Commission of International Students
To help with its policy decisions, the Students' Council installs a number of advisory commissions. One of these commissions is the Commission of International Students.
The core of this commission consists of 4 effective members, one of which must be a member of the Students' Council. The 3 other effective members are international students. These 4 members choose a president among themselves, and then invite other people to join the commission as advisers. Traditional advisers of the commission are the staff members of services that are closely involved with foreign students.
Besides these several foreign students join the commission as advisers, some members of the Students' Council, and some Belgian students. Besides advising the Students' Council, this commission can also take actions itself.
Each year, in January, the Commission of International Students organises an election meeting, where all foreign students are invited to elect 3 of the effective members and a substitute for each of them, for the next calender year. This list of elected members is then proposed to the Students' Council for approval. After the inauguration of the new commission, the 4 effective members choose a president, preferably one of the 3 international students.
Because of language problems, foreign students are often not represented in the other boards and commissions, so the Commission of International Students is the only body through which foreign students can have their say in the policies of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, and through which the other bodies at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel can consult the foreign students. Of course this commission stands nowhere without the involvement and participation of the foreign students themselves. So keep your ears and eyes wide open for information about the elections and the initiatives of the Commission of International Students.
Also the “Commission of International Students” provides a Reception Committee of volunteers that will help the newly arrived students through their first few days.
Contact
- CIS : cis@vub.ac.be