The outcome of a delayed electoral period for the KAIST International Student Association (KISA) was the inauguration of Ashhad Kamal Taseer to the role of president of KISA on December 23, winning 113 out of a total of 204 votes (55.4%). The Mechanical Engineering PhD candidate seems to have hit the ground running, overseeing the organization of events such as the KISA Aloha event in conjunction with the International Scholar and Student Services (ISSS) team. The KAIST Herald interviewed President Taseer about the direction he wants to take KISA in the upcoming electoral term.

Congratulations on your election to the role of KISA President. In the past, one of the main goals of KISA was to increase its presence within KAIST and especially within its international community. Do you think this has changed in your time in the role of president?

I think one of the main goals of KISA as an international students association is to better the students’ lives and campus experience, and there are multiple aspects to this. Previously, when I joined KISA two years ago, our main focus was to engage the international community through events — and it was more about just events. Over time, this evolved to initiatives which related to student welfare and feedback. We tried very hard over the past few years to develop a feedback mechanism for international students — so they have a platform to contact us. We also tried to focus on welfare initiatives for the international community. When you’re in a new foreign environment, you don’t necessarily have the guidance to excel and perform as well as you can academically. We did not have a welfare division when I joined and so these welfare initiatives were not entirely formalised. So, the overall goal hasn’t shifted, but the way we implement our actions to achieve these goals has shifted.

One of the main issues international freshmen face is the lack of support from KAIST, especially relating to information about the logistics of the school, and even simply having their concerns and opinions heard. How do you intend to address this?

I recognise this is a significant issue through direct contact with many freshmen. Moreso over the past year, it’s been much more difficult for new students. What we intend to do in that aspect is to work very hard on making a campus tour video to cover all necessary aspects of campus. Our goal with this is to not leave any detail out that a freshman may need in their first semester at KAIST. We also intend to publish a video to help international students work around the online systems that KAIST uses. For freshmen, we are starting two new initiatives. One pertains to their academic needs, since it’s very difficult for freshmen from very different backgrounds to survive the hypercompetitive environment at KAIST. We intend to match them with tutors and mentors, and to offer them course material to help them through their basic required courses, sourced from previous batches of students. For those who are in their later years, we are organizing alumni talks where KAIST alumni [from] different fields deliver talks about their relevant fields, provide advice and general guidelines for graduating students [about] jobs and internships, and how to find these opportunities and expand their network.

You have been quite open about your support of the KAIST LGBTQ+ community, including presence in the social media group “Here at KAIST''. How do you think this was received by the LGBTQ+ community, and what plans does KISA have in store to further your support?

I think I have to put on record that my support for the LGBTQ+ community is not an official KISA initiative, and I was not acting as KISA’s president when offering this support. However, I decided it would be better to maintain transparency, allowing people to know that I was a person and what position I held, whilst still maintaining some anonymity. It means students [from this community] are able to reach out and have someone to refer to in the event that [they have] issues. As for the question about how well this was received by the LGBTQ+ community — I’d say I have a lot of friends within this community, both within and outside KAIST — from my perspective, it was very well received. However, I do recognize that there are always two sides to a coin. The way I see it [is that] if there [are] no hardship and resistance when providing this type of support, you’re not doing it right. I am sincere in my support to them, and I stand by all the words I used and the values I expressed with them. If I am met with opposition for this, I believe that it means I am going in the right direction in doing my best to change the social stigma at KAIST about this community. The other thing I’d like to point out was that I was very impressed and surprised with the response I received from within KISA. I did not ask the other members of the team before making my post on “Here at KAIST”. After making the post, I received great support from KISA members. I was expecting, to a certain extent, some form of backlash for my actions, but luckily, there was no instance of this. It is good to see that I have a very vibrant and open-minded team working with me at KISA.

One of the things you emphasized in your campaign was the stark division between the international and Korean communities, with some students on the boundary between those two left without a sense of belonging to either community. How can KISA try to resolve this, and what are your concrete plans?

In my past experience in KISA, all events were very non Korean-friendly. For example, one of the biggest holidays in Korea is Chuseok, and it is a deep and important cultural tradition, especially in how it is celebrated. Not many internationals recognize this, and they take it as an annual holiday. We have failed to incorporate this recognition of tradition into our events. This, and the language barrier, has been the reason for such a divide between the two communities in relation to our events. I think it is important to hold events that are inclusive to the Korean community, and provide incentives for them to join. To address this, all KISA initiatives will be made more inclusive for Koreans. To this end, we have hired new members in KISA who will help communicate with the Korean community, and we have also established new ties with the Undergraduate Association (UA). Our initiatives will be much more inclusive for Koreans moving forward, we are putting every effort into making this change.

Many of the international community feel like there is a division between different nationalities as well, is this something that is being resolved by KISA?

Actually, in our events, the statistics show that all the communities participate equally. There is a community support program run by ISSS who offer support funds to each country’s community at KAIST. These individual communities spend those funds on events and initiatives largely for themselves only. That makes these social events exclusive and compartmentalised. We are not trying to cut down the community support funds from ISSS, but we are going to maximize the usage of our KISA funds to bring about well-rounded events, so that every community has equal participation. For this, we can do something similar to a buddy program or set quotas for each community, so that no one community finds themself in the situation of feeling excluded, and to encourage participation.

You also mentioned that one of your top priorities will be improving graduate student lives. Do you have any specific plans on how to do this? 

My plan was to first and foremost address the monotonous life and the huge mental and emotional stress that graduate students experience. We need to find a way for them to connect and socialize in places outside of their academic environment. Their day-to-day routine is going to the lab, leaving late, and then returning to the dormitory. Undergraduate students have many more opportunities to socialize, explore the campus, and experience new things. The graduate students do not have this luxury. What I intend to do is to organize group sessions inspired by the Alcoholics Anonymous system. The AA meetings provide a place to be themselves, free of judgement, socialize, and mutually vent and express their frustrations to prevent emotional build-up. This will help bring them out of this sheltered lifestyle. We can then hold events and other activities that we can hold safely, as per COVID-19 guidelines, during their free time. We have a mental health week coming up to address some of these issues, and we are hoping the graduate students decide to join, as we will have access to a counselor from ISSS.

Many international freshmen are not aware of the separate divisions of KISA, and often view it as a student event committee due to previous lack of transparency. Is this a concern for you?

It’s important to understand that KISA is a student body, too. All members are full-time students with their own academic and social burdens. We are working very hard on bringing about social initiatives and events to help promote KISA as a whole, and to open up the KISA Voice system to the international community. Therefore, it’s immensely important to make sure that [students’] perception [of KISA] goes beyond just one group of students making social events once or twice a semester. To address this, we intend to revitalise our Promotions and Public Relations (PPR) division. They are going to be much more active on social media and on campus, promoting events, welfare initiatives, KISA Voice, and whatever else KISA has on their agenda at the time. This way, people can be more connected to KISA’s plans and actions during the semester. A small change we intend to implement soon is to provide KISA’s social media handles to the international community at KAIST, and asking them to upload their day-to-day routines. This way, new students will better understand KISA’s role, the members involved, and more members of the community. This will both promote KISA’s presence on campus, and better connect the members within the international community.

Is there anything within KISA that you would like to change during your term as President?

I think during my term, a main focus is changing the perception of KISA. One of our key issues is that not enough people know [about] KISA, and those who do largely don’t understand KISA’s function and purpose. Also, many people don’t even know that it can serve as an effective platform for addressing their academic issues. For example, I’ve had some friends starting their first semester at KAIST this year, and they had concerns about some professors lecturing in Korean in a course that was supposed to be taught in English. They unfortunately did not know about the Voice platform. We have been given clear instructions by the International Office (IO) to direct all complaints about this topic to them, and it will be resolved on a priority basis, and that the professor will be immediately warned by the department. The feedback and resolution system is well-structured, but the issue lies in the lack of public awareness of KISA. It is important to [publicize KISA as] a platform for students to raise their issues and concerns. Another change I would like is a business continuity model for KISA. Currently, KISA relies on the massive efforts of its members. [However], there is a stark lack of long-term stability beyond the few years that a student can be a member of KISA. The team changes every semester, and the president changes every year. On top of this, new students join and older students leave. There has to be a continuity plan. I am trying my best to put in place a system which could be sustainable so that plans that we have implemented as a team don't collapse after the individuals who came up with the plan(s) move on.

Are there any comments you would like to make to the international community, either in general or related to KISA-specific goals?

I’d just like to deliver this message to the international community at KAIST, especially during this difficult time. It is essential that we come together as a community, and we communicate with each other and stay connected. The environment these days is very mentally taxing, and mental health has become a genuine concern for many. There are ways that you can find help, and KISA is one of them. We have access to student counselors, very good ties with the IO, and their funding and resources that can be catered to your issues as students. Use us as your platform to relieve stresses and resolve issues that you face during your time at KAIST. We encourage you to actively participate in KISA’s events and initiatives whenever possible. Too often, the efforts that KISA members put into events are not matched by the participation rates, and many members are left dismayed. It is important to not take any event or initiative for granted, and we very much encourage you to be a part of it and to become more connected with the international community. You will realize that there is much more happening around you than you previously thought, and you will have access to opportunities far beyond what we offer through the international community at KAIST. Try to be more active, and try to be more connected.