Anxious about making friends or meeting new people at University? Say no more! As part of the University of Edinburgh student body, you have access to over 300 student societies and clubs. Lulu is here to tell you all about her favourites, and why she thinks societies are a great opportunity to meet people with whom you share interests with.
Blog by Lulu, Sociology and Politics
One of the highlights of Welcome Week for me was the societies fair, hosted hand–in-hand with the sports fair. The overwhelmed part of me wanted to sign up for every society I found remotely interesting and that aligned with what I was passionate about. I consequently signed up for about 10 societies! Of course, I couldn’t keep up with all of them in the long run. However, I attended first meetings for every single one and then narrowed down my choice to two societies I could juggle alongside my studies.
Over the years, I have joined several societies and here are some of my favourite ones.
Model UN
This society models the working of the United Nations. It focuses on diplomacy, international relations, critical thinking and debating skills. My favourite part about this society is being able to become a representative of various countries and discussing various world issues with the goal of solving them.
As a sociology and politics student, I’ve been able to use my classroom knowledge on real life situations while improving my research and debating skills.
Edinburgh MUN is open to anyone interested in discussing and solving world issues regardless of the degree they’re in! I was able to make friends from fields like physics and engineering, to law and international relations. Everyone is welcome!
Check out their website for more information:
GirlUp Society
As a feminist, I enjoyed being a part of this society because it is committed to promoting gender equality through raising awareness of gender-based violence, reproductive justice, various issues on the intersectionality between race and gender and so much more. At GirlUp, we have organised various campaigns on campus and seminars to promote equality and awareness to everyone.
Everyone is welcome to join this society regardless of their gender identity and degree programme. All we ask for is your enthusiasm for taking action to promote gender equality. You can always attend one event before committing to a membership, of any society.
Keep an eye out for upcoming events through GirlUp’s Facebook and Twitter pages.
Hyped
Hyped is generally focused on aiding with the advancement of the hyperloop, which is aimed at achieving a faster, safer and a more environmentally friendly mode of transportation. This is a society primarily for engineering students, however students from other fields of study are welcome to join.
Students can join any of the teams including the technical team, outreach, research and so many more. Most of these teams are further divided into sub-teams where students focus on specific niches. For instance, the technical team comprises electrical, electronic, and mechanical sub-teams. This helps engineering students practice the theoretical concepts they learn in class in a more practical manner.
For those, like me, who don’t major in engineering, or anything remotely related to that, I’d recommend joining the outreach and research teams. This will help you learn a lot of transferrable skills that will help you as a student and aid in professional development and employability skills. Find what works for you.
Hyped hopes to launch a hyperloop project in the next nine years! Fingers crossed, am I right?
For more information, you can visit their website:
Archery club
As the name suggests, this club is for students interested in learning and developing their archery skills. I fell in love with archery the first time I tried it. It was during the sports fair event where we were allowed to throw a few arrows towards a target.
Joining the club is very easy! Check out their website for more information on the society, upcoming events and membership details:
Chocolate society
Is anyone else as obsessed with chocolate as l am? This instantly seems to be the perfect society for us, however, I have only just recently discovered it.
I am looking forward to meeting fellow chocolate lovers and learn more about this society this year!
How to get involved
You can view the list of societies and clubs available at the University through the Edinburgh University Students’ Association (EUSA) website: https://www.eusa.ed.ac.uk/activities/list.
You can also follow the societies’ Facebook groups. They’re very useful!
The wide range of options means there is something for everyone, no matter what you are interested in or where you are from. In addition, you could create your own society if you feel like your interests are not yet represented.
Follow the instructions on this website to get started:
https://www.eusa.ed.ac.uk/activities/societies
I hope you enjoyed reading about some of my favourite societies on campus and that this shed some light on what’s available. Don’t be afraid to explore and let us know what you discover out there. Enjoy!
Image credits
Laptop photo by John Schnobrich on Unsplash
Model UN photo by Davi Mendes on Unsplash
Archery photo by Vince Fleming on Unsplash
