International students are hardly represented on the student associations’ boards and councils despite constituting almost a quarter of the RUG students.
This year, RUG’s board of directors has adopted the proposal of Lijst Calimero student party to invite more international students to participate in decision making through board work, as reported in the UKrant.
‘We can’t put ourselves in their shoes and understand what internationals go through in Groningen’, explains Floor Buigel, faction chair of Lijst Calimero party, which holds five seats in the University Council of Groningen.
According to the party, the involvement of foreign students will help them to promote their own interests. However, students from abroad should be more informed about the prospects of doing board work.
At the moment, oversea students are given certificates of participation in contrast to more generous arrangements that Dutch students can expect from the university when serving as policymakers. The board of directors promised to engage study advisers, while other proposals of Calimero are not developed enough to be accepted by the RUG.
