Hustings Dates for your College Officer & Sabbatical Officer Candidates

What are Husting?

Husting are a set event each year organised in conjunction with the Returning Officer, Students’ Union & Campus Newspapers to offer potential candidates the ability to address students and take questions from the public.

College Officer Hustings

  • Date: 25th March

    Time: 5pm - 6pm

    Location: Student Centre Room 5,6,7

  • Date: 26th March

    Time: 5pm - 6pm

    Location: HSc, C112

  • Date: 26th March

    Time: 6pm - 7pm

    Location: Student Centre Room 5,6,7

  • Date: 26th March

    Time: 7pm - 8pm

    Location: Science Hub H2.32

  • Date: 27th March

    Time: 5pm - 6pm

    Location: The Village Auditorium

Sabbatical Officer Hustings

  • Date: 28th March

    Time: 6pm

    Location: Old Student Centre Atrium

Full Time (Sabbatical) Roles

A sabbatical role is a full-time, salaried position held by an elected student representative who either takes a year off from their academic studies to focus on advocating for and representing the student body's interests, or does so following completion of their final year.

Here’s what you need to know:

  • Full-time job, €28,000 gross per annum.

  • Autonomy over work programme for the year.

  • Semi-flexible roster.

  • Leave of absence from studies or take up a position after final year.

  • Work with a diverse group of people including students, faculty, staff, University management, NGOs, political groups, policy makers and many more.

  • Opportunity to leave a lasting impact on the University and wider community.

Six Full Time/Sabbatical Roles are filled every year at election time. Read the description below, decide which one is right for you, or what you should expect candidates seeking your vote to be suitable for:

Part-Time Roles

College Officers

College Officers are the essential part-time officers spread throughout the university. Their core role is to be the face of the SU in their respective areas and ensure that issues that arise at a local level can be fed back to the full time officers.

As Chair of the College Council, each College Officer also acts as a first point of contact for Class Reps in their college. College Officers are members of the UCDSU Executive.

The 2024 UCDSU Executive Elections are seeking nominations for the following positions:

  • Ag Food & Vet College Officer

  • Architecture College Officer

  • Arts & Humanities College Officer

  • Business College Officer

  • Engineering College Officer

  • Health Science College Officer

  • Law College Officer

  • Science College Officer

  • Social Science College Officer

Oifigeach na Gaeilge (Irish Language Officer)

The Oifigeach na Gaeilge/Irish Language Officer is responsible for promoting and developing the Irish language within the students’ union and the UCD student community more broadly.

This role involves organising events, campaigns, and initiatives to celebrate and preserve the Irish language, as well as supporting students in their language learning endeavours.

The Irish Language Officer also acts as a liaison between students and relevant university departments or external organisations to ensure that Irish language resources and opportunities are accessible to all who are interested. Additionally, they are expected to collaborate with other officers within the students' union to integrate the Irish language into broader initiatives and activities.

Tips and Tricks for getting elected

  • CHECK OUT A WEBINAR WE HELD IN NOVEMBER WITH PAST AND PRESENT UCDSU SABBATICAL OFFICERS OUTLINING THE IMPORTANCE, RULES AND TIPS FOR EXECUTIVE ELECTIONS.

    CHECK OUT THE FULL VIDEO HERE

Elections FAQ’s

  • UCD Students' Union is a democratic, member-led organisation, led by students, for the students.

  • All registered UCD students are eligible both to vote and to put themselves forward.

    All registered students will be given a chance to vote for their next President, Welfare Officer, Education Officer, Campaigns & Engagement Officer and Entertainment Officer.

    For the Graduate Officer role, only a Graduate Student can run for this role and this elected is decided only by Graduate Students.

    To run for a College Officer position, you must be a student in that particular College. Accordingly, each student will get a chance to vote for the college officer that pertains to their school.

  • Full Time/Sabbatical Roles

    • President

    • Welfare Officer

    • Graduate Officer

    • Entertainment Officer

    • Education Officer

    • Campaigns and Engagement Officer

    Part Time Roles/College Officers

    • Agricultural Science, Food Science & Vet

    • Architecture

    • Engineering

    • Arts & Humanities

    • Business

    • Health Sciences

    • Law

    • Science

    • Social Sciences

    • Oifigeach na Gaeilge/Irish Language Oficer

  • A Sabbatical Officer or “Sabbat” is a full-time paid role, elected by the students of UCD every year. They are tasked with the day to day running of the Union as set out by the UCDSU Constitution.

    To learn more about the role of a Sabbat click HERE

  • A College Officer is the Students’ Union representative from an individual college in UCD. There are currently six colleges in UCD and eight College Officers, including an Irish Language Officer. The primary duties of a College Officer are to hold College Council and attend Union Council and Executive. Successful candidates are elected on a part-time basis that they fulfil alongside their studies.

    To learn more about the role of a College Officer click HERE

  • A Manifesto is a series of commitments by a candidate to perform certain tasks if elected to a Union role.

  • Husting are a set event each year organised in conjunction with the Returning Officer, Students’ Union & Campus Newspapers to offer potential candidates the ability to address students and take questions from the public.

  • For Sabbatical positions you will need 150 signatures from any registered students of UCD, except for the Graduate Officer role this position can only be nominated by graduate students. If you are planning on running for College Officer, you will need 150 signatures from registered students at your College.

    Each registered student will get a chance to vote in the elections. If you are running for the Graduate Officer position, only final year and graduate students can vote for that role.

  • There are six full-time paid sabbatical positions up for election each year. These are the President, Campaigns & Engagement, Welfare, Education, Graduate & Entertainments Officers.

  • Firstly congratulations on your election! The Students’ Union should be in contact with you very soon about organising a handover for yourself from your predecessors. Handover for full-time officers will take place between 1-15th of June. For part-time officers, it will take place on an adhoc basis depending on peoples availability over the summer.

  • You can attend one or all of the various workshops that we are hosting in the lead up to voting day. This will help to gain a better understanding of the positions in the Union and how to campaign.

    If you are thinking of running you can also reach out to any of the current team, they are more than happy to talk to through any questions you may have you can find their details HERE.

    As a Sabbatical position is a full time roll you will need to take time off. If you are in the middle of a course such as 2nd or 3rd year which is not final year, you also should think about taking a leave of absence from your course. This can be discussed with your student advisor. Details of the Leave of Absence Policy can be found HERE.

    The college officer role is part time so you can still do your course and run for this position.

  • If you would like to query anything to do with the elections, you can reach out to our Returning Officer Darryl Horan at returningoffice@ucdsu.ie

  • The Union Executive is the day to day decision-body of UCD Students’ Union. It meets on a fortnightly basis and is allowed to make decisions on union affairs between meetings of Union Council.