Loughborough UCU

LUCU Committee Meeting
2025-11-11 14:00 - 15:30, 2025-10-14 12:30 - 14:00 (Europe/London) | UCU Office/Meeting Room (& MS Teams), Loughborough UCU, 3 Holywell Drive, Loughborough, LE11 3TU, United Kingdom
Branch committee meeting, committee members invited.
Department Reps can attend by request.
Most committee meetings are hybrid, held at 3 Holywell Drive and on MS Teams.

CPD Course: Allyship and Solidarity
2025-11-11 12:00 - 13:30 | Zoom
Lboro UCU branch has re-scheduled an online CPD workshop, open to all LU staff. Masters and PhD students at LU are also welcome to attend the session. The Allyship and Solidarity CPD workshop will now take place online on Tuesday 11th November from 12 noon – 1:30pm. Please come along and invite your colleagues (including those who may not be UCU members) to join us.
“Allyship” has its roots firmly within the LGBT community and has more recently been a live discussion within the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. But how can real allies truly support each other? And how can we build that support into organisations that will help us realise the dreams of equality that we all yearn for.
If you are fed up with seeing tokenistic gestures of solidarity on social media and want to explore what genuine and meaningful allyship looks like, at work and in your trade union, please join us.
The full aims of the interactive workshop are to:

Know what we mean by “allyship”
Understand why allyship and solidarity is essential now
Understand the difference between meaningful allyship and performative allyship
Explore how we can build structures that allow us to support each other.

The taught sessions usually last for about 60 minutes, after which time we take 15-20 minutes to discuss the issues raised with a UCU official, depending on availability. The total time commitment will be around an hour and a half. The Allyship and solidarity workshops are designed to be more interactive than most in order to help you discuss the issues and to find new allies of your own.
Sign up to the training here and please share this link with any other staff at Lboro who may be interested in coming along – https://cpd.web.ucu.org.uk/events/allyship-and-solidarity-loughborough-2/.
Upon signing up you should receive an email including an outlook calendar invite and a link to join the session within 3 working days. If you have not received this within a week of signing up, please contact ucu@lboro.ac.uk and we will make sure it comes through.

Friday Coffee & Chat Morning – Ballot Drop-in Session
2025-11-07 09:00 - 11:30 | Martin Hall, Martin Hall, Epinal Way, Loughborough, LE11 3TS, United Kingdom
Friday Coffee & Chat Mornings – Ballot Drop-in Sessions
We’re holding a series of informal Friday morning drop-in sessions for members of all three unions to chat about the ballots, ask questions, and connect with colleagues across campus.
️ Fridays, 9:30–11:30am

24 October – Village Hub
31 October – Edward Herbert Building
7 November – Martin Hall
14 November – West Park Teaching Hub
21 November – Edward Herbert Building

Come along for a coffee, a chat, and a chance to share thoughts on why this ballot matters. Everyone is welcome — the more conversations we have, the stronger our collective voice will be.

Palestine Film Festival
2025-11-04 18:30 - 21:30 | LDN001 – Loughborough London Campus, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, The Broadcast Centre Here East, Lesney Ave, London, E20 3BS, United Kingdom
Screenings of Upshot and Jenin, Jenin.
4th November @ 6:30pm
In Room LDN001 at the Loughborough London Campus

Friday Coffee & Chat Morning – Ballot Drop-in Session
2025-10-31 09:30 - 11:30 | Edward Herbert Building, EHB, Margaret Keay Rd, Loughborough, LE11 3TU, United Kingdom

LUCU Get Together
2025-10-29 13:00 - 14:00 | UCU Office/Meeting Room (& MS Teams), Loughborough UCU, 3 Holywell Drive, Loughborough, LE11 3TU, United Kingdom
We’re delighted to invite all our members to our first Loughborough UCU Get Together of the new academic year!
Join us on Wednesday 29th October from 1–2pm at the UCU Office – 3 Holywell Drive (map) – for a relaxed and friendly lunchtime gathering to:

Reconnect with fellow union members after the summer break
Meet your branch committee and find out what’s coming up this year
Enjoy tea, coffee, and biscuits on us!

Whether you’re a long-standing member or new to the branch, this is a great opportunity to catch up, share ideas, and strengthen the sense of community that makes our union what it is.
There’s no agenda — just good conversation and a warm welcome. We hope to see you there!

Joint Campus Unions Photo
2025-10-27 12:30 - 13:00 | Hazelrigg–Rutland Fountain, Loughborough University, University Road, Loughborough, LE11 3TU, United Kingdom
Members of UCU, Unite, and Unison at Loughborough University are all balloting for industrial action — and we’re coming together to show our unity and strength.
Join members and committee reps from all three unions for a joint gathering and photo to promote the ballots:
Monday 27 October
12:30pm
Hazelrigg–Rutland Fountain, Loughborough East Midlands campus
Bring your banners, colleagues, and solidarity! Everyone welcome!
Let’s make a visible show of support for fair pay, fair conditions, and respect at work. Even if you can only drop by for a few minutes, your presence will make a real difference.

Friday Coffee & Chat Morning – Ballot Drop-in Session
2025-10-24 09:30 - 11:30 | Village Hub, Loughborough University, University Road, Loughborough, LE11 3TU, United Kingdom

Why Palestine is a Feminist Issue: Breaking the Silence on Genocide
2025-10-23 17:00 - 18:00 | James France – CC110, James France Building, James France Walk, Loughborough University, Loughborough, LE11 3TU, United Kingdom
Maryam Aldossari (QMUL) ‘Why Palestine is a Feminist Issue: Breaking the Silence on Genocide’
23rd October @ 5pm – In Room CC110, James France building, Midlands Campus – (related paper)

UCU East Mids CPD: Saying No with Confidence
2025-10-22 16:00 - 17:00 | Online, United Kingdom
This webinar has been developed to support members in taking a collective approach to push back on workloads.
We will look at workplace culture and how we can change workplace practices by using Health & Safety Legislation to empower members to take a stand and say ‘no’, whilst maintaining professional standards.
The full aims of the interactive workshop are to:
• identify assertiveness techniques and strategies for saying “no” at work
• learn to use Health and Safety legislation to push back to protect us against workplace stress and health risks due to excessive workloads
• understand the role of collective action in changing workplace culture through union campaigning
The session will last for 60 minutes.
To register please email eastmidlands@ucu.org.uk

Menopause Café
2025-10-14 12:00 - 14:00 | Rutland Building – Collaboration Space (0.02), Loughborough University, Loughborough, LE11 3TU, United Kingdom
Loughborough University have organised a Menopause Café.
The Menopause Café aims to break down any stigma around menopause and increase awareness of the impact of menopause on those experiencing it. The Café will be held in the Rutland Building – Collaboration Space (0.02) on Tuesday 14th October 2025 between 12pm and 2pm.
A Menopause Cafe is a discussion group, open to all ages and genders. It is open to all University colleagues who want to talk about menopause, to share their stories, experiences and questions – all made that little bit easier with tea, coffee and biscuits.
As October is Menopause month, this café will include a session led by Sarah Van Zoelen from Occupational Health to provide information and guidance on navigating menopause.
Many people feel that they should just ‘get on with’ the menopause, with some never talking to their friends, family or their manager about it. People can come along to share their experiences or just listen, hopefully leaving with a clearer sense of the impact of menopause on those who are experiencing it.
The intention is for a café to be held each term, and the next one will be held in February. Further details will follow closer to the time.

UCU Webinar - Asbestos Risks in Education
2025-09-26 13:00 - 14:30 | Online, United Kingdom
Register for the UCU webinar on Asbestos risks in education which is taking place on Friday 26 September from 1-2:30pm
https://ucu.wufoo.com/forms/asbestos-exposure-risk-in-education-reducing-risk/
UCU are launching an asbestos risk register in partnership with Thompsons solicitors to protect workers who have been exposed to asbestos in the spaces where they work.
This event will explore the legislative duty on employers to protect workers from harm and the steps reps can take to ensure employers are fulfilling their duty to manage asbestos under the regulations.
UCU welcome attendance from all UCU members, especially safety reps and branch officers.
There will be presentations from Thompsons Solicitors, UCU and Manchester Hazards Centre and an opportunity for attendees to ask questions.
This event will be held on Friday 26 September on Zoom webinar from 13:00 – 14:30.

LUCU Committee Meeting
2025-09-24 14:00 - 15:30, 2025-09-03 12:00 - 13:30 | Microsoft Teams, Online Meeting
Branch committee meeting, committee members invited. Department Reps can attend by request. Currently held online.

UCU East Mids CPD: Challenging Excessive Workload in Education
2025-09-03 16:00 - 17:00 | Online, United Kingdom
This webinar has been developed to take a collective approach in pushing back on excessive workloads.
The full aims of the interactive workshop are to:
• Identify why excessive workload is so damaging to education and staff
• Identify collective responses to tackling excessive workloads
• Make members aware of the UCU campaign on workload and how they can contribute
The session will last for 60 minutes.
To register please email eastmidlands@ucu.org.uk
