Leading with code and community: PiSoc at Freshers Fayre

Hi, I'm Hasan, a final-year BSc (Hons) Computer Science student at Bradford.

I’m currently the President of the Pi Society (PiSoc), which is an inclusive, community space for computing students at Bradford. We host study sessions, socials, one-off events and more.

I’m very passionate about technology and helping fellow students, especially since I’m a lab demonstrator. I want to help build a community with the Pi Society.

In September, we hosted a stall at the Freshers’ Fayre, which was held during Freshers’ Week. It was the first opportunity for new students to explore the different societies, meet current members, and register their interest.

Why I joined the Pi Society

Last academic year, around April 2025, I attended a hackathon event hosted by the Pi Society in the Horton D1.04 labs. I’d been hearing about PiSoc for a while and wanted to check it out. I thought it would be great to apply my skills in a fun and engaging event. I ended up enjoying the event a lot and made up my mind that I wanted to get involved properly with the society.

I also had my eye on the possibility of becoming an executive of the society in the following academic year. I came across an opportunity and applied for an executive position in July via email. I was also lucky enough that I was able to message the previous president about the role and what it entailed.

I put it to the back of my mind, and then all of a sudden, in September, I received an email from one of the old executives to let me know they hadn’t decided on any new executives. She did, however, ask me if I wanted to become the president of PiSoc. I wasn't sure at first, but after thinking it over for a while, I agreed.

My first action as the new president was to put out a message announcing my position and to find a team of new executives. A couple of days later, I had a decent executive team, which was made up mostly of other students in their final year.

What does a week in PiSoc look like?

At PiSoc, we run a mixture of technical and social activities designed to help students connect, learn, and grow.

Our regular study sessions offer a space to collaborate on coursework and share tips, while our Discord server and WhatsApp group keep the conversation going between events.

As of writing, we’re also planning a movie night and have a lineup of exciting events in the works, including hackathons, workshops, and game jams. These events are all about experimenting, building cool things, and having fun while learning.

Running the stall at Freshers' Fayre

For our stall at Freshers' Fayre, we had to create posters, generate QR codes and try to spread the word as much as possible.

Not everything went to plan. On the day, we found out that we had to apply in advance for a table at the event. As we didn’t know, we ended up getting a small table in an out-of-the-way area; however, we didn’t let that get us down. We carried on as normal and set up the stall, including my laptop, as quickly as possible and positioned the posters.

We also had some printed flyers to hand out to as many students as possible. We got people to check out our Python Fortune Teller and other minigames, which were running on my laptop. However, we found that there weren't many computing students around. We moved around and spread the interest to as many students as we could.

That afternoon, I delivered a lecture all about PiSoc to the new first-year students. I went upstairs to the lecture hall along with the Vice President of the society. A few students came to speak to us after the presentation, and we ended up getting quite a few new members as well as quite a lot of new social media followers.

Why should you join a society?

Joining a society can be a fun way of involving yourself in extracurricular activities and making more of student life at uni. It can be a way of developing skills and increasing employability, especially with PiSoc, given that this is what we mainly aim to do throughout the year.

Get stuck in.

What are you waiting for?

There's a society for everyone, regardless of your interests. Check out the societies at the University of Bradford Union of Students and find your community.