Conference Report
Report: NUS International Students' Conference
This year's IS Conference took place in Nottingham on the 18th and 19th of April. Over 60 delegates and observers from universities and colleges across the UK came together to debate policy, elect their new representatives, share best practice and learn from each other and experts in the field.
Campaigns and Policy
Delegates debated and agreed policy on a range of issues. In the "Privatisation of education and international students" debate, concern was raised that "international students are being short changed on being taught English with untrained and unqualified staff from private companies". Conference resolved to "liaise with trade union organisations to lobby the Govt against the privatisation of language courses offered for international students", amongst other actions.
In the "Representation and participation" debate, the IS Committee were praised for their work in securing funding for the Internationalising Unions project, and were mandated to "develop a campaign to encourage student unions to engage and represent international students further and better"
Fees also loomed large on the agenda. In two different debates delegates highlighted the "excessive and unfair" international fees regime in the UK, arguing both for better regulation of fees levels and better delivery of services from the fees paid.
Finally, major concerns were outlined in relation to immigration and the demonising of international students in the wake of recent terror arrests, and the plight of disabled international students. Work on all of these policies will commence when the new committee meets.
Plenaries
Delegates heard from Equanomics, a campaigning body that exists to "improve the economic prospects of minority and marginalised communities as a means to readdress social inequalities that exist in our society and rather create opportunities for sustained community development". Their presentation is available now here.
In addition NUS launched its "Internationalising students' unions" toolkit. Over the past five months NUS has worked together with a project group made up of officers, staff and international students from four students’ unions to develop a strategic framework and audit tool to help students’ unions to internationalise.
The report, Internationalising students' unions in higher education: a strategic framework and audit toolkit for students' unions, outlines a strategic vision, set of values and objectives based around key areas, to which all students’ unions can aspire. Allied to this is a new, step-by-step audit toolkit that students’ unions can use to measure and track progress towards internationalisation, with support from NUS.
Now 20 students' unions are wanted for the next phase of the internationalising students' unions project
Resources: The presentation from the day with stats on international students, the toolkit report and the audit questionnaire are all online here.
NUS has been awarded funding for a further two years for this project and we are now looking for 20 students’ unions to adopt the strategic framework and to undertake an audit in your union in 2009-10. Download further information on how to register your interest now.
http://resource.nusonline.co.uk/media/resource/NUS_Marketing.pdf
Election Results
At the NUS International Students' Conference on 19th April, the following people were elected:
International Students' Officer
Saima Yousaf, UEL
International Students' Committee
Amanda Gicharu, Leeds Met
Amer Reza, De Montfort
Dinesh Krishnan, Committee
Florian Mertens, UWE
Oluwatosin Olawoki, Manchester University Students' Union
Madalena Ngongola, Birmingham Guild
Ram Bende, University of Salford Students' Union
Pratik Vyas, Northumbria
International Students' Steering Committee
Samina Naseeb, University of Manchester Students' Union
Awards Results
In addition the following awards winners were announced at the IS Awards night, sponsored by nomi:
Student Society of the year
Salford Islamic Society
http://www.salfordisoc.com/
International Students campaign of the year
Kent Union
http://www.kentunion.co.uk/
Best students' union for International Students
Loughbrough
http://www.lufbra.net/
International Officer of the year
Luqman Onikosi, University of Sussex
http://brennybaby.blogspot.com/2008/04/exam-protest-for-sussex-university.html
International event of the year
Universal Thursday, Loughborough
http://www.lufbra.net/ents/universalthursday/
Honorary Award
Issahaku Kotomah
http://www.officeronline.co.uk/blogs/issahakukotomah/
Pictures
A selection of pictures from the event have been kindly uploaded by one of our delegates here
Finally: If you have any questions about the conference or would like further information, contact Mark Leach at NUS HQ: mailto:mark.leach@nus.org.uk
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