Platform Point #2: ACCESS! Let’s face it- social media is a part of our lives which we are all involved with. Whether it be Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, or Vine, as a representative for the ISSS it’s my responsibility to keep up with the latest trends and find the platform that best appeals to the students I represent. And even then, it’s not enough to simply say: “Come out to this dinner on Friday,” or “come to this lecture hall on Saturday;” those types of marketing are nice to have, get the information across, but as a Science student myself, I want my student organization to give me more! If there’s going to be a post on Facebook, it should be for something more appealing- a free exam tutorial 2 days before my midterm (in a class that doesn’t offer it), or gaining more access to things like Town Hall meetings with the Dean of Science; I personally feel that it is an inconvenience to come to meetings and quite intimidating to truly voice my concerns in front of the Dean, so I’d be in favour of having Town Hall meetings made online, accessible via livestream (where I can post my questions/ thoughts anonymously if I wish), or through social media resources like Youtube, where I can access these conferences at a later date. What I like best, is that, from these online options, students can truly voice their concerns from the comfort of their own homes or laptops- this is… great! For me, convenience is key. My ideas include: - All online forums, debates and conferences can be accessed online at a later date -Marketing useful tips and information throughout the course of the year via Facebook and Twitter -Keeping Science students updated on information (scholarships, Career Fairs) within and outside the University of Alberta involving Science -Making the ISSS’ Newsletter, The Current, viewable via Facebook The second part of ACCESSS is recognizing our interesting and distinguished student population. If you have questions about grad school, non-direct entry undergraduate programs (medicine, dentistry, pharmacy) that require a Science background, or simply want to see where opportunities may lay- the ISSS will connect you with the students that you are interested in meeting. It’s about understanding that the University of Alberta has a very diverse and interesting student community- worried about keeping your grades up while pursuing sports or an extracurricular interest, want to know how to best cope with your first year, how about how to become a professor some day, how to get into grad school, how to sign up for labs or research opportunities, how to manage lab work. The questions are endless, but someone has to begin answering them! As VPC, I hope to introduce a Facebook-video blog called, “Hear my Life,” and you can see how real UAlberta students have tackled these issues and succeeded. We have to be open and understand that many Science students want answers to these questions… and it has to be done in a clear, accessible manner. The third part of my platform is that I often find that when the ISSS brings forward some interesting speakers, the only way to really hear their input is if you go to the Conferences, which are held at a specific date and time. But that’s often very difficult if you have an exam the next day or if you’re at work that evening. My solution to this problem involves having short, 2-3 minute introduction videos on interesting speakers to keep Science students engaged on what’s going on in the Faculty and also offering post-Conference keynotes to highlight the main points brought up in the speaker’s addresses. This is important to me because students don’t always have the luxury of going to 2-3 hour seminars, but instead of pushing students away from these conferences, we can do our best to invite them to learn more regardless. -Offer keynotes highlighting key points from ISSS Conferences -Offering monthly interviews with distinguished members and professors in the Faculty of Science ( I think this is interesting; you don’t always get to learn about what your professors’ research projects are, it’s important to see that they do some really cool projects outside of their teaching careers, and you can be part of it!)
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 20:01:32 +0000
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