Dimitrios Terzis for International Officer
Let’s Keep Stirling International!
By far, the biggest strength of our university is our multicultural student body. The idea of sharing a space with people from over 120 different countries is at the same time inspiring and humbling.
This is especially true for me, as prior to coming to Scotland I had barely left my country of origin, Greece. Stirling is not only providing me with a degree, but also with a first-class experience to meet people from every corner of our world and expand my perspective. For this, I am extremely grateful.
It is the role of the International Officer to look after and support this Eden of diversity, and that is exactly why I am running.
If elected, these are the ways in which I will support our community:
Real representation
Although the International officer is supposed to act as a liaison between our community and the wider student body, few know that the position exists. This needs to change. I will strive to make the office more visible through the creation of a dedicated Stirling University International Officer Facebook page. Furthermore, I will set up a stand at the Atrium every so often to allow for direct contact and face to face communication with any student who so desires.
Effective communication
When I first arrived in Stirling from Athens, I felt somewhat lost, as I didn’t have anyone to connect me to the wider international community. If elected, I will create multiple mailing lists to inform international students of relevant events and topics that might affect them. These mailing lists will discriminate between niche interest groups (like freshers or Brexit updates) and the wider community, in order to avoid spamming you with unwanted emails.
Increase cooperation
I believe that the various officers should cooperate to enhance the Stirling experience. Many of the issues affecting international students cannot be solved from the International Officer post alone. Some examples of potential cooperation include:
- Working together with the Health and Well-being officer to tackle issues students might face as a result of being away from home.
- Collaborating with the Housing Officer and the newly created Tenants Union to combat the issue of allocation of international students and strive to lower the price of accommodation.
Overall, I think this post has great untapped potential to really improve the experience of our international community, but this can only happen if the proper structures, which do not currently exist, are set up. I am willing to put in the time to do this.
Let’s improve the International Officer position, let’s improve our Union, Let’s Keep Stirling International!
So please:
Vote Dimitrios Terzis for International Officer!