The international Student Advisory Board (SAB) has seen a great deal of activity recently. The council was established in 2022 for the purpose of giving advice, both solicited and unsolicited, to the National Code of Conduct Committee on all matters relating to the Code of Conduct. This helps the National Committee gain a better understanding of the perspective of international students. The SAB also increases the awareness of the existence of the Code of Conduct among international students. This article describes the latest developments regarding the SAB.
The SAB is continually evolving and has so far performed two of its principal functions in a highly effective manner – one is giving advice to the National Committee that is based on the perspective of international students, and the other is raising awareness among the international student population about the Code of Conduct. This year, the SAB has given outstanding and useful advice to the National Committee, aimed at improving the provision of information to current and prospective international students alike. The provision of information is often regarded as the heart of the Code of Conduct and the advice in this regard is precisely what is needed. At the same time, the SAB is actively engaged in building up a network with other parties that are involved with international students. This has already led to some very useful initiatives, with the council being invited to take part in various surveys and research and to present itself at a meeting. The network is expected to provide input for the development of future advice and recommendations, and to help reach greater numbers of international students for the purpose of raising their awareness of the Code of Conduct.
Apart from the various internal developments, the SAB undergoes a physical transformation every year with the departure of existing members and the arrival of their successors. The annual drive to recruit new members to the SAB was launched in March. The process starts every year with the announcement of vacancies to the student councils of the institutions affiliated to the Code of Conduct register. The vacancies are intended for international students taking a Bachelor’s or Master’s programme and who will continue to do so for the time being.
The recruitment drive this year resulted in a record number of responses, which is great news. It clearly shows the importance and the appeal of the council. Every student who met the formal preconditions was invited to an interview. Almost every interview was attended by a current council member, which gave the candidate the opportunity to ask questions to a hands-on expert. This is expected to lead to an accurate assessment of the expectations for each candidate. At the same time, the existing members could make a well-founded assessment as to whether the candidate would be suited to membership of the SAB.
Nine new members were appointed during the joint summer meeting of the SAB and National Committee, namely Anna Michelle van der Spek, Bianca Tudorache, Eoghan McCarthy, Jess Jia, Marko Darabos, Miguel Pérez Hérnandez, Nikita Golovanov, Oksana Smalii and Reihaneh Salehi Mourkani. The new members will shortly post a brief introduction about themselves on the website. The summer meeting is also the occasion when members say their good-byes. This year, Sarah Kuipers and Ato Essuman Mensah (who have been members since 2023), and Marjorie Miranda, Arvin Gharib, and Isaq Tuna (who joined in 2024) stepped down from the SAB. They will be missed, but we would like to thank them for their dedication and wish them every success in their future careers.