GCR Election of Ustinov College
Tonight is the election of new GCR (Graduate Common Room) in Ustinov College. I’m not a college member, but I know one of the two candidates who are electing for president and he spent a lot of effort for this election campaign. I enjoy seeing the output of one’s efforts, so I went down to have a look. It’s also a great opportunity to see some brilliant speeches and Q&A because being the GCR committees in the only postgraduate college in the university isn’t a easy job. There are MBA students who had been managers in banks or international companies; PhD students pursuing their Doctor degree. Being a representative among those people do need some real ability. Moreover, Ustinov is known as the most cultural diverse college, which has students from more than 100 different place around the world (so far as I heard). I like an environment like that. However, managing such a cultural diverse community is as challenging as you can imagine. My friend Linda is the international representative, who is also the creator of UIF (Ustinov International Forum). I might have a podcast with her to chat about her working experience in UIF.
The best part of the election was the speech and Q&A for presidency. A lot of challenging questions which requires immediate responds. It’s not less easier than any job interviews, so I learned a lot and enjoyed a lot. Another thought is that there are a lot “politics” going on. As a Chinese I don’t really have much understanding of election until I came to UK. My closest experience of democratic election might be for the president of AJS. But tonight’s one is closer to my understanding of election campaign for politicians.
Newcaslte University AJS
My previous house mate Arata, who is the president of AJS in Durham before me, just set up an AJS (Anglo-Japanese Society) in Newcastle University. She is doing her master in Newcastle. There are quite a number of Japanese students in the university and also some people who are interested in Japanese culture. So after seeing a need to establish a community, she took the lead the set it up.
We are going to have a co-event with them this Friday in Newcastle. Looking forward to see some new people.
AGM of AJS in Durham
I have been in the AJS exec team for about one year now. It’s coming to the election time for next execs to run the society next year. I learned a lot this year while working with other execs and members. Some thought might be wrote down here after I finish some of my assignments.
Lastly, another article from Guy Kawasaki (I’m recently reading his most popular post list) about creating a community. Some principles are quite thoughtful and practical.