By Joshua Kennedy, President of the BDSA, Gurleen Muker, Communications Officer and Afra Rahim, Communications Officer Co-Lead

At the BDSA Council and BDA Students Committee meeting, held in October 2022, the Council discussed what the year will look like moving forward. We all agreed that in order to foster better relationships, the goals of the British Dental Students' Association (BDSA) for 2022/2023 would be community, communication, collaboration, charity and certification. In total, 36 representatives from every dental school across the UK engaged in discussions to create pathways to achieve these goals.

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We agreed that community will be achieved by the BDSA's two most popular annual events, the BDSA Conference will be hosted by Peninsula Dental School in Plymouth on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 March, and the BDSA Sports Day, hosted by the University of Leeds on 17 and 18 June 2023. Undoubtedly, they will be highly anticipated in the dental student calendar, welcoming a successful turnout.

Communications will be distributed via a new BDSA E-newsletter to all UK dental students, with continual developments being made to enhance networking and engagement on BDSA social media platforms. The BDSA website launch will present a professional platform for the student body, sponsors and the public to learn more about the BDSA and its work.

Collaboration is accomplished through relations with various UK and international partners and sponsors, whom the BDSA is hugely grateful for. The BDSA works alongside various organisations in the UK including the British Dental Association (BDA), Dental Schools Council (DSC), College of General Dentistry (CGDent) and Diversity in Dentistry Action Group (DDAG). Outside of the UK, the BDSA work alongside the Nationale des Etudiants en Chirurgie Dentaire (UNECD) and the European Dental Students' Association (EDSA). Presenting the opportunity for dental schools to receive funding and support for the organisation of larger-scale events, the Douglas Jackson Grant facilitates bringing dental students from different schools together.

Charity is at the heart of everything the BDSA do, with 30% of all profits made annually donated to a charitable cause. The BDSA's Chosen Charity for this year is Chris's House, a centre for help, response and intervention surrounding mental health and suicide. Certification through the introduction of the annual BDSA Charity Awards aims to recognise an individual dental student and dental school society for outstanding contributions to fundraising endeavours. The BDSA aims to raise awareness of the BDA Benevolent Fund, a charity supporting dental students, dentists and their dependents

At the Students Committee meeting, the BDA discussed its Future Leaders Programme, providing career development opportunities for dental students. Matters of student concern were discussed with BDA Board members following the BDA Student Manifesto, outlining key items such as sustainability, diversity and inclusion. COVID-19's impact on students at present was a prominent topic, concluding that student experience had mostly improved since last year in all UK dental schools. The discussion also took place surrounding the DFT recruitment process, which has changed to 100% SJT, excluding the interview component. This was due to significant differential performance gaps recorded for ethnic minority applicants. The BDSA emphasised making the recruitment process more dentally relevant whilst also being fair to ethnic minorities.

For updates on upcoming projects and opportunities, follow the BDSA Linktree: linktr.ee/bdsaofficial.