Many geography graduates will no doubt have fond memories of ‘Geog Soc’ – that cornerstone of campus life for the geographically-minded. They tend to be run by a committee of undergraduates, who organise a range of social and extra-curricular events throughout the academic year.
In recognition of this, the second annual Geography Societies Conference took place at the Society in London earlier this month. Committee members from universities as far away as Bangor, Belfast and St Andrews were in attendance to discuss best practice and learn how they could benefit from the support of the Society.
The day began with an introduction to the Society’s activities, including the grants programme, Explore weekend and Learning and Leading opportunities. Delegates then took part in a workshop, in which they discussed how to run a successful Geog Soc. Further activities included an overview of the Geography Ambassadors scheme and a presentation about the Society’s online careers resources.
“Just talking about things that work and things that don’t work has been really good,” said Catrina Randall, University of St Andrews Geography Society President. “We’re finding that many other Geography Societies have had similar failures and successes.”
As well as allowing students to share ideas and build contacts with their counterparts at universities nationwide, the event also helped to increase links between Geog Socs and the Society.
“We will be going back to our university and telling the new committee for next year to definitely advertise what the RGS-IBG has to offer,” said Chloe Lloyd, Bangor University Geography Society Vice Chairperson.
Read more