The National Union of Students annual conference was held in Blackpool last week, and now that the dust has settled, we're taking stock and starting to plan ahead for the 2009 fees review.
Of course, I am disappointed that our proposals to reform the union's outdated governance structures were so narrowly defeated. We had the support of 65.9% of the delegates who voted, but fell agonisingly short of the two-thirds needed for the motion to pass.
However, I am proud of the progress the NUS has made over the last two years, and am convinced that my successor, Wes Streeting, will finish the job that I have started - making NUS an organisation that is relevant, effective, and representative of today's diverse student body.
Having put this temporary disappointment behind us, we are focusing on the positives that have come out of this conference - the most significant of which has to be our delegates' historic vote on higher education funding. The NUS leadership now has a clear mandate to properly engage with the 2009 fees review, rather than watching helplessly from the sidelines.
As a national union, we remain opposed to fees and committed to the notion of publicly funded education. But given that the 2009 review will not be fought and won on whether graduates should contribute to the costs of their education, we would rather debate how this should be done.
Negotiating on how a student contribution is set and collected is not the same as accepting the current market-based system; so we intend to consult with our members and bring to the table some radical, imaginative solutions that will be better and fairer for students than regressive and damaging market forces.
We've been creative, daring and radical in forming our policy - and I know that Wes will demand that the government is too.
Gemma Tumelty is president of the National Union of Students
