Elections of the student dean of the biological faculty: candidates' programs

Dear students of the Biological Faculty! On March 1, 2018, elections for the Student Dean will be held in the form of a secret ballot from 13:30 to 16:00 in auditorium 4-19. Students must present their student ID card. Below (in alphabetical order by surname) are the platforms of the three candidates for this position. Update: We congratulate Roman Trokhymchuk on his election as Student Dean! George Bondarenko I, George Bondarenko, a 2nd-year student, am putting forward my candidacy for the position of Student Dean of the Biological Faculty. My main objective is to establish a trustworthy body to which students can turn for help, with questions and suggestions, and where they will be heard. Like you, I am a student and I want the learning experience at our university to be as comfortable and enjoyable as possible; therefore, this position requires taking responsibility for the development of our faculty and improving the conditions for our students. I propose creating the following subdivisions to maximize the effectiveness of the Student Council at the Biological Faculty: • Department of Education: Kryshtal Yelyzaveta Yuriiivna (3rd year, group B-134) — will be responsible for monitoring the quality of education among students and issues related to the educational process. • Department of Financial Allocation Oversight, which will address issues related to the protection of student rights, among other matters. • Department of Cultural and Mass Events: Maksymova Daria Romanivna (1st year, group B-13) — stage productions and choreography; Leshchenko Yuliia Serhiivna (1st year, group B-11) — set design; Dubyna Mariia Dmytrivna (2nd year, group B-125) — gift provision. Together, they will organize faculty celebrations and inter-university competitions. Any interested student may join the focus group team. • Department of Communications: Liubchenko Valeriia Hennadiivna (2nd year, group B-125) — will be responsible for providing information on social media pages. We also wish to try to have a representative from the Biological Faculty in the UNK. However, beyond the standard set of tasks assigned to student self-governance bodies, there are issues that, in my view, require resolution now. This concerns a number of problems related to the summer field practice in Haidary, which is an integral part of the educational process at the Biological Faculty. We believe that one of the main everyday problems in Haidary is the electrical wiring in the houses where students reside. The living quarters are wooden structures, and the wiring is old and does not support the tasks assigned to students. Moreover, this poses a safety hazard. This is not the only problem at our faculty. We believe that while working in auditoriums at the Biological Faculty, students encounter the problem of not being able to hear the lecturer from the back rows. This significantly hinders students' comprehension of the material. Therefore, we propose installing microphones and speakers in large auditoriums such as 7-26 and 3-15. Furthermore, one of our priority areas is science. Representatives of one of the three student self-governance bodies, the SSS (Student Scientific Society), have raised concerns regarding our collaboration. Since I see myself as a scientist in the future, joint work with the SSS is also important to me. This collaboration will involve assistance in organizing events related to scientific conferences, promoting the scientific direction among students of our faculty, and so on. In addition, I would like to establish a center for alternative education. The purpose of the center would be to collaborate with young scientists — organizing open lectures, possibly tele-bridges. This would contribute to student development in the modern scientific world and facilitate the exchange of experience. Uniting the Student Council, the Student Scientific Society, and the faculty trade union into a single conglomerate is, in our view, a key aspect of maximizing the effectiveness of each student self-governance body. Therefore, one of our priority tasks is to create a convenient system for each body that serves the comfort of students during the academic process and during extracurricular time. Thank you for your attention! If you have any questions, you may ask them by messaging me at 0678017823 (via Viber, Telegram, WhatsApp) or via Instagram direct @georgebondarenko. I will be happy to answer all your questions. Kateryna Rykova [IMG_1] Dear students of the Biological Faculty! My name is Kateryna Rykova, and I am a 2nd-year student. I can say about myself that I am accustomed to performing my work thoroughly and to the highest standard. The most important thing for me is that it yields results (otherwise, there is no point in undertaking such work at all). I possess organizational skills and a clear understanding of how to coordinate effective teamwork. And when it comes to the student community, this is especially important. I sincerely want there to be someone at our faculty to whom students can turn with any problems and be confident they will not be left without support. Specific measures to address such issues will indeed be implemented. That is precisely why I have decided to become the Student Dean. The position of Student Dean requires, above all, the ability to identify problems that arise during the educational process, to listen to every student, and to respond quickly and effectively to potential conflicts, as well as — and this is no less important — to support student initiatives. The Student Council (hereinafter referred to as the StuCouncil) was established to protect student rights, assist in ensuring quality education, and represent student interests in relations with the faculty and university administration. In reality, this definition is very broad, and only a strong team with a clear action plan can fulfill such a comprehensive mandate. Such a plan is outlined below. The Student Council of the Biological Faculty aims to achieve the following GOALS and adhere to the following RESOLUTIONS over the current year: The StuCouncil of the faculty is an open team, so absolutely every student will be able to join the working group, contribute ideas, and help implement them. Moreover, I believe that only in this way can the activities of the Student Council be optimized and performed to a high standard. One of the main goals of the StuCouncil is to establish effective interaction between students and the university administration, including faculty members. Therefore, the StuCouncil team will comprehensively assist in resolving conflicts that may arise among students during the educational process. The StuCouncil of the faculty plans to establish close interaction and joint functioning with other student self-governance bodies of the faculty to comprehensively address student needs. To ensure timely information for students about important events, social media activities and collaboration with the Biological Faculty website will be organized. At the end of each academic semester, reporting conferences of the StuCouncil will be held, at which reports on the StuCouncil's work during the specified period will be presented. In addition, student assemblies will be organized once a month. At these assemblies, joint discussions of issues related to the educational process and extracurricular student activities will take place. Each assembly will be announced no less than 3 days in advance (in accordance with the Charter of V. O. Karazin Kharkiv National University). The Student Dean will ensure timely information for students about the list of achievements for which additional rating points can be earned, as well as the optimization of the document processing procedure. Quality monitoring of the educational process will be conducted at every year of study with the involvement of no fewer than 50% of students. The data obtained will be carefully processed, and any emerging issues will be forwarded and actively discussed at general meetings of the University Student Council and at faculty academic council meetings. All questions and issues will be communicated to the faculty dean and lecturers for further resolution. The procedure for organizing cultural events at the faculty will be reformed so that it does not involve the coercive engagement of students in dubious university traditions, but instead genuinely promotes cultural development and does not interfere with the educational process. The StuCouncil of the faculty will thoroughly study documents related to healthcare reform and will assist students in completing all necessary procedures on time in accordance with their rights and current Ukrainian legislation. The StuCouncil of the faculty is obligated to oversee the disbursement of funds to students undergoing practice at the Biological Station in the village of Haidary and to actively raise the issue of increasing this amount (which, in accordance with current legislation, is indeed feasible!). The StuCouncil team is obligated to oversee the procurement of food supplies for the period of field practice and their quality. For students being sent on assignments (e.g., to scientific conferences), a special guide with step-by-step instructions will be created to help them receive material compensation for expenses incurred during the assignment. In addition, the Student Dean will always be able to help defend their rights on this matter. A commission will be selected to monitor temperatures in various university premises; it will take actual temperature readings and compare them with sanitary standards set by current Ukrainian legislation. In case of non-compliance, the Student Dean will take all necessary actions, including contacting the managing authorities and overseeing the resolution of non-compliant situations. Every first Wednesday of each month from 12:00 to 15:00 in auditorium 4-19, every student will have the opportunity to speak with the Student Dean or a representative of the faculty StuCouncil and propose certain actions to improve its work or point out existing problems. StuCouncil members work exclusively for the public good and do not receive a salary or other material incentives. Therefore, in my opinion, the only thing that makes such work rational is its high-quality execution and the defense of student rights. Thus, the activities of the Student Council of the faculty will be entirely transparent. Our team is already open to all active students who are ready to improve their study conditions, and I, in turn, will always be ready to help everyone. Always open to questions: Telegram @rykova_kate, Instagram @rykova.kateryna Roman Trokhymchuk [IMG_2] Platform for the Position of Student Dean of the Biological Faculty — Trokhymchuk Roman Ruslanovych What unites students over the course of five-plus years? Obtaining an education. It should be such that it is well worth the time and effort invested. Laws and regulations governing studies are currently changing. Is our faculty and university changing accordingly to ensure our future professional success? Which courses are we lacking, and which are mere relics of the past? Why must we pay out of pocket for certain aspects of our education (for example, the trip to field practice)? Is it right that a student on a government scholarship who meets all the requirements does not receive a stipend and must depend on parental support or take on side jobs? How can we ensure that our diploma theses are up to date and are supported by the necessary equipment and materials? How should the courses we are taught be modified to make them maximally useful to us? How can we earn money without neglecting our studies? Are we satisfied with the conditions in the dormitory, at the university, at the biological station, and at practice bases? The possibilities of student self-governance are considerable, but they require our persistence. University student self-governance receives 1% of the university's revenue — that is a substantial sum of money. Is it being spent in our interest? Are we satisfied with our representatives who defend our interests before the dean and rector? The coordinated work of the Student Council, the trade union, and the SSS (Student Scientific Society) is the guarantee that student rights will be protected, interests will be accounted for, and professional development will not be in vain. Every student of the Biological Faculty contributes to the advancement of science to some degree or another. There is no escaping this — such is our specialization. It is no secret that after completing the field practice, a large number of students publish their findings in the proceedings of the annual international student conference "Biology: From Molecule to Biosphere." Assisting the Student Scientific Society in organizing the conference and maintaining its annual tradition is an important part of student life (for instance, last year there was a simple shortage of people to greet the participants). Recently, physical education classes for biology students became elective, as they were deemed less in demand compared to other subjects. The problem is that not every student can find the motivation to strengthen their physical condition, while in our world, maintaining harmony of mind and body is important for personal development. Therefore, one of the goals of our program is to promote a healthy lifestyle and organize sports and recreational events during field practice in the village of Haidary. One of the tasks of the Student Dean is to organize events such as Biological Faculty Day or Alma Mater. This is not difficult to accomplish if a team of motivated students with the appropriate skills is assembled. Can the Student Dean solve the aforementioned problems single-handedly? No. But if the understanding expressed here is supported by the majority of students, there is hope that a core group ready to defend the interests of Biological Faculty students will emerge within the Student Council. It is not unlikely that in many cases the Student Dean will have to "take the heat." Ever since school, I have had the opportunity to learn to advocate for societal interests — I served as school president. Now, as a student, I have achieved success in sports on the international arena, excelled in scientific endeavors, and am ready to support the student body in realizing their plans. And if we can change the situation for the better, we will have even more reasons to celebrate!