This academic year there are eight candidates running for the position of International Officer. Under their jurisdiction is all things international from international students, study abroad students, and cultural diversity. As well as the Wei-Lun Chen and Jay Jay Niewiarowksi, also running are Senhan Hong, Farouk Yusuf, Anshul Sharma, Mary Oladimeji, Fatemeh Ardakani and Kitunde Abayobi.

Voting begins the 22nd of February at 10 am and closes the 26th. Voting will be done online and can be accessed through the Guild of Students website here.

Wei-Lun Chen

Wei-Lun Chen is one of the two candidates who attended Media Day interviews with Redbrick for the position of International Officer in 2021. He is also the current International Officer. Chen is completing an integrated masters in Sports Science at the University of Birmingham and this academic year he has taken a year out before he will begin his final year of study in 2021. 

If successful Chen wishes to continue to channel his efforts as international officer into three areas of concern: inclusivity; exchange programmes; and cultural events. Chen hopes to continue working alongside the university’s many societies to further promote inclusivity and cultural diversity for the student community as soon as the guild is able to do so. He will stress the university inductions which he believes to be of great importance in enabling students to settle in and demonstrate what they can expect, whilst also allowing them to connect and form a network from the start of their university experience. 

Chen believes that more creative ideas and responses to the current situation are needed as traditional methods of connecting to students have been difficult or impossible the past year. Himself and the Guild team realised they would have to adapt to the new circumstances early last year. 

Chen believes that the most important responsibility of the International Officer is to be able to understand students from different backgrounds in order to communicate with such a diverse student body and diverse city. He acknowledges language and cultural barriers that may cause difficulties but that it is only by interacting with such diverse groups this can be remedied. 

In response to Brexit and the pandemic which have impacted students, particularly international and exchange students greatly, Chen wishes to focus on maintaining an effective line of communication. He plans on ensuring that students are kept up to date with information and guidelines and that this should be a priority: ‘Keeping updated with information is more important than ever this year.’  He also plans on continuing to source partner universities so that opportunities for students will continue. Chen will work closely with the study abroad office in order to do so and plans on hosting information sessions to dispense the appropriate information to students. 

Having worked as part of the guild team already, Chen has experience and knowledge of the structure of both the running of the Guild and University which is unbeknownst to most students. His past experience as the International Officer has allowed him to build contacts which he has said to be of great use as a member of the officer team. 

With regards to engaging with students, Chen feels confident in his ability to communicate important information, particularly virtually through student online networks. Although Chen recognises the value of these social networks, he is keen to engage students off-screen on campus as soon as possible as he is aware that not all students enjoy virtual events and communication.

Chen is content with his performance thus far as International Officer and said that he was ‘happy with us as a team this year.’ When asked about his specific attributes to the team Chen described his role within the team as that of providing support and innovation in group discussions. Each of the team members according to Chen including himself were able to contribute positively, improving and supporting each other whilst enriching the synergy of the team. 

Jędrzej Niewiarowski 

Another candidate for the role of international officer is Jędrzej Niewiarowski. Niewiarowski is a postgraduate student at the University of Birmingham completing an MA in Social Research and specialising in social policy. Niewiarowski believes that policies and administration are most effective when implemented incrementally so desires to build on the accomplishments of the Guild team and International Officer of the previous year. His focus stems from his own experiences that have motivated and encouraged him to run for the role of International Officer. 

Niewiarowski has been a course representative for two years, which has allowed him to gain valuable feedback, hone skills such as communication, and to work more effectively in an awareness of the opinions of others. He was a volunteer at his undergraduate university for two years. 

If elected to the role of International Officer Niewiarowski hopes to foster linguistic diversity, promote cultural diversity, and promote learning languages while making it more accessible to do so. Noting that cultural events and activities have been put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, Niewiarowski credits the Guild for their efforts and achievements so far. 

As International Officer Niewiarowski has ambitions to create a more detailed guide on the city of Birmingham of which will more easily enable students to explore Birmingham to enrich their university experiences. Niewiarowski wants to also place his attention on exchange students as he believes they are extremely beneficial assets to the university. Additionally, Niewiarowski aspires to initiate an international student appreciation week to bring to attention the histories of international students at the University of Birmingham, to illustrate and celebrate their value. Aware that cultural and exchange events may have to continue for the near future virtually, Niewiarowski wants to be assured of their quality and high standard for the benefit of the students. 

According to Niewiarowski ‘to be all ears’ is the most important quality an international officer can possess. For Niewiarowski, being a responsive listener, and collaborating with university societies are essential to the role, skills of which he appreciates in the current international officer. Niewiarowski wishes to follow on from this example. Moving forward from the current International Officer, when asked what Niewiarowski would have done differently, he said that he would have wanted to focus on providing more opportunities for students to explore Birmingham and the university in person. Niewiarowski appreciates the Guild’s idea of campus walks and the need to offer more to students who wish to move away from zoom and online learning. 

To engage with students Niewiarowski plans on creating office hours to enable students to raise their concerns. Virtually, dropbox will allow students to submit anonymous worries. Niewiarowski hopes to continue learning about effective communication through his postgraduate studies. 

When asked why he would be a good member of the Guild team Niewiarowski said that he is ‘always open to new experiences and to learn which is the key to progress.’ 

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