In short, our idea is to bring students together from all academic disciplines into a creative space to help learn new skills involved with sewing and fashion. Students can collaborate, teaching each other new techniques as well as showing beginners how to start their journey towards making more sustainable fashion choices. As of now, there are no sewing or fashion societies that are open to all degrees and skill levels. Although Leeds RAG Fashion Show exists, it is a large-scale once-a-year event and therefore inaccessible to beginners or hobbyists who simply want to learn and/or experiment.

Our society would fill this gap, allowing more students to express themselves creatively through the experience of regular workshops in Helix Makerspace. Helix is equipped with sewing machines and facilities ideal for learning and developing new sewing techniques, yet this space is largely underused by university students. Workshops would initially run once a week, potentially progressing to multiple times a week as membership grows.

OBJECTIVES:

Promote Sustainability – to work with local charity shops, repurposing unsold or damaged clothing, in hope of reducing charity shop’s lesser-known contribution to textile waste. We hope to promote exchanging and upcycling of clothes as a creative and sustainable practise.

Develop Skills – provide a place for all students to learn new as well as develop their sewing and design skills through workshops and collaboration with other members of the society.

Build a community – create a supportive and inclusive environment for students of all academic backgrounds and previous sewing/fashion experience. Students will be able to exchange ideas as well as collaborate on creative projects. 

The Mechanical Engineering Readiness & Capability Accelerator Initiative (MERCA Initiative) is a student-led organisation that bridges the gap between classroom theory and hands-on engineering practice. Acting as an incubator for mechanical engineering talent, MERCA equips students with the practical experience, technical knowledge, and professional skills needed to excel in future projects and specialised university engineering teams.

Through structured technical projects, workshops, and design challenges, members gain first-hand experience in engineering design, testing, and systems integration. MERCA aims to become the foundation for aspiring engineers — a launchpad that transforms curiosity into capability and prepares students to thrive in the demanding world of real engineering.

The Engineers Without Borders (EWB) society will be dedicated to using engineering to make a positive difference in the world. Our goal is to design and support sustainable solutions that address real social and environmental challenges, such as clean water access, renewable energy, and community development. Through hands on projects, collaborative workshops, and guest talks from industry professionals, members can gain practical experience in engineering design, teamwork, and project management. The society would also provide opportunities to connect with like-minded students who are passionate about applying their technical skills for global good while learning how engineering can drive lasting social impact.

Leeds International Medics Society 

The Idea

The Leeds International Medics Society is a space for medical students interested in global healthcare and international career pathways. Our society brings together students who aspire to work or train abroad after graduation, while also providing a welcoming and supportive community for international students currently studying medicine in the UK.

Brain Leeds is a society that aims to raise awareness of neurology and neurosurgery (neurosciences) as medical specialities, with a focus on helping students develop their interest and explore future careers in these fields through running teaching, revision sessions, speciality talks and workshops.

Neurology and neurosurgery are often viewed as very difficult and competitive medical specialities to get involved in. These areas are frequently daunting for students in medical school due to the difficulty and complexity of neuroanatomy (the basic building blocks of understanding the functions of the nervous system), and the challenges of trying to understand and manage neurological conditions and disorders, which are often degenerative, irreversible and have long-term life-changing implications.

Brain Leeds aims to help engage students in neurology and neurosurgery specialities, through encouraging and supporting them to pursue careers in these fields.

In the past, Brain Leeds has achieved this through running engaging teaching series, revision sessions, collaborations with doctors from across the country and other societies at the University of Leeds and other universities. Previously, Brain Leeds ran a successful national conference in March 2024 with speakers from across the country and several different workshops including an electroencephogram (EEG, imaging used to detect abnormal electrical activity in the brain) demonstration and a suturing workshop. We also held a poster competition, in which students from the University of Leeds and other universities were able to submit their research projects and have a chance to present. This helps students build portfolios and network with experts in their field of interest. This year, we want to focus on helping students get more involved in research by opening up more opportunities to them through connections we already have with the Leeds Teaching Hospitals Neuroscience Department.

There is a growing interest in space technology, not just in America, but also in the UK. This year, we have seen the birth of the first-ever UK subatmospheric rocketry company. The University of Leeds has seen an increase in interest towards the space sector. Members of many of the space engineering teams (Project ORION, Leeds Space Comms) have come together to create a society for like-minded students. 

The Leeds University Union Space Engineering Technology Society would help connect students with experts in the space technology industry, provide networking opportunities and create a community of students who are not afraid to be a part of this exciting space revolution.

Our events would include:

 - Inviting guest speakers and experts to share their knowledge and passion for space technology. 

 - Organising and joining networking events to make the space sector accessible to students. 

 - Running engineering workshops to make space engineering available to everyone.

Who is the society for? LUUSETS welcomes the future astronaut, the soon-to-be NASA engineer, the space enthusiast and everyone who wants to be part of this exciting space revolution. 

Underwater hockey (UWH), also known as octopush, is a water-based team sport that is both weird and wonderful. It requires competency in swimming and a decent level of fitness, however is a very open and relaxed sport keen to welcome current players and newbies!

The sport itself involves wearing a snorkel, mask, fins, hat and glove and is played with a short bat and a weighted puck on the pool floor. Currently a Junior training session is held at the Edge, where goals, pucks and spare kit are stored by the Yorkshire UWH team, who would be happy for us to use it. The aims of the society would be to both provide an accessible space for students who currently play the sport to continue to do so, and to also engage the interest of new players to help boost extracurricular activities and sport among students. It would also be of interest to the club to arrange friendly matches with other universities and to partake in the annual Student Nationals competition.

The Vietnamese Society of Leeds (VietSoc Leeds) is a non-profit, cultural, and social organization dedicated to promoting Vietnamese culture, language, and traditions within the University of Leeds and the wider community. We aim to create a welcoming and supportive environment for Vietnamese students, students of Vietnamese heritage, and anyone interested in Vietnam.

Our activities will focus on three key areas:

- Cultural Exchange: Hosting events like Tết (Lunar New Year) celebrations, Mid-Autumn Festival, Vietnamese cooking classes, and traditional games to share the rich heritage of Vietnam.

- Social Support: Providing a crucial network for new and current Vietnamese students, offering help with settling into Leeds, and social gatherings to combat homesickness and build lasting friendships. This includes our innovative VietSoc Voices podcast, where we will discuss essential topics like adapting to a new environment, navigating long-distance love, forming new friendships at university, and managing wellbeing abroad.

- Networking & Integration: Organizing professional development talks and collaborations with other societies/external organizations to facilitate integration into British student life and prepare members for their future careers.