This week, students are able to vote on their representatives for the University Council. IBA-student Stefan Nicolai and IBEB-student Dumitru Ojog were the first internationals ever to act as Student Representatives on the Council.
According to both students, their participation in the council has brought some changes. Both were involved in actions against Albron, and unlike before, all UC meetings with the student representatives are now conducted in English, and meeting records are translated. The meetings with the executive board of the university are still conducted in Dutch, but even though the international representatives are provided with a translator, it’s not always easy. Dumitru: “Sometimes it’s hard to focus when someone’s whispering in your ear for three hours.”
Improving internationalization
Both students joined the Council to improve life for fellow international students on the campus. Dumitru: “we were able to push for some improvements, but there is still much work to be done in making the university bilingual.” It is one of the slogans for Stefan’s election campaign this year. Last year, he received 160 votes. He attributes this to having a lot of trust from the international community at the university. Stefan: “Sometimes students or student organizations will come to me with an issue. I can bring it to the UC. “
New experience
The representatives describe their experience as very positive. Stefan: “I really like that the UC takes the time to discuss things. There is a lot of debate. One of the strongest points of this Dutch ‘poldermodel’ is that everyone gets something that they want – nobody really loses out.” For Dumitru, it is an experience he will not forget. “Since I got on the Council and saw how everything works, I’m thinking someday I might get involved in politics in my homeland Moldova.”
Students in decision-making EUR
Through voting, students get to choose who represents them on the Council (http://www.eur.nl/english/eur/organisation/university/council/). The twelve student representatives partake in the decision-making on certain matters, such as the EUR’s Strategic Plan. In a certain number of other areas, the Council has an advisory function. AT
Students can vote in the University Council elections until wednesday
