The National Union
of Students
welcomes overseas & international
students
Increasingly students from abroad are choosing to come
to the United Kingdom to study. Overseas students bring
huge benefits to both institutions and students’ unions
who are enriched by their diverse culture and tradition.
The National Union of Students encourages each affiliated
students’ union to elect an international students’
officer and to form an international students’ committee
to draw on the experiences of a wider group of international
students.
The
international officer ensures the views of international
students are reflected throughout the students’ union’s
work. The international officer also liases with the education
institution to monitor and review procedures regarding international
students.
The international students’ committee helps the international
students’ officer prioritise policy and organise events.
Some of the schemes that students’ union international
officers have set up are a ‘buddy’ system so each
student has an individual mentor, smaller tutorial classes
so that international students get more one-to-one coaching
and free or discounted language courses run on campus.
As with any student representative post, he international
students’ officer and committee members will learn
a lot of new skills, which will be valuable to future employers
such as: assertiveness, communication skills, problem solving,
negotiating, team skills and participating effectively in
committees.
One World Week
One World Week is a successful event many students’
unions organise throughout the year. Usually One World Week
involves cultural events specifically for international
students. The unions also raise awareness of international
issues and show international students what the students’
union can offer them, thus promoting year-round involvement
in union activities.
Shared Planet 2000
‘Shared Planet 2000’ is a conference, co-sponsored
by NUS, which brings together students and campaigning experts
from around the world. The event is Europe’s leading
student conference on international issues concerning sustainable
development. This yea sees the launch of two major campaigns,
the Climate Change campaign and the Trade Justice campaign.
The NUS is eager to get international students involved
and develop strategies and policies that appeal to international
students. Over the last few years, NUS has campaigned on
key issues that affect international students. These are
detailed below.
Visas and work permits
NUS continues to work with the UK Council for Overseas
Students’Association (UKCOSA) and Joint Council for
Welfare Immigrants (JCWI) for cheaper and more accessible
work permits for overseas students, particularly during
the summer vacation periods. Our recent success in this
area has been securing overseas students the right to stand
for election as sabbatical officers both within students’
unions and NUS.
NUS is committed to campaigning for less complex visa applications
for families visiting students studying in Britain. The
campaign for fairer immigration controls complements our
effort to make studying in Britain for overseas students
much more accessible and affordable.
Sources of funding International students are eligible
to apply for scholarships and grants. Also, some religious
bodies and charities award scholarships, although these
can be limited. NUS can advise on these and represent students
in their application hardship and access funds from the
college or university funds.
Travel discounts
NUS fully supports the International Students Identity
Card (ISIC), which provides all students with massive travel
discounts. This is particularly useful to overseas students
who often visit families during Christmas and Easter Breaks.
ISIC cards are available at most students’ unions at
a cost of £6.00p.
Home away from home
It
can be a strange and daunting experience to come a long
way from home and find yourself in an unfamiliar place.
Quite often, overseas students desire their traditional
dishes or social surroundings. This is where setting up
clubs and societies geared towards overseas students have
been a source of security and an opportunity to practise
traditional customs,
Many institutions now have international or overseas student
societies with strong links to organisations like the Council
for International Students (CIS). These societies organise
social and cultural events and also campaign on issues that
are beyond the remit of their parent union by highlighting
wider issues like poverty and debt cancellation.
We are NUS actively encourage local students’ unions
to include international student participation in all aspects
of all their activities and to support clubs and societies
formed by international students. Many unions now campaign
on issues like cheap telephone cards and the abolition of
foreign currency exchange commissions for overseas students.
Future NUS priorities on international issues include welfare
and debt in the developing world, immigration and the environment.
Such wide-ranging initiatives will ultimately appeal to
international and overseas students who NUS is keen to see
get involved with other areas of the union’s work.
Author: Brooks Duke,
National Executive Committee Member for the National Union
of Students
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