Aidan Bannon is a pro-active and dedicated 3rd year medical student, who has proven that he is an a natural student leader, with a passion for community youth work and increasing opportunities available for young people and students in local communities.

He founded Queen’s University Red Cross (QURC), which has developed to 60+ strongly committed, regular volunteers, with a social network of over 1000 students. He led QURC to achieve “Best New Society” and “Best Community Contribution” at the 2012 QUBSU Awards – reaching over 3,500 young people through campaigns/workshops from 2011-2012. Through Aidan’s effective leadership, vision and drive, QURC is now one of the most widely recognised Societies in the University and is among the most respected by staff and students across campus. This year QURC was shortlisted for the BICS Civic Contribution Award – for its fundraising work for international crises such as the Syrian Appeal and the International Refugee movement but also through its educational campaigns, in First Aid and Humanitarian Education. The University’s Medical Education Director has praised Aidan for establishing a society which includes and champions students across the board.

Within QURC, Aidan designed and developed an award winning 3 month long Community Engagement project which focuses on supporting the personal development of young people aged 10-18 from interface areas in Belfast. 3rd year medical students were trained by Aidan to engage and motivate the young people involved, who are often disengaged, unsupported and not performing at school. The project comprises a First Aid qualification, Humanitarian Education Programme, a Community Action Project and an outreach trip to QUB, video linked: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gly201QoP8M . This is Aidan’s defining legacy to QURC, which embodies the motto which he developed, “by young people, for young people.” Aidan has successfully sourced funding for this project and is in the process of securing larger funds for the project next year so it can increase its reach and impact on the local community. This year, one of the young people from one of Aidan’s project secured a place to study at QUB next year, which was a proud moment for the group.

As the Students’ Union Enterprise and Development Intern for 2012/13 Aidan has been the peer leader for the newly launched Volunteer Academy: http://www.qubsu.org/esu_headstart.asp

Demonstrating entrepreneurial skills through the design and delivery of the programme, he developed the student manual for this programme and supported delivery of its workshops including promoting international volunteering opportunities and championing student led community projects. He has mentored several students in his capacity as Enterprise Intern and has ensured that students across the university are recognised for their volunteering efforts.

This year Aidan, along with two other students, spearheaded the QUB Mind Yer Mate Campaign, an innovative suicide awareness project in conjunction with two other students. This project aimed to support students to better look after their mental health, recognise the “warning signs” of self-harm or depression in others and learn how to safely communicate and support someone who may be at risk of suicide. The campaign concluded in a successful fundraiser between QUB Red Cross, QUB AccSoc and QUB Law Soc. Over 350 students, campus wide were involved in this campaign, and they successfully secured £8,500 to fund this vital student welfare campaign: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGpkVXsCk-0 .

This year, Aidan also used his skills as a medical student to be recruited as a steering group member for the Patient and Client Council, “Young People Priorities for Healthcare Report”. This report; the first of its kind, acknowledged the input of young people in healthcare policy. Aidan presented the report at NI Assembly and received 1st prize in the NICCY Participation awards for his involvement in the process. He has been commended by staff at the Patient and Client Council for his insight, commitment and innovation, ensuring that the opinions of young people in healthcare are not overlooked and lobbying to ensure that this document influences future healthcare policy decisions.

Aidan recently entered the “What’s the Big Idea 2013” competition and won Best Idea from the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences with a novel and innovative idea to help counteract white coat syndrome between paediatric patients and healthcare staff. His idea, “Dr Switch”, promises to help healthcare professionals build better, more trusting relationships with young patients. He is currently working on developing this idea further to pilot in RVH Sick Children’s Unit.

It is worth noting that Aidan has clocked up 500+ hours volunteering through the above activities and achieves all this whilst still finding the time to excel in his medical studies. On top of Aidan’s extensive extracurricular activities, Aidan excels in all areas of academic life. Consistently achieving top grades in his clinical placements and module exams, he is also the first student from QUB Medical School to be accepted to the Heidelberg Medical Erasmus programme next year. Heidelberg University is the oldest and most prestigious university in Germany. This summer, Aidan has also secured a paid research assistantship with a Professor in the Centre of Infection and Immunity in the area of Cystic Fibrosis, which is an area Aidan hopes to specialise in in the future. Aidan’s greatest academic achievement to date was receiving first place in his own student led research project at a recent International Conference in UCD. The INMED conference is a leading conference for Medical Educators in the UK and Ireland – Aidan was commended by adjudicators for his passion, work ethic and commitment to improving current practices.

Outside of his education, Aidan also knows how to enjoy himself having a starring role in this year’s QUB does Strictly, where he danced alongside the QUB Dance Team and an audience of 600+ people to raise money for QUB Rag. Before he hit the ground running this year, in his busiest and most successful year of university to date, he spent the summer travelling through Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand with a group of close friends, which truly reflects his open, enterprising, and ambitious mind set.