Time for change. That's the slogan of New Intelligent Life (NIL), a team of 15 Chinese, Thai, Nepalese, and Flemish engineering students aspiring to take on the role of Group T's student union for the next academic year.
Their ambition is to put the engineering program's college life on an international track, to make the international students' voices heard, and to actively involve them in all activities. Running for president is Supinya Piampongsant, a third-year electronic engineering student from Thailand.
Over the years, Group T's Engineering College has become increasingly popular amongst international students. Currently, out of the 1100 future engineers, over 150 came to study in Leuven from abroad. Most of them are Asian as a result of the collaboration with several universities in China and South-east Asia.
As is common in Leuven, Group T has a florishing college life. At its center is Industria, one of Leuven's biggest and most active student unions. Come April, tradition dictates that the students elect a new student union. This happens during a lively election week, filled with campaigning activities organized by the running teams.
This year sees two aspiring teams: a team made up of solely Flemish students (headed by Thomas Sterken) and the international team. If on April 30 NIL wins, Leuven college life will have its very first truly international student union.
- More on NIL and its viewpoints at nil.xhalt.com
- More on Industria at (Dutch-language site) www.industria.be
