Burkan Khan is one of the candidates for the role of International and Welfare Officer in this year’s SU elections. Forge Press sat down with him to discuss his motivations, the importance of the role and his manifesto, as well as his plans for his campaign.
Burkan felt motivated to run for this position due to “experiencing the unique challenges of being an international student”, and wants “to be a changemaker” for this group of students within the university. From his experience as both an academic rep and departmental councillor, Burkan believes he has enough “experience in representing students’ needs” to fulfil this role efficiently to “improve the overall university experience”.
This role is important to Burkan as he is aware that “international students make up a large chunk of students in this university”, Therefore, “taking care of international students’ diverse needs is the most important thing”. This role would give Burkan the “opportunity to actively work alongside international students and fight for better representation”. His ultimate aim, if he were to get the role, is to encourage students to see “this university as their second home”.
Burkan covers three main areas within his manifesto, maintaining his goal of improving the student experience for all international students during their time at university.
Burkan’s first policy is concerned with ““disparity in the cost of living for international students” which he believes is responsible for the “significant drop” in international students entering university in the UK. He also points out the overwhelming difference “between the amount of scholarship given to international students compared to home students” and wants to see a change within this. Burkan believes this will be possible through “effective policy and gaining further insight” from a wide range of students.
Burkan also proposes policies regarding “improving the mental health services for international students.” He believes although the current mental health services are very efficient, “they lack culturally sensitive counselling”. Burkan aims to improve this through hiring counsellors who can recognise and represent “diverse and different backgrounds” within the student body.
Burkan’s final area of focus is to build a ““stronger sense of community amongst international students to better accustom them to the UK university experience”. This would include organising events such as “open mic nights” or “speed dating” events. This would be ““the easiest mode for breaking social barriers” and would create a stress free environment for students from various backgrounds to meet each other whilst also attending some great events. This is an essential step to reach Burkan’s goal of helping all international students to be “better represented”.
Throughout his campaign Burkan aims to reassure all students that “I am passionate about delivering my promises”. He hopes his “experience, dedication and genuine desire” to make change is obvious throughout his campaign for the position of International and Welfare officer.
