCL students with unique opportunities. The Guild alliance truly gave me an opportunity to be part of a tight-knit community of bright individuals who helped me grow both personally and professionally. I very much hope that the upcoming committee will succeed at becoming an integral part of this broader community.
Guild Society – Anastasiia Rudkovska
1) What do you consider to be the main achievement of your society this year?
Each small win this year was a true achievement as we were all exploring absolutely new territories when organising virtual events and interacting with our members online. Despite many challenges, together with WinF, UCLIS, BizSoc, UCLE and DSS, we have secured 19 sponsors and hosted 50+ events! The Guild has also introduced a new blog and started the Leadership Academy program. Nevertheless, the main achievement has been the spectacular ability of the Guild committee to build strong friendships, show constant support for each other, and to create meaningful connections with our members. I genuinely feel lucky to have been working so closely with a truly inspiring group of people.
2) Do you have anything you wish to say to the upcoming committee?
Starting out as new leaders of a large society can feel challenging at times. To the new Guild committee, I’d like to say that you CAN and you WILL do a great job next year. Take up as many challenges as you can, carry out your plans until the end with integrity and optimism, and have fun along the way. Always remember that it is all about the value you bring to the Guild student members – making a difference, even to one member, always counts. Best of luck, everyone!
3) What has the Guild alliance meant to you?
A support network, a friendly team of like-minded people, and a forum for discussions and debates: the Guild alliance is all of these things. Having the support of UCL’s five most prestigious career societies has been especially meaningful in this year like no other. With this, I would like to thank Niharika, Scott, Matei, Thomas, Valeriia and their committees for being a true inspiration and a fun group of people to work with. I will definitely miss the Zoom meetings we were trying to avoid at all costs!
Investment Society – Matei Vlad
1) What do you consider to be the main achievement of your society this year?
2020/21 was not what any of us at UCLIS expected – taking over together with my team in April last year was a challenging task. A year on, we all agree it proved very rewarding and we are proud of what we have accomplished. I would say the UCL Finance Conference was definitely a highlight, as it was the first virtual edition of our annual flagship event.
2) Do you have anything you wish to say to the upcoming committee?
A wonderful team of students is now in charge of UCLIS and I am incredibly proud to be passing the baton to a new committee. I wish them the best of luck in hopefully moving back on campus and hope they can have double the fun to compensate for some of the fun times we’ve missed.
3) What has the Guild alliance meant to you?
For my team and I, the Guild has been a great resource and I am very glad to see the alliance growing at such a pace from year to year. Working with the Guild Presidents offered us a space to bounce ideas off each other and to support our committees in the tough times.
Women in Finance – Zoja Pejovic
1) What do you consider to be the main achievement of your society this year?
I think the main achievement of all Guild societies this year has been helping students secure their dream careers despite the really difficult circumstances, and we should all be extremely proud! I am also extremely happy that this year we have managed to extend our flagship Share The Vision conference to include almost double the number of attendees than previous years. We also managed to secure a female TedX speaker that held a talk on confidence and battling the imposter syndrome, which I believe was extremely important to address therefore sticking to our society ethos and equipping our members with the confidence to pursue their dream job.
2) Do you have anything you wish to say to the upcoming committee?
Make time to socialise, to meet new people, and to have fun – because with the amount of work you’ll be doing you truly deserve it!
3) What has the Guild alliance meant to you?
Besides being part of the WinF community, it was truly amazing to be part of a wider community such as Guild! It was great having the support of other heads and to have their advice when issues occurred.
Going forward
On behalf of all UCL Guild committees, we’d like to express a massive thank you to all of our members throughout 2020/2021! Our success would not have been possible without you. We hope that you’ve enjoyed our events, blog posts, and social media presence – and look forward to your support in the future.
