Ivan is doing his Master’s in European Policy at the Faculty of Humanities where he finished his Bachelors in European Studies. His main passion is in the process of incorporating sustainability into the current economic models. Last year, he was the vice-chair in the Central Student Council where he was in charge of sustainability and finance portfolios.  At the UvA Green Office, he is the leader of the Campus team which tries to implement sustainable solutions at the buildings of the UvA.

Gabrielle is a New Media and Digital Culture research student at the Faculty of Humanities. Her academic interests center on the impact of our digital carbon footprints, digital activism, and sustainable technology. At the UvA Green Office, Gabrielle leads a Research and Education team that promotes interdisciplinary collaboration, building educational material, and overseeing sustainability-related research projects. She is new to Amsterdam and excited to help make impactful changes on campus and beyond.

Merel is a third year psychology student who, together with Elin Swaan, founded the All Ears project. All Ears is an initiative for UvA students, by UvA's psychology students. You can call All Ears when you are in need of a listening ear, or if you just want to have a nice chat with a fellow student. They are literally;  all ears. Together wit about 40 volunteers Merel and Elin make sure that every working day between 10 and 18 o'clcok you can call to +31 20 808 85 38 with anything on your mind!!

Check out their website for more info or to click the button and make a call: https://allearsamsterdam.com/

Zafran is currently a third year Communication Science student at the UvA from Malaysia. Aside from focusing on his studies, Zafran puts great value on his hobbies such as videomaking and music, believing that prioritizing personal passion projects is what keeps his creative spirit going. With physical classes back in session, he acknowledges the difficulties of finding the balance between his responsibilities and hobbies. 

Zaf's Youtube Channel https://www.youtube.com/zafranrarang

Zaf's Instagram page @zafranrarang 

Song in the cover: “Children of the 90s” by Steel Train

Mark O'Neill is a comsci alumnus who now teaches at the UvA. Last year, while Mark was writing their master's thesis on how queer employees come out at work, they founded the Queer Communication Library. Originally a student-run, grassroots project, Mark and their team curated a reading list of communication (science) literature that focuses on LGBT+ topics, samples, and methods. Now, Mark is working on promoting inclusive education within the department by promoting the library as a useful tool for students and researchers. [https://bit.ly/queer-cs] 

To learn more about the library you can check out Margarete's article, https://mediummagazine.nl/the-queer-communication-library/

To find the rest of our episodes, check out our IG page @mediummagazine.nl

Hi, I am Navin Suneej, a third-year Communication Science bachelor's student, and am currently also teaching the Persuasive Communication tutorial classes as a student assistant. In my free time, I like working on my bike and hanging out with my friends. I hope to give y'all some insights on life as a student at the UvA, but also the perspective of a teacher. Tune in to find out more about what I do and get tips on how to survive your semester back on campus!

To find the rest of our episodes, check out our IG page @mediummagazine.nl

Nihal Bellary is back again for a second round! He’s now representing AIESEC as the University Relations Manager. AIESEC is an international organization that aims to develop youth leadership by sending people abroad on internship and volunteering opportunities. The organization has offices in 114 countries around the world.

Nihal will discuss his experience as a member of AIESEC as well as opportunities available for our listeners! To learn more about AIESEC and their opportunities for Communication Science check out this link with more information: https://bit.ly/3EVj6Af 

To find the rest of our episodes, check out our IG page @mediummagazine.nl

Hey everyone! I’m Thomas. I’m 21 years old and originally from Salzburg a small city in Austria. I’m a second-year PPLE student majoring in politics and a candidate of @020.nl for the upcoming student council elections. In June I am running as a candidate because I want to represent us students and our interests and together with my amazing team at @020.nl work for a more diverse, sustainable and supportive environment at the UvA!

Hola. My name is Joselyn Moran and I am (technically) a second-year psychology student. I am running to represent you in the FMG student council. During my first year of being at the UvA I saw so many frustrated students and I thought "there must be something we can do." I found out about the student council during the second semester of my first year and I have been part of the student council as a council assistant during this year. In my role this year, I have gained so much experience and I am ready to use this knowledge to get students involved,  fight for a less euro-centric curriculum, and increase student well-being and mental health.

My name is Titus van der Valk and I study education sciences at UvA. I'm running for UvAsociaal for FSR FMG and the CSR. I want to help make the UvA a more inclusive learning environment through promoting more flexibility and autonomy for students and teachers. Good education for me means motivating students to give attention to the subject matter. Also I think the system of giving feedback to teachers can be improved.

I am Sofia and I’m a 1st year communication science student currently running for UvASociaal for the FSR and CSR. I am running since I believe I have the drive and experience to bring students ideas to fruition and be an active spokesperson for the student body. My main goals include introducing a sexual assault contact person for students who can guide them in the possible steps they can take after becoming victims of sexual harassment, misconduct, r*pe, or assault. Secondly, I plan on introduce more open access to sexual assault help resources on the UVA website since I think this is not addressed openly enough even though r*pe culture is so prevalent in universities. I also plan on keeping the ball rolling with the integration of student psychologists specialized in anxiety and depression and continuing the promotion of student-run mental health initiatives post-pandemic.

I’m Hugo, a Dutch PPLE student running with inter for a seat on the CSR. I’m running with a focus on practical politics; I want to affect change that will noticeably improve students’ quality of life. I’m running with 3 main policy goals: to open up access to UvA housing for Dutch students, increase the amount of solar panels on the UVA’s roofs, and give students a free coffee allowance.

My name is Matthijs van der Scheun, I’m 25 years old, a first year student Educational Science, and I would describe myself as a modest, curious and somewhat open-minded person. My main focus in the student council is going to be education. I’d like to change the education system into a inquire based, customizable, and personalized learning system that takes the student’s autonomy and intrinsic motivation as a starting point.

My name is Abbey, I’m 20 years old, and I am running for candidacy in the CSR and FSR-FMG as a member of 020. I am currently a second-year political science student, originally from the United States. In deciding to run, I did so for you, the reader. For you, the student who couldn’t find housing and was without a stable place to stay for a month. For the student who struggles daily completing assignments due to their mental health. For the student who finds their courses lack diversity in content and literature. For the student who found an apartment, only to discover an unsafe environment. For you, the student whose studies have been affected in a diverse set of ways regarding the pandemic. I could describe my own passions in deciding to run, but what is most important is raising student voices and giving a platform to the issues which are essential to students. In doing so, I aim to provide a direct connection for communication to the student council, uplifting your positions and ideas. My reason for running is simple: for you, the students of UvA.

I’m Tessa, a PPLE student from Germany and I’m running for the Central Student Council together with Inter.  In my time here at the UvA, I have seen many issues that need improvement. Instead of just complaining, I want to use my voice and actively fight for the change that I want to see in the Central Student Council next year, especially in regard to democracy, sustainability, mental health care, and diversity

Hi, I am Aurora Kapo. I’m from Albania and currently studying Econometrics at UvA. I love arts in general and especially singing. I am running for the student council because I want to help in the decision-making process and help to contribute with my ideas and put my energy into making students life easier, happier and a more compact university life within the university environment. Personally, I believe that I can contribute a lot in taking innovative ideas and things to improve around the universityFor me it is important to give so many opportunities to the students by giving them the appropriate education and the best organizational level of the courses very efficiently, helping and maintaining a good international environment for the students and take care of their mental health in the best way possible.