Important to Support Diversity on Campus

Photo/Helga Lind Mar

Translation: Julie Summers

Kolfinna Tómasdóttir is a graduate student in law at the University of Iceland and also works as the Student Council’s International Officer. She is the first student to hold the newly created position. The role of International Officer involves overseeing Student Council services for foreign students at UI, with the goal of protecting their interests and facilitating their participation in the university community. A Student Paper journalist met up with Kolfinna to talk about the job, which she took on in June 2019.

“I really represent all international students studying here at UI. To a certain extent, my job is closely related to the Council’s Student Rights Officer, and we work together on certain issues. But international students often have different concerns than Icelandic students, and it’s really great that there’s someone who specializes in all things pertaining to international students and is available to help them. I also work closely with the International Office.”

Kolfinna says that shaping the role of International Officer presents certain challenges. “The biggest challenge is probably that I’m the first person to hold this position, so in a certain sense, I’m designing it. The first six months were really a time of development, but I already feel like I can do a lot more now that the initial development is over. It’s still a challenge, though, which is fun. Every day is exciting, and you never know what will happen next.”

Using dictionaries on final exams

When asked whether she believes foreign students at UI receive enough support, Kolfinna answers, “That’s a very good but rather difficult question. To a certain extent, they get a lot of support, but sometimes unforeseen problems come up. For example, there have been a few cases related to using dictionaries on final exams. Let’s say there’s a foreign student who speaks Icelandic, can write in Icelandic, but their academic Icelandic isn’t quite up to par, so maybe they need a little help from the dictionary on an exam. Misunderstanding just one word in a test question could have major consequences for that person. Unfortunately, there’s no consistent policy on this among the different departments. There might be one teacher that allows the student to use a dictionary, but another teacher doesn’t. I’m working with the Student Rights Officer on this, and hopefully we’ll see some changes soon.”

“We can’t put all foreign students in the same basket”

Kolfinna says there’s no one best way to help foreign students adjust to and participate in the university community. “We have a mentor system, which is a really good system, but we need to remember that foreign students represent a really wide range of ages. We’re talking about, for instance, a 20-year-old undergraduate student here for a single semester vs. a 30-something doctoral student here with their family. Those two people don’t need the same type of support. We can’t put all foreign students in the same basket. There isn’t just one group; there are many groups with different needs and interests. It’s a problem. We want these students to feel good here, and I want to continue building on the work that’s already been done. We’ve already seen a lot of good changes in the last few years, for instance when we look at the need to ensure that important information is available in both Icelandic and English, because otherwise school events and student associations aren’t accessible to international students.”

Kolfinna says it’s important for UI to serve both exchange students and international degree students well, and at the same time encourage Icelandic students to study abroad. “We’re part of the world, and we consider ourselves to be a globalized university. We want to be able to send students out into the world, just as we welcome students from other countries. Globalization is a good thing, in my opinion, and mobility in education is really valuable. Diversity is a great thing, and of course we should support it.”

Virtual exchange

On January 30, members of the university community met at Veröld, Vigdís’ House to discuss “The Higher Education Revolution.” Kolfinna moderated the event, which focused on the educational revolution universities may experience in the coming years. Kolfinna says one of the changes that might be just around the corner is the introduction of virtual exchange experiences.

“The biggest issue here is mobility in studies, the idea that European nations will work together to strengthen higher education and support increased student exchange within Europe, and what we’re talking about is more opportunities for people to learn from other places. In particular, we’re talking about so-called virtual exchange. It all started in France, and now the University of Iceland, along with eight other universities, is applying for a significant grant from the European Union. This would be an amazing opportunity for students to participate in virtual exchange. It’s especially good for people who are unable to leave Iceland for some reason. We’re seeing globalization reach new levels, which is just fantastic.”

Kolfinna says each department at the university responds differently to the changing educational environment. “There’s a risk that the more conservative departments might reject this opportunity for increased globalization and therefore miss out on attracting more diverse students. That would be unfortunate, and there’s a risk that those departments could miss the boat when it comes to other opportunities in the future. UI’s policy on international cooperation is clear, but individual departments don’t have to follow the policy if they don’t want to.” 

The will to do better

In closing, Kolfinna says it’s important that the university and the Student Council have taken the step of creating the International Officer position. “I think it’s great that this office was created, because it’s been needed for a long time. The introduction of this position shows that the Student Council and the university have a desire to do better when it comes to international students, and we’ll start to see the results soon. I think it’ll take two to three years to develop the position, and I think this first year will be the most difficult. Next year, we’ll be able to do more, and in year three, I hope the International Officer position will really thrive. It’s been really fun to build this role from the ground up, and I look forward to seeing how the job continues to evolve.”