Notice – Kingston Students’ Union Elections

We are delighted to share the details of our upcoming Elections, where you will be electing the following roles:

 

The Student Officer team 2026/27: one President and two Vice Presidents. 

A job like no other! Student Officers take a year out - a Sabbatical - from studying (or straight from graduating) to work full time, leading KSU. They work to represent your academic, social, and wellbeing needs throughout the year, engaging with University colleagues, working with local politicians, and, importantly, working with all students. Any current KU student can run for these roles. This is a salaried position.  

KSU Student Trustees (three roles). 

As a charity, KSU has up to 10 trustees who meet every three months to make major decisions on our strategy. This includes Student Trustees (current Kingston students), the Student Officer team, and Lay Trustees (experts in certain areas like HR, governance, and finance). Any current KU student can run for these roles. Student Trustees are required to attend these meetings and contribute to KSU strategy. This is a volunteer position. 

Faculty Reps: 

• KSA Faculty Rep (UG). 

• KSA Faculty Rep (PG). 

• ECE Faculty Rep (UG). 

• ECE Faculty Rep (PG). 

• FBSS Faculty Rep (UG). 

• FBSS Faculty Rep (PG). 

• HSSCE Faculty Rep (UG). 

• HSSCE Faculty Rep (PG). 

Faculty Reps exist to represent student interests and support the coordination of student voice across their faculty and, as Student Council members, hold the three Student officers to account, represent students, and agree policies of the Union. You are eligible to run for the role of which you are a part (e.g., if you are an UG KSA student, you can only run for the KSA Faculty Rep (UG)). This is a volunteer position. 

Campus Reps: 

• Penrhyn Road Campus Rep. 

• Roehampton Vale Campus Rep. 

• Knights Park Campus Rep. 

• Kingston Hill Campus Rep. 

Campus Reps exist to represent student interests and support the coordination of student voice on their campus and, as Student Council members, hold the three Student officers to account, represent students, and agree policies of the Union. You are eligible to run for the role of which you are a part (e.g., you can only run for the Kingston Hill Campus Rep role if KH is your main campus). This is a volunteer position. 

 

Important dates:

 

Nominations: 

• You will be able to submit your nominations from 10AM on Monday 2nd February. 

• Nominations will close at 11:59PM on Sunday 1st March.  

• If you know someone that would make an excellent representative, you can recommend them by completing this quick form! Please note that a recommendation does not consitute a nomination. 

Submitting your manifesto: 

• A manifesto is a collection of pledges or commitments, that you'd then be expected to work on if elected. This is what students will see when they decide who to vote for, and we know that most people will vote for the best manifesto. We will be publishing a KSU Members' Manifesto in mid-February to support you write an impactful, data-driven manifesto. This is being built from the data and insight we've been able to collect from the last year, including our Annual Student Survey and Kingston, Have Your Say! Week. Most Student Officer manifestos cover commitments on student wellbeing, academic experience, and community. It is up to you what you cover - we recommend you draw from personal experience and conversations with other students to help mould your manifesto pledges. Remember: you can't cover everything, so prioritise two or three things that you think are most important to Kingston students! And be SMART with your commitments: Specific (what exactly are you wanting to address?), Measurable (what's your measure of success?), Achievable (can you make this happen, or lay the groundworks, in a year?), Relevant (do Kingston students care?), and Time-specific (when will it be achieved by?). 

• You will need to submit a manifesto alongside your nomination. You will be able to upload your manifesto from 10AM on Monday 2nd February.  

• You will need to have submitted your manifesto by 11:59PM on Sunday 8th March. Please note that any candidacy with no manifesto will be ineligible and therefore not be included in the election.  

• Please note there may be different candidate requirements for the different positions up for election. 

Candidate training: 

• All Student Officer candidates will be required to attend candidate training. This will take place during the week of the 2nd March.  

• All Student Officer and Student Trustee candidates will be invited to a short 1-1 meeting with a member of KSU senior leadership before campaigning begins, to help you understand the role for which you're running. 

Voting: 

• Voting will open at 10AM on Monday 16th March. 

• Voting will close at 10AM on Thursday 19th March.  

Results: 

• We plan on holding Results Night on the afternoon of Thursday 19th March. Please note this is subject to the Returning Officer deeming the elections are free and fair. This is due to be followed by a Results After Party on the same evening.  

Other important information: 

• All successful candidates will start their role at the beginning of July 2026, with each role, unless otherwise stated, lasting for one-year. 

• Every candidate and campaigner will be required to abide by the KSU Elections Rules and Regulations. These will be made available on the KSU website from Monday 2nd February. 

• The National Union of Students (NUS) will act as the Election's Returning Officer. 

• Laura Black (KSU Head of Membership Services) will act as the Election's Deputy Returning Officer. 

• Sam Dangerfield (KSU Student Voice & Insight Manager) will act as the Election's Assistant Deputy Returning Officer.