Scotland says "No Thanks"...students say "Yes please!"

Even though we've not had our first "official" event (Cheese and Wine Night, Thursday 25th!), the year is off to a fantastic start for the Politics and International Relations Society with our results watch party.

Over 200 students joined us for the event which lasted until the wee small hours of the morning and the final declaration that the "Better Together" side had clinched the victory.

The atmosphere was absolutely electric, though plenty of people had brought blankets and pillows as well as laptops and games. 











A few people seized the opportunity to get some sleep before the serious business got underway, while for others there was nothing to do but talk and get to know one another - something we absolutely love seeing!

For others, it was a chance to meet up with old friends and talk about the summertime. However, before long it was time to dish out the pizza - and if you've never seen 200 starving students coming straight at you then you've never lived. 

Fed and watered, there was time for a quick nap before the results started coming in - first a trickle and then a flood as council after council declared themselves for or against independence. There were groans and cheers as each answer was revealed, and it wasn't too long until No started to really pull ahead. 

As the sun started to rise and the cleaners stood frowning at the door, we helped friends celebrate or commiserate and walked out the doors still friends. From 8.30 in the evening until 6.30 the next morning, students stuck around to see democracy in action.

From the whole committee, it was an absolute pleasure to meet all of you, and we hope to meet many more at our welcome event. If you enjoyed the event, leave us a comment or just come up and say hello. We can't wait to meet you.

Love,

The Committee

We don't normally look this tired. Promise.

Hey you! Want £1,000?

The deadline for the Byron Criddle Scholarship has been extended to May 23, so if you've ever wanted £1,000 towards a research project or internship abroad, get your application in now. It's open to first, second and third year students and is a fairly handy sum of money - you could look at how the French government runs their welfare state (and try out some French cuisine...for research purposes.) It would be useful if you managed to get an internship at the EU or the UN, neither of which are paid. You could even use it to try to get into North Korea, if you've ever wanted to see how a communist country is run. (Badly. It is run badly.)

Korean Leader Kim Jong Un looking fashionable as ever

Byron Criddle was an influential and popular Reader in Politics, and he taught at the university from 1968 to 2007. The scholarship is offered by a donor who found an overseas internship a life-changing experience, is named in honour of this wonderful teacher. The scholarship is on offer UK students studying in the department of Politics and International Relations.

Applicants should ideally be participating in, or working on, a project around comparative politics. A previous winner, Alexander Ryland, took part in work experience examining the Scottish Government's role in the EU. The applicant should also be achieving a high standard of work (so that's all of us...right?)

Unfortunately, as noted above, this award is only available to UK undergraduate students, as Byron felt that students who come here to study are already receiving an amazing overseas experience.

To apply, email a personal statement including an outline of your plans for the use of the scholarship should you be successful, your CV which should include your University ID number, a reference from an academic member of staff of the University of Aberdeen, along with any relevant additional information, to Pam Thomson: pam.thomson@abdn.ac.uk

You can also email Ms Thomson with any informal queries. Best of luck to any and all applicants!