Nominations: Nominations closed
Voting: Voting closed
Election
In order to nominate/vote for this position you be an Undergraduate student from the Faculty of Mathematical and Physical Sciences.
Category
Candidates
Ben Schnalke
What will you bring to this role (e.g. experience, skills or qualities)?
In my eyes, my main qualification for this position would be my openness and my good nature. It fulfils me with great joy to engage with everyone and to find out about and represent people’s concerns. During my time as first student representative, I have learned not only how to stand up for students’ interests, but also how to contribute towards a benevolent, inclusive, cooperate and joyful community. It is my genuine nature not to resign in the face of challenges and grievances, but to find fruitful solutions. I would love to keep on doing this here at UCL, not alone, but together with you.
What do you hope to achieve in the role if you are elected?
As I have only just arrived here at UCL, I have not yet gained too many insides to be able to say which things are not going in the right direction, although this will most probably become obvious very soon. However, I feel very strongly commited to my personal values such as inclusiveness, contribution, equity and appreciation. I will definitely not promise you any grave systemic changes, but will rather passionately try to dedicate my energy to a sympathetic and energizing atmosphere.
Please summarise why students should vote for you.
You should vote for me if you want UCL and especially the Faculty of Mathematical and Physical Sciences to become an even more inclusive and welcoming place that enables everyone to both succeed academically but also to participate in an open-minded and welcoming community. I will try my very best to represent our interests to the best of my knowledge and belief and will dedicate my time passionately towards achieving that everyone will have an enriching and in every way fulfilling experience here at UCL!
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Avanija Menon
What will you bring to this role (e.g. experience, skills or qualities)?
I'm Avanija and I'm a 3rd Year MSci Astrophysics student.
- As a Course Rep since 1st year, I discussed workload, teaching and examinations, with positive results through frequent meetings with the faculty and consistently taking student feedback. For my hard-work and dedication, I was nominated as the ‘Academic Representative of the Year 2020/2021’.
- As the Vice-President of UCL Physics Society, I developed strong ties with the faculty and staff through leading the society and holding large-scale events like a winter ball. Hence, I’m aware of various resources to act on students’ feedback.
What do you hope to achieve in the role if you are elected?
- By representing UCL at the National Union of Students, I debated and discussed policies, reforms and student experience with student representatives across the UK. Here, I studied students’ issues and possible solutions. I’ll implement this experience as your Faculty Rep to enhance your UCL experience.
- This year, I’ll improve the implementation of research projects and internships, as well as establish more networking opportunities that are advertised more efficiently, which will improve our career prospects.
Please summarise why students should vote for you.
As the Campus Ambassador for Institute of Physics, I organised events with societies and other universities, including an inter-uni careers event by networking with faculty and staff. This strengthened my network, which would be vastly beneficial for this role.
My experience in leadership through various societies and having been a Course Rep for the 3rd year has made me well-equipped for this role as I am aware of all the resources, connections and strategies to represent you in the most effective way possible.
Your vote ensures my promise to continue my endeavours for our faculty.
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Kirill Batrakov
What will you bring to this role (e.g. experience, skills or qualities)?
This year I was elected as the Treasurer of the UCL Comedy Club, so I am already working with the SU on different matters. I believe that my position as treasurer shows my ability to work in a team and effectively communicate with others. Moreover, I am also a very engaged student in my department, so I am keeping eye on all the changes brought to the educational model. I have been contacting our departmental staff quite often on my personal matters, and I believe that this will also help me to interact with the department more effectively, as I am already familiar with some of the staff.
What do you hope to achieve in the role if you are elected?
My main goals are to make students' opinions heard and make an effective bridge of communication between the staff and students. This year, many students were dissatisfied that we still have many of our lectures online, rather than everything in-person. My classmates also experienced several problems with time clashes, and some of them are still unresolved, 2 weeks after the start of studies. As an academic representative, I want to work on these problems and hope to find a solution, which will improve the students' experience on mentioned and any other problems.
Please summarise why students should vote for you.
I am an engaged student, who tracks all the changes to the model of education. I also have experience of working with the SU and a student society, so I already have some important skills in organization and communication. I have willingness to apply these qualities and experiences in the way to regularly accumulate students' opinions on current problems. First of all, this will include negotiations on the educational model used to understand what are differences in the opinions between staff and students and try to find a solution which will be satisfactory for both sides.
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Tingyao Lu
What will you bring to this role (e.g. experience, skills or qualities)?
Patience and passion. The role of a faculty representative involves seeking out students’ thoughts and communicating with other representatives, which requires patience and motivation. I have volunteered at Holborn Community Association for more than one year, where I gained experience in collecting, filtering and dealing with feedback from kids aged 6 to 12 at the end of every term. Although this was of a small scale, I had insights into dealing with feedback and making suggestions possible. I believe that I have the passion and confidence to carry out this role.
What do you hope to achieve in the role if you are elected?
My priority will be collecting feedback, especially on the teaching method during this post-COVID time. In terms of the chemistry department in which I am, the teaching method last year was mainly online with a few in-person tutorials and labs. Students’ feeling of disconnection from the department and the faculty is still quite strong although some of us have been here for one year or more. Despite the more blended teaching method adopted this year, the feedback from students remains unknown and I am more than happy to work with that.
Please summarise why students should vote for you.
Please vote for me if you want someone truly committed to let your voice heard by the decision-making structure of student union on all things related to your education here in this faculty! I am very passionate and motivated for this role.
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Jiyoon Lee
What will you bring to this role (e.g. experience, skills or qualities)?
Through my experience of being president of international students at my previous education, I am always ready to actively listen and share clear messages to communicate students' ideas to the school. Not only I have made great positive relationships with other students in all years, I have encouraged and guided other students to make bonds with each other by organising regular informal meet-ups. I have developed the skills to work efficiently to solve student's problems or concerns as soon as possible and I believe these will make me a suitable faculty representative.
What do you hope to achieve in the role if you are elected?
If elected, I would aim to:
1. Regularly contact other student representatives within the faculty and be the bridge between the faculty and the students - especially regarding exam issues.
2. Send out surveys/forms to identify problems that students think requires addressing on a regular basis - I believe student feedback is the no.1 priority.
3. Make sure everyone who wishes to be involved in social activity is able to be involved. E.g. making sure everyone is on their year group chat, marketing and organising social events.
Please summarise why students should vote for you.
As a Msci Physics student myself, I truly believe that building a strong co-working environment with the students and staff will really maximise the quality of education we get. I have great negotiating skills and am willing to back up the students' side and help deliver their ideas to the faculty in a strong, well-argued, and structured manner. Thank you for reading my manifesto and please do not hesitate to contact me regarding the manifesto via emailing [email protected].
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Irene Lee
What will you bring to this role (e.g. experience, skills or qualities)?
As a SAMB major, it's not quite easy to connect with lecturemates when everyone else is majoring in SEF/IMB. Still, it's natural for me to start up convos with friends in halls and I enjoy listening to their lives and academics. I hope to represent as many students and voices as possible so I'll be very open to everyone than I was as a course rep in first year. Also, a small brag but I have never failed to meet the deadline or miss a meeting. I love logging everything in my schedule and reminding friends in a subtle way. Having me as a faculty rep means no one will miss the meeting!
What do you hope to achieve in the role if you are elected?
As I spent my first year doing online lectures in my cubicle, I am more than eager to get the most out of the precious 2 years I have left in uni, both academically and socially. I will be more even more approachable and outgoing than I was in first year as a course rep if I can represent the entire faculty! I want to make this faculty more accepting and lively. I will prioritize getting students' feedback on various subjects such as office hours, or something that seems small such as 'the fastest way to get to lecture halls', and actively communicate them during meeting and committees. :)
Please summarise why students should vote for you.
Students should vote for me because I want to make this faculty even more accepting and lively! My church's youth section is a very tightly knit group of 300 people because there are lots of group activities and support from the church. I benefited a lot from group activities and would like to replicate some for our department. From speed dating to stat quiz nights, providing students venues to chill with other stat students will open up new opportunities and make invaluable memories. Befriending stats students is as important as getting high quality education for an optimal campus experience.
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Mark Rassam
What will you bring to this role (e.g. experience, skills or qualities)?
I was a student rep last year, and feel this has helped me gain all of the relevant skills required to fulfil the role again this year.
In particular, I'm very active on unitu, making sure to move posts into the visibility of the department when it is clear that students are in agreement. My quick response times mean that posts will be seen quickly, so that the department can come to a solution quicker increasing the chances of our proposed changes coming into effect.
What do you hope to achieve in the role if you are elected?
I hope to make the department more in touch with the students - our perspectives, intensions and reasoning. It can often feel as though we are not being listened to, but I feel that we've been able to get an increasing amount of engagement and response from the department last year. Moving forward, I want to further empower this, as I know there has been a lot of uncertainty recently and I'm sure both the department and students want to make things clear as quickly as possible.
Please summarise why students should vote for you.
As a student rep last year, I hope that you feel I fulfilled the duties of my role to best serve your interests. There has been a lot of uncertainty recently, especially when it comes to formats of exams, and I'm proud to be able to help our voices be heard by the department. I intend to do the same again, helping the staff understand issues from our perspective, so that we can come to a solution that best appeases everyone.
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Tanishka Birdavade
What will you bring to this role (e.g. experience, skills or qualities)?
My name is Tanishka and I am a 1st year physics student. I’m a good listener and know how to get my point across.I believe the leadership and communication skills I gained as Vice President for my schools student council and a team leader at DreamSai volunteering service will be a great contribution to this role. I have helped coordinate school events in the past and collaborated with my peers to implement changes in my previous school. I have also worked as an assistant coach at my kickboxing club which has given me experience in leading and managing a team.
What do you hope to achieve in the role if you are elected?
I aim to to make sure the student voice is heard and to work with the faulty team to come up with solutions to try and enhance the student campus experience. My focus would be to use student feedback by doing surveys to resolve any concerns the student body has; talking with friends has already made me realise, like me, many first years are finding the transition from sixth form to uni challenging and I’m sure students within all departments of MAPS can relate. I would like to introduce extracurriculars that will ease the transition between sixth form and uni workload.
Please summarise why students should vote for you.
I’m approachable, a good listener and open to new suggestions. I love working in a team and hope to help make all our student experiences at UCL more enjoyable . As a 1st year I also bring a new perspective and my past experiences make me suitable for this role. I hope to bring positive changes within all the departments of MAPS and aim to work with the faculty team to make sure all student voices are really heard. I intend to become a conduit between the students in the MAPS faculty and the staff and hope to maintain good liaison. I’m confident that together we can make a real change!
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Faiz Iqbal
What will you bring to this role (e.g. experience, skills or qualities)?
What I would bring to this role is an amalgamation of both experience and key character.
Experience in the sense that I am - to some degree - accustomed to these types of roles. This is because I have been both my high school’s deputy house captain and class captain.
However, and more importantly, a key characteristic of mine aligns exactly with the needs of this role. Thoughtfulness.
This means that over the years I’ve accumulated several key ideas on how to improve our current educational system, and if assigned as your academic representative, I hope to implement them ASAP.
What do you hope to achieve in the role if you are elected?
My primary goal would be to find ways to improve the education students receive in this department.
In A-Level Physics I had several ideas on how to improve the course but only once I’ve understood how the education of Physics is shaped here at UCL would I be able to decide which one of those are applicable and which ones aren't.
For example, in A-Level Physics I thought that students should have been taught more detail in each of their chapters but less chapters in total. This is because that would promote a more logical and intuitive understanding.
Please summarise why students should vote for you.
My plan is simple - gather the ideas set forth by myself and my peers on how to improve our educational system here at UCL, analyze them deeply, and then decide which to implement and which not to.
And that is exactly why you should vote for me - by voting for me I will successfully improve the educational system UCL’s future cohorts will receive (in other words, our future world leaders will receive) and hence shape a brighter and better future for humanity as a whole.
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Raj Ramani
What will you bring to this role (e.g. experience, skills or qualities)?
I have served as a third-year student representative for the physics department in what was probably the most important year for pandemic students. Coming out of COVID, it was an era of uncertainty with regards to examinations. Throughout Term 1 and 2, I had emailed the exam director and every module lead voicing our concerns for the exams. Through these efforts, our concerns were indeed noted and was evident in the Term 3 exams.
I have served several leadership positions throughout my time in education from Deputy Head Boy to the UCL Changemakers project with digital learning.
What do you hope to achieve in the role if you are elected?
As a unique faculty, I wish to carry forward the same exercises I carried out last year with regards to fighting for fair exams. This faculty is arguably labelled to harbour "traditional subjects", hence may be at the mercy of returning to face-to-face exams, which for 3rd and 4th year students, is very worrying considering their adjustment to this format. By accounting for student opinion, I aim to be a platform to voice fair exams.
Furthermore, through the year, I hope to reduce the barrier across Departments so aspiring master's students have greater flexibility in their modules.
Please summarise why students should vote for you.
Whilst only being a student representative for one year, I truly believe I have served that role to my maximum potential. Coming out of the pandemic, the Faculty needs strong and decisive representation to use student opinion to guide important decisions that will affect our futures. Further blurring the boundaries between departments will provide students within the faculty to work towards career goals more easily.
My progress from last year proves that I very proactive in the role of student representation and can liaise with several structures to achieve students' goals.
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Even Xu
What will you bring to this role (e.g. experience, skills or qualities)?
Firstly, having time to work on the role would be the prior requirement. Last year, I was the year1 rep of Physics Society, whilst engaging in other activities and achieving an 89% in academics. This shows that I have strong self-management skills and gives me enough time to fulfil my duties.
Of course, to be a rep, strong communication skills will enable me to gather idea from students and discuss it with other reps. As the current Social Secretary of the Physics Society and a Transition Tutor at UCL, I believe I have the ability to communicate effectively with others, no matter who they are.
What do you hope to achieve in the role if you are elected?
If I am elected, I will spend most of my time gathering students’ ideas and reading them line by line to ensure that I understand what the majority of students want. I will then try to report back to the committee and discuss with other representatives to find ways to achieve these suggestions, taking into account teachers’ suggestions or working with the union, which is also very important.
Overall, I will try to bring about a better department for students and staff.
Please summarise why students should vote for you.
As mentioned above, I have had plenty of time to work as a rep. Also, I was born in China and have experience of living in several countries, which means I have a multicultural perspective. With my communication skill, I believe I am the best person to be able to understand the different perspectives of the different people in our department.
Naturally, I want to use this opportunity to use all my abilities to help students communicate with each other and with the department in order to improve the learning experience for everyone in the department.
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