October 2012 FREE

Aston Students' Union's Official Magazine

FRESHERS'EDITION

October 2012

2

Letter from the Editor...Hello! Welcome to the new,revamped iAston Magazine, andto all the freshers, welcome toAston University!

This month's edition is jam-packedwith vital information all freshersneed to know, from joiningsocieties to avoiding hangovers!

Our search for more contributorscontinues, so if you're interestedin being a part of the iAston Team,email me: editor@astonunion.com

We hope you enjoy the crazy startto your university life!

Besma Whayeb@besmalucy

Contents 2Featured Writers 4The Team 4Union News 5Your Executives 7Battle of the Halls! 8Societies 9Societies' News 10Our World 11Surviving Freshers 13Editorials 16Entertainment Guide 18Freshers Day Events 19Freshers Night Events 20

CONTENTS

October 2012

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Exclusive Competition 32Student Volunteering 33Advice 34

University Events 21Student Food 23Sports Societies 25Sports Report 26Be Green 27Student Jobs 28Peer Mentoring 29Entrepreneurship 30Money Matters 31

@iAstonMagazine

The Team

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Editor: Besma Whayeb

iAston Magazine TeamAdrian BennionRachel BurleyIman HassanLingwei LiAbhaye MadhokAnit MahayToni NorrisAndrew RogersMariam SaeediCraig ShukerHarry WalkerTony WilliamsonNilisha VirmaniIman Hassan

Union Sabbatical OfficersPresident: Maximillian PullenVPFME: Marie-Shireen HadidVPSA: Tom FarrellyVPEW: Aggy JacobsChairperson: Phoebe Whitlock

Tony WilliamsonSurviving Freshers, pg13

Iman HassanStudent Food, pg23

Harry WalkerSports Report, pg26

Union News

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A.S.U. NewsWhat's been going on this pastmonth at Aston Students' Union?

"G" Who Cannot Be Named!Yes, that's right - we are now called Aston Students' Union! No longer theGuild (shh, if you're caught uttering the "G-word" you'll be asked to donatesome change into the swear box - with all money going to BirminghamChildren's Hospice!) we are expecting a good few of you to be wondering ifwe're rejoining NUS again - and the answer is NO.

Still Not Part of NUSWe're proudly staying independent, which means we will have more resourcesto dedicate to all you students.Regarding student discounts, we recommend you use your Aston StudentCard to get in-store discounts, and for online, try using Unidays.com

Get to Union Council!Union Council is the ultimate decision making body of the Union, and it's openfor ALL students to attend. If you are interested in making a difference in yourtime at Aston, then please come along to Union Council! It will be held at 6pmin the Union Hall on the following dates:

Tuesday 2nd October

Thursday 25th October

Monday 19th November

Thursday 6th December

For ALL clubs and societies, it is compulsory for a representative to be atcouncil. So make sure you're there for your society's voice to be heard!Make sure to bring your student card as you'll need it to become a "councillor"!

Union News

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Get In Touch!We're branching out into social media this year - you can now find the fourSabbatical Officers now on Twitter, Facebook and good old-fashioned email.Get in touch if you have anything to say!

Maxmillian PullenUnion PresidentT: @AstonPresident F: Max Astonunion.president@aston.ac.uk

Marie-Shireen HadidVice President of Finance, Media and EntertainmentT: @AstonVPFME F: Marie-Shireen Aston-Vpunion.treasurer@aston.ac.uk

Agnes JacobsVice Presdient of Education and WelfareT: @AstonVPEW F: Agnes Aston-Vpunion.welfare@aston.ac.uk

Tom FarrellyVice President Student Activities and AU PresidentT: @AstonVPSA F: Tom Aston-Vpunion.activities@aston.ac.uk

Get to the Union website! www.astonunion.com

Your Executives

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Dear InternationalStudents...

Hello everybody!

I am very grateful for being elected as International Students’ Officerthis year.

There are a lot of International Students at Aston University from morethan 120 various countries. I am willing to help all EU and overseasinternational students if there are any issues regarding University life.

If you want to be a part of International Students’ Committee pleasecome to the first Union Council in the Union Hall on the 2nd of October6pm.

Follow the main information on Facebook:

Official Aston University International Students' Group

Or if you have any questions please feel free to contact me:

international.students@astonunion.com

With regards,

Ieva Kurmyte

Battle of the Halls!

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Represent your hall! This year, every hall has a colour - so makesure to wear your colour loud and proud!

William Murdoch (A Block): YellowJames Watt (B Block): GreenLakeside: OrangeStafford: PinkOff Campus Residences: Purple

Exclusive to Aston Freshers!Covering a 5 mile radius from AstonUniversity, we will make sure you canget home after the nighttime eventsat the Union! When you are ready toleave, Night Rider will drive off intothe Birmingham night and drop yousafely at your door. For free!

Night Rider

Societies

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Join a Society!

Want your society featured in next month's iAM? Sendan email to editor@astonunion.com to find out more!

One of the first, and best, things to do at Aston is to getinvolved in a few societies! See anything you like?

AABS Research StudentsAfro CaribbeanAhlul BaytAIESECAirsoftAsianAston Bright FuturesAston EntrepreneursAston Future LeadersAston Institute ofPhotonic TechnologyAston Trading & Investment

BBangladeshiBhangraBiomedical ScienceBulgarian

CChemical Engineering (CEAC)Chinese StudentsChinese Students &Scholars AssociationChoralChristian UnionComputer Science

EEconomicsEmpowermentEntsExtreme BBQ

FFusion

GGermanGIFT

HHip HopHong KongHope FellowshipHindu

IIslamic

JJewish

KKanz-ud-DawahKrishna Conciousness

RRAGRockRomanian & MoldovanRotoract

SSAMEEMSIFESikhSpanishSri Lankan

TTravelling

UUNICEF

VVietnamese

For SportsSocieties, goto page 25

LLawLINKSLithuanianLive MusicLGBT

MMalaysianMarketingMathletesModel UN &DebatingMusic

NNorthern

OOpticsOxfam

PPeople & PlanetPokerPhotographyPsychology

Society News

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Society News

Freshers' Fair!

Sunday 30th September

Don't miss out! All overcampus, societies andsports clubs will be runningstalls for you to sign up at!Be sure to come along!

Want to display amessage about yoursociety here?Email in your info, andwe'll put your notice upin next month'smagazine!editor@astonunion.com

Interested in startingup your own society?Get over to theStudent ActivitiesOffice, 1st Floor ofthe Union, to find outmore!

Our World

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Étoile LusitanaLast year's VPEW, Ben Smith, gets involved with aSenegalese football team, and realises how different third-world football really is...Étoile Lusitana are a football club whichare based in Dakar, Senegal. They wereofficially opened in 2008 by JoséMourinho, who continues to have stronglinks with the team. The club is owned80% by Portuguese, and 20% bySenegalese investors. The main goal ofthe club is to identify and train youngSenegalese talents, making it possiblefor these players to be transferred to topEuropean football teams in the future.

Unlike many other clubs in the footballingworld at the moment, Étoile do not havewealthy foreign owners, and have a fully self-sufficient business model. Theinitial start-up money was used to invest in a small team of coaches and toprovide basic training facilities, whilst also allowing the management to tourSenegal in order to discover the best young footballing talent Senegal has tooffer. This money was also used to provide travel to some of the top Europeanfootball tournaments – something which they are keen to increase participationin. They then generate funds in order to sustain this activity by selling theiryouth players to top European teams, who identify them at said tournaments.

This is obviously mutually beneficial: the players get a shot at ‘the big time’, formany of whom this may be their best opportunity to get out of the povertywhich some suffer from in Senegal; for the club, they generate funds fromthese sales to allow them to develop and grow.I came into contact with Étoile through a friend of mine, whose father helps runa youth football tournament in Northern Ireland: the Milk Cup. I had been overonce before to help look after an English club, but this time it was different. Iwas going to be helping Étoile get around and help organise meals and

Our World

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transportation to matches and training. I was initially paired with Étoile due tothe fact that I am fluent in French, language having been a slight barrier whenthey attended in the past. Étoile enter the ‘Premier’ section of the tournament,for those players aged under 16. This was in fact their third appearance at thetournament, taking everyone by surprise in 2010 when they beat BoltonWanderers in the final, in a tournament which included Manchester United.

In the following two tournaments, they repeated similar feats andachievements, finishing in the top 5 (of the 20 entrants) on each occasion,beating established clubs such as Athletico Del Pinto, CSKA Moscow andPorto.

Witnessing other teams and players of ‘bigger’ European clubs, I was struck byhow humble the players from Étoile were. They knew that this was their bigchance to be noticed by a scout and invited to a trial. The football they wereplaying was also incredibly sophisticated; following the Barcelona blueprint,Étoile would always play from the back and their game is very focused aroundpass and move, which was a joy to watch, and difficult to miss given theirunmistakable bright pink home shirt.

They’ve had several successes too. Since their conception, three of theirplayers have moved to Benfica in Portugal, two to the French league andIbrahima Mbay was signed by Inter Milan in 2010 and now is a first teamplayer. One of their former goalkeepers was also selected in the Senegalese2012 Olympic squad. Of the current crop of players, following the Milk Cup andan earlier tournament in Italy, several players went on trials and could besigning for top clubs in the very near future.

This project and the warmth of the players and managers alike, led me togetting in touch with them again after the tournament, as I was very eager toget involved in their project and help in any way I could. They were delightedand I have since been working with them to develop their project, raisingawareness and searching for new and exciting tournaments and opportunitieswhich will help give their players and the club more time in the limelight tohighlight what incredible work they are doing.

It was a refreshing change to see how football can really make a differenceand be used in this way, a mile away from the current trend for prima donnafootballers on six-figure salaries, with which I, and many others, are becomingincreasingly disenchanted.

Ben Smith

Survival Tips

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You’ve somehow collected twice as many kitchen utensils than you even knewexisted (only to find your flatmates have them all too). And, above all, you’rehopeful in thinking that they’re convinced by the jovial depiction of Freshers’Week in the University prospectus.So just what does Freshers’ Week truly consist of? I’m sure you’re heard plentyof tales of legend (and woe!) to have you quivering with anticipation, butessentially Freshers’ Week is what you make it - so shake off anypreconceptions, grab a luke-warm brewski and some body paint, and followthese simple steps to have the best week you’ll never forget remember!

1. Say YES to everything! Well, maybe not everything... draw the line ata game of “Naked Library Ring of Fire”.

2. Learn that Shame is not a barrier – Everyone does somethingundeniably embarrassing during Freshers’ Week. Don’t spend the nextfew weeks regretting it – Embrace your shameful act and share the storyproudly.

3. Play “I Have Never” – You can reveal some worrying secrets with acouple of well-thought questions. You may even be asking future bestmates, so get some dirt on them early on while you still can, but beprepared to admit to a couple of home truths yourself!

4. Milk it – Don’t feel excluded if you don’t have a snakebite in one handand a shot glass in the other – grab a 4 pinter of milk and get stuck in. Ordelegate your boozy forfeits to a flatmate - being teetotal doesn’t meanyou have to be totally te(dious)!

5. Hang time - For those ailing freshers that have enjoyed one too manybevvies, try one of these weird and wonderful hangover cures from

Surviving FreshersTony Williamson gives you his best tips on how to survivea week full of partying, freedom and too much alcohol...So here it is, Freshers’ Week is finally upon us!You’ve spent weeks trawling through TheStudent Room and Aston Facebook pages to findyour new flatmates (to little avail!). You’vedragged your parents to the closest supermarketto stock up on as much meat and canned goodsas your poor ‘bags for life’ could cope with.

Survival Tips

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around the world:I. Tripe Soup – A Turkish favourite: head to the local butchers to

get some offal and boil it up with a bit of garlic and cream. Delish.II. Pickled Herring – Or KaterFrühstück as the Germans call it.III. Deep Fried Canaries – the cure of choice for the Ancient

Romans. Okay so getting your hands on a Canary in Birminghammay be tricky, but a pigeon will do, right?

On second thoughts, maybe a bacon and egg butty will suffice.6. Clothes... unite! What better accompaniment to a pounding hangover

is there than a Onesie?! Relive your early years by donning an adultbabysuit, curling up in the foetal position and crying until your unfortunateflatmate burps you.

7. Hit Freshers’ Fair hard – You’ll probably be approached by everysociety under the sun, including one or two unusual ones. Follow step 1and sign up to something new and unexpected. Where else but Uni couldyou play Extreme Tiddlywinks or meet with fellow Custard CreamAppreciation Society members?

8. Scrimp it – You’ve been working solidly over the summer and yourfirst student loan instalment is making its way into your account... Butdon’t make the (far too easy) mistake of blowing it all in Freshers’ Week.Scrimp wherever possible – whether it’s making last night’s brittle pizzacrusts into this morning’s microwave breakfast, dropping the beers in thesupermarket to get a sneaky mark-down or creating a costume to rival allcostumes from nothing but some bin bags and duct tape, save thepennies because by the end of the term you’ll be glad you were such atightwad when it mattered.

Tony Williamson

Despite the hazy mornings anxiously experiencing X FactorLucy Spraggan’s “Beer Fear”, the collection of road signsaccumulating in your kitchen, the texts from the Maori TribalDance Society asking why you weren’t at practise after youpromised so sincerely last night and the nagging reminderthat you still haven’t bought any course books, take comfortin the knowledge that you will be out there again tonight,meeting new people, living how you want to live, and makinglasting memories that you’ll be longingly reminiscing about asyou drive your uninterested children up the motorway to their

Freshers’ Week...

Editorials

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OpinionatedDon't make the same mistake the iAM Editor did!

Freshers, consider yourself lucky.Moving into halls, you've got it all - anice warm bed, instant Internetconnection, fridges and freezershumming you a hello - this isn't thecase for the stupid second-yearwho spent a good amount of thesummer slumming it in her new flat(yes, I'm talking about me). Due toan absence of preparation on mypart, I ended up sleeping on anairbed in my half-painted, emptyflat, with no Internet, no T.V., andcertainly no social-life (not when Iwas working full-time!).

A ready-meal for one withplastic cutlery on a picnicblanket never did seem so sadAfter that experience, I'm quitehappy to admit I could never be asquatter. I have new-found respect.And with it, a new motto: fail toprepare, and prepare to fail. Makesure to start your search for second-year accommodation early, andwhether your place is furnished orunfurnished!

- Besma

Editor, Off-Duty Want your owncolumn here?

The iAston Magazine is looking fornew writers, photographers,interviewers, reviewers, rovingreporters... you name it. If youwould like to be a part of it, pleasedon't be shy! Let us know about it!Whether it's your own editorialcolumn, or reporting on gritty newsstories, we'd love your input.Email us with your interest:

editor@astonunion.comor even get in touch with us on oursocial media pages:

Twitter:@iAstonMagazine

Facebook: iAston Magazine

To find out more, visit our website:

www.iastonmagazine.co.uk

We can't wait to hear from you!

Entertainment

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What's Onin October?

The Entertainment Guide

University Events

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Meet the Aston Professor’sStarting on Friday 26th October, the University will be holding a series of ‘Meet theProfessor’ discussion sessions. Come along and hear all about the career path ofsome of our acclaimed academics, how they got to where they are now, and thereasoning behind it. This could be your only chance to be the person asking thequestions for a change - don’t miss out.All of the sessions will take place in MB261, 13:00-14:00 and are open to all.Please email Jean Hasson, j.hasson@aston.ac.uk to register your interest.The programme will run as follows:Friday 26th October, Professor Christina Schaeffner, LHSFriday 9th November, Professor Pawan Budhwar, ABSFriday 16th November, Professor James Wolffsohn, LHSFriday 23rd November, Professor Gertrud Reershemius, LSSFriday 30th November, Professor Alison Hodge, EASFriday 7th December, Professor Simon Green, LSS

Aston InauguralsThis year, the University will be holding 4 Aston Inaugurals. Come and listen toeach Professor talk about their particular field of interest.Thursday 29th November 2012 - Professor Andrew Pitt, LHSTuesday 5th February 2013 - Professor Nick Lee, ABSTuesday 12th March 2013 – Professor Alison Hodge, EASTuesday 23rd April 2013 – Professor Jim Shields, LSSAll of the Aston Inaugurals will take place in the Sumpner Lecture Theatre at18:00, followed by a free buffet. Look out for further details to be circulated soon.For more information about any University events, contact, j.hasson@aston.ac.ukor e.sutton@aston.ac.uk, or check out the Aston events page, http://www1.aston.ac.uk/about/news/events.

Dates for Your DiaryThe University is hosting a number of events throughout the academicyear 2012/13. All of the events are free and open to all, so put thedates in your diary now! We hope to see you at an event soon.

Entry just

!"

Student RecipesStudent Food

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Welcome to the Student Recipes page, two pages exploring creativeways to use everyday ingredients. Being students, we really need tomake use of whatever leftovers we have in the fridge, so why notmake mini pizzas? Stack on whatever ingredients/leftovers you havein your kitchen as toppings and construct your own personalmasterpiece! Written by Iman Hassan

Quick & Easy Mini Pizzas(Feeds 9...or maybe less,depending on the averagestudent’s appetite)

Ingredients:2 ½ cups of self-rising flour2 tablespoons of butter½ teaspoon of salt1 sachet of yeast (usually 7g)1 mug of milk1 teaspoon of sugarTomato sauce e.g. DolmioOwn topping ingredients

What to do:1. Place the self-rising flour in a plastic mixing bowl; add the salt and

mix in the butter using your fingers – try and make sure there are nolumps left (TIP: shake the bowl lightly to bring the larger lumps of butterto the surface).

2. Take the mug of milk and warm it in the microwave; mix in the yeastand sugar.

3. Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and stir in a circular motionwith a spoon.

Feeling lazy?Substitute the doughfor bread or evenbaguette bread. Somesupermarkets actuallysell pizza bases, soyou’re all set!

Student Food

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4. Start kneading the dough untilit is smooth and you see no flour;place the dough somewherewarm (e.g. in the sun or next tothe radiator) for half an hour.

5. Preheat the oven to 375degrees and start sectioning outthe dough into balls. Flatten theseout using a rolling pin and layerthe circular surface with yourready-made tomato sauce (we’reallowed to cheat a little as wemade the dough from scratch).

6. Now the fun begins...stack onwhatever you fancy. Chicken,cheese, vegetables...thepossibilities are endless. All youneed to do now is to place thepizzas in the oven for 10 minutes.

Then... ENJOY!

Aston Sport

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Get Involved!Here's the line-up for this year's Sports Societies!

If you'd like to join one, keep your eyes peeled for theirstall at the Freshers' Fair on Sunday 30th September!

#5aSide Football

BBadmintonBallroom DancingBasketballBellydancing

CCricket

EEquestrian

FFencing

GGaelic FootballGolf

HHockey

JJitsu

KKabaddiKayak

MMen’s FootballMen’s RugbyMountaineering

PPole DancingPool & Snooker

SSalsaSnowSquashSwimming& Waterpolo

TTable TennisTae Kwon DoTennisThai Boxing & MMA

UUltimate Frisbee

VVolleyball

WWildkatzWomen’s FootballWomen’s Rugby

Sports Report

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Brummie Football!Harry Walker gives you a taste of football, brummie style!Introducing, this city's best football teams! The most loved and technically brilliantteam is of course the Aston Uni 1sts, however the most famous are likely to be:our synonymously-linked team, Aston Villa, and Birmingham City. These clubs aretwo of the oldest in world football with a fierce and compelling rivalry which goesback further than anyone can remember (literally because they are both over 137years old!).

Aston Villa play their home matches 2 miles from the university campus at the42,788 seater stadium Villa Park. As Aston Villa’s motto “Proud History, BrightFuture” suggests, Villa are a club steeped in fantastic tradition and heritage. Theclub has been crowned champions of England no less than 7 times, lifted 12domestic knockout cup competitions and have also won the European cup (nownamed the Champions League), a feat Chelsea only achieved for the first time lastseason and one which still evades Arsenal, Tottenham, and Man City. While notflying quite as high as the Europe conquering team of 1982, the modern day AstonVilla play their football in the premier league and have done so every season sinceits conception in 1992, a boast only 7 other clubs can make.

Just 1.6 miles away, Birmingham City’s home ground St Andrew’s is withinspitting-distance of the university campus with many students opting to walk thereas it’s so close. Frustratingly for Blues football’s top honours have continuallyproved elusive resulting in a rather more modest trophy cabinet content comparedto Villa. Despite this, Bluenoses are just as passionate about their history. Theproud winners of the first derby match between themselves and Villa way back in1879 (a “one goal and one disputed goal to nil” as the victory was officiallyrecorded) and a shock 2-1 league cup final triumph over Arsenal just a year agoare two achievements holding a special place in their fans’ hearts. In recent timesBirmingham City have reluctantly established themselves as THE yo-yo teambeing promoted to, and unfortunately relegated from, the Premier League astaggering 3 times over the last decade.

But the question is... who will YOU support?!

Be Green

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Students living in halls this year canwin prizes like Ben and Jerry’s icecream and club tickets – just for takingpart in the Student Switch Off energy-saving & recycling competition.

So how does it work? Easy - hallsstudents pledge to take simple actionsto save energy like switching off lightsand appliances, putting a lid on panswhen cooking, only filling the kettlewith the water needed and putting onan extra layer rather than turning onthe heating.

Collectively the small energy-savingactions add up to big energy savings.The Student Switch Off competitionencourages students to have fun in thedark by giving a party to the hall thesaves the most energy by the end ofthe year. On top of this individuals canbag prizes all for themselves (and theirflatmates if they like sharing!) bysubmitting an energy-saving themedphoto in the Facebook competitionsthat run every few weeks. Awesomeprizes are just a flick of a switch away!

Students Turned On...by Switching Off!

This year the campaign is also adding a recycling element to encourage studentsto bin their beer cans in the right place!

Last year the campaign was won by Lakeside who received a great visit from theBen & Jerry’s ice cream bus – netting them loads of free ice cream! Across all thehalls last year electricity usage reduced by 10.2% saving over 83.12 tonnes ofCO2 from entering the atmosphere. This fantastic saving was achieved thanks tothe 270 students who signed up as Eco-Power Rangers (over 11% of those inhalls).

This year make sure you join the mailing list and ‘Like’ the Facebook page AstonUniversity Student Switch Off to find out when we are dishing out the prizes.So go on, sign up, save energy and win prizes. See, super easy!

Student Jobs

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Job SearchWant some extra cash? Saving for your placement year?Time to get a job! (All can be found on Jobshop Website)

For exclusive Aston Students' jobopportunities, vist the Jobshop, 1stFloor of the Union open Mon-Fri,8am-4pm or go towww.astonunion.com/jobshop

1 LSS STARS2 Fundraiser - AAF Campaign3 International Ambassador Scheme4 Promotions Assistant5 Note Takers

On-Campus Jobs:1 Casual Waiter/ress2 Cocktail Waiter/ress3 Casual Kitchen Steward4 Hospitality Staff5 Weekend Kitchen Staff6 Agency Retail Advisor7 Peer Worker8 Bar Supervisor9 Christmas Sales Assistant10 Interpreters/Translators11 Lunch Time Bar Staff12 IT Support / Software Developer13 Health Care Worker14 Demonstration Staff/Brand

Ambassadors15 Counter Assistant16 Chef17 Bar Staff18 Bar Staff19 Bar/Waiting Staff20 Barista

External Jobs:

Did you know anemployer takes only 30seconds to decide whetheryou are the right personfor the Job?

Come into the JobShopand book an appointmentto get advice on writingthe perfect C.V. andApplication Letter

Advert

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New and Returning Students!Want to maximise your Aston Experience?Are you new to Aston and want to benefit from the knowledge of a currentstudent? Or are you a returning student and thinking about improving your skillsand employability? Then get involved in Peer Mentoring and make the most ofyour time at Aston!

“I'm happy with the peer mentoring I have received as I have built a rapportwith my mentor and feel more optimistic about my uni experience.” - PeerMentee

“Being a mentor for me has no doubt helped develop my interpersonal skills as well ashelping someone in the same position as me last year.” -­‐ Peer Mentor

“It was really good to put on my CV and I’ve used the experience to talk about it in myinterviews that I’ve had.” -­‐ Peer Mentor

Peer Mentoring is support for students by students. We match students fromdifferent year groups together in one to one mentoring relationships. PeerMentoring is for everyone, with many benefits for both mentor and mentee. Byspending just a small amount of time every week you can really get ahead andmake the most of your time at Aston as well as greatly enhancing your skills,CV and employability. Peer Mentoring is a voluntary scheme which is flexible,confidential, and fits around your availability and preferences. All mentees andmentors receive an Aston certificate at our Celebration Evening, and yourparticipation will be reflected on your student record. Full training is provided.

To find out more information and how to get involved, look at our web pageswww.aston.ac.uk/peermentoring or e-mail peermentoring@aston.ac.uk

What roles are there for me?

Pre-entry e-mentoring

Transition Mentoring

Placement Mentoring

Final Year e-mentoring

Graduate e-mentoring

Before you start Mentee First Year Mentee Second Year Mentor Mentor Mentee On placement Mentor Mentee Final Year Mentor Mentor Mentor Mentee After you graduate

Mentor

!

Advert

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What roles are there for me?

Pre-entry e-mentoring

Transition Mentoring

Placement Mentoring

Final Year e-mentoring

Graduate e-mentoring

Before you start Mentee First Year Mentee Second Year Mentor Mentor Mentee On placement Mentor Mentee Final Year Mentor Mentor Mentor Mentee After you graduate

Mentor

!

12 November, 18:00-19:00Webinar: How to start your owndigital business. Speakers: DavidBozward. CEO, dojit games andNick Holzherr, Finalist on theApprentice. It will be online andFREE!

13 November, 18:00-19:00From inspiration to application -making the idea work. This will bean idea workshop with SimonHague and Ian Harrison, foundersof Think Share Create.

15 November, 18:00-20:30Entrepreneurship Debate – Paneldiscussion event with ProfessorMark Hart

...is the world's largest campaign to promote entrepreneurship,taking place in 15 countries! We'll be using Global EntrepreneurshipWeek UK to pass on the practical help and support needed by earlystart-ups and individuals who are considering taking the plunge.Aston University is proud to be involved in this campaign with thefollowing three events:

Global Entrepreneurship Week...

Money Matters

31

Be Thrifty!So, you're now a full-time, higher-education student!

Firstly, congrats, and now, bring on the student discounts!

On Thursday 4th October Bullring will host theultimate student event with exclusivediscounts, offers and in-store entertainment.

With your Aston Student Card, you can takeadvantage of the treats between 4pm and10pm. There will be double discounts with20% off at Topshop, Topman, New Look andBoux Avenue as well as 10% off at shopssuch as Mango, Links of London and AllSaints. Many of Bullring’s restaurants willalso offer discounts and deals including 30%off at Handmade Burger Co. and 25% off atChaophraya Thai Restaurant.

Register to attend now at www.bullring.co.ukto avoid the queues and get fast trackregistration on the night. Alternativelystudents can head straight to the registrationpoint on the Lower West Mall on the evening.For more details and to see a full list of theexclusive offers and discounts please visitwww.bullring.co.uk.

Student Discount Day at

recommends...

UNiDAYS is one of thebest ways to get youronline discounts, withoutNUS subscription!www.myunidays.com

Student Beans is reallywhat it says on the tin -cheap, yummy offers thatonly students can enjoy!www.studentbeans.com

Exclusive to iAM

32

Competition Time!Fancy yourself a pair of tickets to FACE's 3rd Birthday?

We've got two pairs oftickets up for grabs toFACE's 3rd Birthday -Birmingham's "finestunderground weeklySaturday shindig" -with Matthias Tanzmann& Davide Squillace, JoyOrbison and Scuba allheadlining!

*Student number can be found on the front of your Student Card, highlighted in orange.Please do not quote your candidate number!

Entries must be received by Monday 8th October. Winners will be chosen at random.Winners will be emailed notification of winning, please make sure to check your inbox andjunk mail regularly. If winners do not respond within two days, another winner will bechosen.

Good luck!

To win yourself a pairof tickets, simply sendan email, titled "Face",with your name, emailaddress and studentnumber* to:editor@astonunion.com

For more info and to buy tickets, head to www.faceevent.co.uk

Terms and Conditions

Advert

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• Make new friends

• Enrich your university experience

• Enhance your CV and careerprospects

• Give back to your local community

From working for local charities orin local schools for extendedperiods of time to one-offvolunteering opportunities, therereally is something for everyone!

If you’re interested in hearing moreabout the opportunities on offerthen please come along to one ofour Information Sessions:

Tues 9th October, 1pm-2pmFind us in Room G11

Weds 10th October, 1pm-2pmFind us in Room MB550

Weds 17th October, 1pm-2pmFind us in Room MB550

Thurs 18th October, 1pm-2pmFind us in Room G11

Volunteerat Aston

Advice

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The Advice PageGot a problem? Need some advice? Get in touch withyour Union's Vice President of Education and Welfare,

Agnes Jacobs. Email: union.welfare@aston.ac.uk

For face-to-face, independent andconfidential advice, visit The Adviceand Representation Centre (ARC) tospeak to an advisor. You can findThe ARC on 1st Floor of the Union.

Housing Help!For all the students living in external orprivate accommodation this year, here is afew handy tips you may need to knowover the course of your stay...

1. As a full-time student you don't need topay council tax! Speak to Birmingham CityCouncil to find out more.2. When you first move in, it is a good ideato make an inventory list of all the items inthe house, and the conditions they werepresented to you in. Even take photos!Then, when it comes to leaving, you haveproof of how these items were previously,and can get your deposit back without anyhassle!3. Know your rights! Deposits should notbe withheld for fair "wear and tear".

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