Hokkaido University International Students’ Association (HUISA) has received a brand new executive committee members for the academic year of 2020-2021. Despite the difficult and unique conditions that the whole world is facing this year due to the new Coronavirus, the committee consists of young, energetic and passionate people from different parts of the world.
Let’s get to know the new executive members !
PRESIDENT: Nour Chebbi (Tunisia)
Hello everyone ! My name is Nour and I am from Tunisia. I am a 2nd year master student in the faculty of engineering, doing research in Micro-Biomechanics. Last year I served as the General Secretary of HUISA, and it was a great experience ! I believe that living abroad won’t be a “real” experience unless you rediscover people and yourself through a beautiful cultural exchange. As for my hobbies, I am mainly into arts. I paint, draw, write etc… I love reading, especially philosophy books. Travelling is also a very important part of my life and getting to know people while on the road made me the one I am today. I am also a “science geek”, I enjoy very much learning about deep and pure sciences, mainly theoretical Physics. As Leonardo Da Vinci says: “Study the science of art and the art of science”. As a president, I will do my best to contribute to cultural events between International Students’ at Hokkaido University. This year is starting with a very big challenge, since everything is going slowly because of the COVID19. Let’s stay strong and united !
VICE PRESIDENT: Fernando Ursine (Brazil)
Hello, I’m Fernando, from Brazil. Currently I’m a 4th year Modern Japanese Studies Program student at Hokkaido University. My hobbies are biking around, taking pictures of random things, reading and cooking. I joined HUISA Executive Committee to be able to do something for the international student community in our university. From 2013 to 2016, I served as a member in the Students’ Union of my former university and I would like to use this experience to help HUISA. Last year I served as the Treasurer and this year I have the honor of serving as the vice-president. I hope we can help you all enjoy a great time both in university and in your daily lives in Japan !
GENERAL SECRETARY: Varien Janitra (Indonesia)
Hi! My name is Varien. I come from Indonesia. I am a master student at Human Mechanical Systems and Design division in Graduate School of Engineering. In my free time, I tend to surf the internet and read up on topics such as computers, sciences, or any other topic which I find interesting. For this year, I will be the general secretary of HUISA. I am always interested in learning new knowledge, perspectives, and experiences. I joined HUISA to gain some of them to maximize the advantages of learning abroad, which I thought to be a good chance to learn new things and improve myself. Also, I do appreciate any kind of discussions, because then we both learn some new perspectives and in this international setting it will be a good chance to know each other’s culture and create a better understanding toward each other. I might seem shy at first, but really, I am interested in getting to know each other. So, I am looking forward to seeing you in the following days. Let us enjoy our time in Japan and make nice memories!
TREASURER : Hamdiye Ece (Turkey)
Hi everyone!! This is Yadi from Istanbul/Turkey and currently 3rd year doctorate degree student in synthetic organic chemistry. My research area is providing new and simple methods for newly synthesized/already reported compounds by transition metal catalyst. Being experimental scientist means spending long hours at lab with research and analyzing. Basically I became lab mouse after all.
Beside my degree, I like to spend time with my friends, watching sci-fi movies/dramas, travelling and cooking. I am interested history and psychology and try to watch documentaries about them. I like to discuss many things but not my research!
This is my second year with HUISA and I am going to be treasurer for this year. HUISA is one of the best part of my life here and execom members made my life better than before. HUISA is like family for me and even after my term is done I will keep working for HUISA. Please wait for our next events and make sure to join ASAP! I am looking forward to meet with you!
SECRETARY FOR CULTURE & SOCIAL WELFARE: Kasun Godigamuwa (Sri Lanka)
I am Kasun Godigamuwa from Sri Lanka. Currently, I am a D2 student in the division of Sustainable Resources Engineering. My hobbies are playing cricket, watching movies and practicing music. A keen interest to join as a HUISA committee member began after joining for many events, which allows international students to interact and to collect unforgettable memories while studying in Japan. Being a member of the HUISA Execom 2020-2021, I would actively participate in the activities organized by HUISA, to make an opportunity for international students to experience different cultures and to gather wonderful memories to relax your mind from busy academics. Let’s enjoy and collect unforgettable memories together in Hokudai life. Thanks!
SECRETARY FOR RECREATION & SPORT : Dale Whitfield (England)
Hello everyone! My name is Dale Whitfield and I from the United Kingdom. Currently I am a second year doctoral student in the Graduate School of Education. My research is focused on examining the psychological effects of sports and exercise participation, specifically their influence on identity and personality development. I am truly honored to be serving as your Secretary for Recreation and Sports this year. I joined HUISA because I want to help create a positive experience for all international students at Hokkaido University. As an organisation, HUISA provides the opportunity to interact with people from a wide variety of cultural backgrounds, and I hope we can all use these opportunities to learn, develop and ultimately have fun! I look forward to welcoming you all to our many events over the coming year, and hope that together we can make your time spent at Hokudai filled with many happy and memorable experiences. See you soon!
SPECIALLY APPOINTED VOLUNTEER: Tomoka Takeuchi (Japan)
My name is Tomoka Takeuchi, 4th year in environmental engineering. And as you probably guessed from my name, I am from Japan. This year, I’m honored to be working again with HUISA as the Specially Appointed Volunteer. I love music, playing the double bass, eating good food, and traveling! Before Hokkaido University, I lived and studied in Brasil and the U.S., and that experience has allowed me to understand international student life here in Sapporo more. I’m very excited to be part of HUISA again, and although the journey has begun with a rough start with the pandemic, with this year’s team, I’ll do my best to help build stronger relationships with Japanese communities in Sapporo, and together make our student life more enjoyable. よろしくお願いします
HONORARY PRESIDENT: Van Nguyen (Vietnam)
Hello everyone!!! This is Van from Vietnam. Warm greetings to all of you. If you are reading these words, I think you are using your time very effectively and making one of the best decisions to access our website. HUISA is a wonderful platform to connect us – international students at Hokkaido University together and provide exciting events as well as lifetime experience. I have been a member of HUISA for 4 years and it is so memorable that now where ever I go, there is something to remind me of the old good time in university. So my advice to you gonna be “Be active in our activities and you won’t regret it!” Please take care of health during this corona virus time and wait for our upcoming events. I along with HUISA Execom team are looking forward to your participation
ADVISOR: Kritika Poudel (Nepal)
Namaste everyone. I am Kritika Poudel from Nepal. I recently completed my Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Health Sciences, Hokkaido University. Having started my journey with HUISA officially in 2016, I have worked as General Secretary (2016-17), President (2017-18), and Honorary President (2018-20) since then. I will be working as an advisor for HUISA this year. HUISA holds a special corner in my heart and has given me beautiful memories to cherish. It is more than an association for me. Because of HUISA, I got amazing friends to relieve my stress through their hilarious stories and supporting each other in these years. Every year, in HUISA, we organize lots of programs for international students including food festivals, seasonal trips, bunkasai, hanami, and sports festivals. Additionally, HUISA helps to connect foreign students with local Japanese through several homestay programs in Hokkaido. This year as well, our new team aims to organize different refreshing programs for international and Japanese students. If you are stressed with your non-stop lab works, then please consider joining our events; I am sure you will not regret it. Although Covid-19 has delayed many of our events, we look forward to seeing you all in our upcoming programs. Cheers!!
