Vasily Vanifatov

Hello everyone! My name is Vasily, and I’m running to be your Departmental Academic Representative next year.

I am a Year 1 Academic Representative. During my term, I’ve developed a clear understanding of the academic challenges within our course. I’ve represented student concerns at Staff-Student Committees, worked closely with our Year Convenor, and communicated directly with lecturers to ensure feedback translates into action during the course.

As an academic rep, I established a shared resource drive for our cohort, organised a mock exam, improved the way we collect and present student feedback, standardised cohort communications, and helped organise events like Takeover Tuesdays. Most importantly, I’ve learned how the department operates, how to navigate it effectively and get things done.

If elected, I will prioritise, but not be limited to:

• Improving resource availability and the quality and consistency of tutorials and problem classes
  
  
• Addressing heterogeneity in teaching quality and content load across modules, particularly in Year 3
• Minimising unclear coursework feedback and flawed staff-student interactions, especially in Year 2
• Optimising exam experience and quality – tackling unclear instructions, miscommunication and reuse of questions
• Ensuring reliable Panopto lecture recordings
  
  

I will also work to streamline communication across and within year groups and build a unified, degree-wide resource repository.

Our Life Sciences Department is already ranked 11th globally – just 0.2 points from 9th. We’re close to excellence. Let’s make our academic experience match that standard together.