Danny Mirza is a Business Management Masters student running to become the next
President of the Lancaster University Students’ Union. He is determined to win this election
to improve the representation of both postgraduate and international students at Lancaster as well as to increase inclusivity within our university community.
Having gone through the undergraduate experience and coming from an international
background, he believes that the journey he has gone through makes him well suited to
represent all students. When asked what does he like the least about our current Students’
Union, he mentioned the lack of postgraduates and international students in the Full-Time
Officers teams.
Danny truly believes in the power of engagement as without engagement it is not possible to find the answers one’s looking for. He wants to invite people to come forward to directly
speak to him about their concerns, monthly. Thus doing, he would like to create an agenda
composed of twelve points which he will follow throughout the year. He also stressed the
importance of sharing the merits of the goals he would achieve throughout this role and his
desire to share pictures of the people who have asked for change and helped him work on it.
The appreciation of societies, attending their events, and asking questions was also key for
Danny. He explained how he is already working on ensuring that students’ voices are heard
being the Senate student representative. In particular, this year he expressed the importance of addressing current students’ needs before bringing in more new ones.
Following, Danny mentioned that, although he might not always have a plan, he has the will to make things happen. When asked how will he handle the President’s busy schedule
without a plan, he said he will be managing his time prioritising his commitments. He also
highlighted his intention to make sure that meetings are fruitful and that no time is taken
away from working towards helping the students.
On the “Let’s Be Glocal” point present in his manifesto, Danny said he would like to
introduce a buddy-system at a University level. He thinks students coming to Lancaster
should gain more than a studying experience and believe in the need for cultural change to
happen.
Finally, Danny would like to improve the employability prospect of Lancaster students. He
would like to make sure that the Union helps all faculties in providing students with guidance on careers prospects information and the necessary skills to face life after university.
