What Are the Best Student Union Event Ideas?
The best student union events have three things in common: they're easy to join in with, they give people something to share on their phones, and they don't require a full production crew to pull off. Whether you're planning freshers week, a charity fundraiser, or a mid-semester social that gets people out of the library, the ideas below are tried, tested, and — crucially — not boring.
Q&A: Everything Student Unions Ask Us About Events
Q: What entertainment actually works at student events?
A: Anything interactive. Students don't want to stand watching something happen — they want to be the thing that's happening. That's why formats like photo booths, game show-style competitions, live caricaturists, and face in the hole boards consistently outperform passive entertainment at student union events.
A face in the hole board (also called a face-in-hole board or cut-out board) is one of the most reliable bits of ents kit going. You've seen them at the seaside: a painted scene with a hole where your face goes. At student events, they work brilliantly because they're instant, require zero explanation, and produce photos people actually want to post. The National Self Portrait Gallery offers custom-designed boards — so instead of a generic beach scene, your board can feature your university mascot, a themed character, or something specific to your event.
Q: What student union events are good for freshers week?
A: Freshers week lives or dies by how easy it is for new students to meet people. The best activities lower the barrier to conversation — ideally by giving people something to do together rather than just stand around with a plastic cup.
Top freshers week entertainment ideas:
- Face in the hole boards — two strangers sharing a photo opp is an instant icebreaker
- Themed photo experiences — a backdrop and a prop can turn any room into a proper event
- Interactive games with a host — quiz formats, bingo, or game show nights where teams form quickly
- Caricature artists or portrait illustrators — creates a souvenir students keep, and a talking point while they wait
- Selfie marketing activations — branded photo moments that also generate UGC for your SU's social accounts
The goal during freshers is connection, not performance. Choose entertainment that involves your audience rather than playing to them.
Q: What are good student union charity event ideas?
A: Charity events need to raise money and be fun — which is a harder brief than it sounds. The best student charity fundraisers make spending feel worthwhile, not obligatory.
Ideas that work well:
- Sponsored photo ops — charge a small fee to use a face in the hole board or themed photo set-up. Students pay for the laugh, the SU donates the proceeds. Simple, scalable, no raffle tickets required.
- Charity auctions with a twist — instead of just auctioning items, auction experiences. A portrait sitting, a custom illustration, a one-off event slot.
- Bake sales with entertainment — combine a classic with something interactive nearby to draw footfall
- Charity balls with a photo activation — a personalised face in the hole board at the entrance doubles as décor and a fundraising moment
The key with charity events is giving people a reason to part with money that isn't guilt. Fun is more effective than obligation, every time.
Q: How do student unions make events feel more professional without spending a fortune?
A: Invest in the bits that show in photos. No one remembers the venue layout, but everyone sees the photos on Instagram the next day.
A well-designed face in the hole board, a decent backdrop, or a custom illustrated portrait experience elevates the look of an entire event. It also gives your social media team actual content to work with — not just blurry crowd shots.
Practical tips for budget-conscious student union ents:
- Hire rather than buy — for one-off events, hire entertainment and photo props rather than purchasing
- Go custom where it counts — a generic backdrop is forgettable; a board with your SU branding or event theme is shareable
- Brief your volunteers — even the best entertainment kit needs someone enthusiastic pointing students towards it
- Collect photos with a hashtag — a custom hashtag on every piece of printed material means user content lands somewhere useful
Why Face in the Hole Boards Work Especially Well for Student Events
If you're not already using a face in the hole board at your events, it's worth understanding why they've become a staple of student union entertainment.
They work across every event type. Freshers fair? Perfect. Charity ball? Absolutely. End-of-year celebration? Ideal. The format adapts to whatever theme you're running, and unlike a lot of entertainment, it works whether there are 50 people in the room or 500.
They also solve the "content problem" that every SU social media manager knows too well. Getting candid event photos that look good enough to post is hard. Getting students to voluntarily line up for a branded photo moment — and then share it themselves — is significantly easier.
The National Self Portrait Gallery designs and hires custom face in the hole boards for exactly this kind of use case. Each board is hand-painted, designed to your brief, and built to stand up to a night of enthusiastic students.
The Takeaway
The best student union event ideas are the ones that give students something to do, something to share, and something to talk about. Interactive entertainment — especially face in the hole boards — ticks all three boxes without requiring a huge budget or a complicated setup.
If you're planning freshers, a charity night, or any kind of ents programme and want something that actually lands, get in touch with the National Self Portrait Gallery to discuss a custom board for your event.