ALEKSANDAR PLJACHKOVSKI for President Education
For the mandate ‘26/’27
Voting from the 13th to the 19th of March
A Time We Can Look Forward To Aleksandar
Pljachkovski for President Education
#ATimeWeCanLookForwardTo
Choose a person that brings meaning to your student life, even if that’s not me. Just vote.
The cynics will tell you that one vote doesn’t change anything, but it does.
Stepping into a leadership position, or more precisely, trying to step into a leadership position, can be frightening for any person, but actually, what we often miss considering is that we are all leaders. We lead our lives. Sometimes in a positive direction, sometimes in the opposite one, but no matter what, the only fragment that continues its way, is the time.
Time is something we cannot bring back. Time means everything to us, and I hope that we acknowledge that at the right moment in our lives.
I come from a country where the zip code can determine your destiny, and where the choices you make, and chances you take, can either help you soar, or force you to the ground. I chose a different pathway. I chose things that are above me, that are challenging to do, but what keeps me going is the strength that is born within me, and the endurance that allows me to give everything I have in me.
Now, we have to ask ourselves: What do we want to change? The person? The community? The environment? The academic circumstances? or simply: Everything? I am here since last September, and I have been witnessing the problems first handedly. Students are having hard times, if not, the hardest times. Facing the biggest financial concerns of what might happen, questioning themselves if they will manage to get by, starting to ask themselves if this is real, or is this just part of their anxiety, or their depression. Constantly not sure if the education that they are paying for will give them the best opportunities later in life. Going to classes, but never confident enough that they are upgrading themselves, while fighting the misconception that a degree will fully define their life.
This race is not about me. It is about every person that goes through these afflictions. I am just willing to stand up and help, and this may be the channel through which I will be able to do it.
This is not a GIG that guides to a better GIG, this is THE GIG.
Under my leadership, this organization will not function as a system of bureaucracy, it will function as a transparent, open, and nonjudgemental syndicate. If you need me, I will be there. If you need us, we will be there. If you need me, do not hesitate for a microsecond, just call me, e - mail me, whatever you find suitable.
Who am I?
I am a polymath and a polyglot focused on many diverse things in my life, starting from electrical engineering and software development, project management and project coordination, to medicine and pharmacology. Also, I am a writer and poet, with four published books on my maternal, Macedonian language. Right now, I am working on two new books, which will be written on English language, and accordingly, published in the coming period. Through my activism and humanism, I worked on solutions for different societal problems in my country and the world. Finding them, and implementing them, helped me in understanding the challenges, which are enormous, here in the United Kingdom
At the present moment, I work as a project manager, I study neuroscience, and when the time allows, I write, motivated and inspired from the mystery called life. I enjoy the front row of my life path, but also the life paths of so many people, which walks and runs are unique for every one of them.
Running for President Education is more of a calling at the moment, then a job, so that is why I am providing you with my programme, so you can acknowledge what will my priorities be, and what are the plans that I consider most important.
I can guarantee something that is for sure, and that is that I am not afraid.
If I can give something to you, that is my devotion.
If I can invest something, I will invest MYSELF.
My leadership history:
1. EESTEC LC Skopje - Electrical Engineering STudents European AssoCiation Member of the executive board
2. IAESTE Macedonia International Secretary
3. IUSY (International Union of Socialist Youth) Candidate for President Aleksandar Pljachkovski
WORLD - CLASS EDUCATION
THIS UNIVERSITY BELONGS TO YOU
If we want the best education for ourselves, so we can keep dreaming of becoming the unquestionable leaders of the world one day, we should fight for it. And I am going to stand on the frontlines. Education starts from preschool till the very start of your career, and higher education plays a big part of it.
Earning a higher education degree is no longer just a pathway to opportunity for a talented few, rather it is a prerequisite for the growing jobs in this turbulent economy, not just in this country, the United Kingdom, but everywhere in the world. Employment in jobs requiring education grows more rapidly than employment in jobs that do not require one.
Every country points out that higher education has now become the clearest pathway into the middle class, but actually the world right now is not heading in the clearest way there is for everybody, so we need to be here for each other. To protect our well - being, our dreams. Under my leadership, the fight for better higher education will be number one priority. I will overlook the creation of programs, whether they are giving the knowledge for the future, or whether they are keeping you stuck in the past, and even the present. Because I know that is not, and will not, be enough.
To achieve this brave and bold goal for the students, I will have to ensure that the students at the moment, and the new ones who are coming, or going to come, receive the education and training needed for the jobs of today and tomorrow, and provide great opportunities and possibilities for them to grow in every way possible.
I will also try my best to help in finding financial resources from the University when it comes to making the University more accessible, affordable, and attainable for all people, no matter where they come from, or what is their life story. Because I know these problems, actually, I come from a place where these problems are shadowing you, not giving you space to breathe, and the UK, especially for international students, feels like that. Almost always, you feel pressured to succeed in every way possible, but somehow, finances catch up to you, and the biggest toll is taken on the students. I know that, and I am constantly thinking of finding a way, or a channel, through which I can help.
The strength of the United Kingdom’s economy is inextricably linked to the strength of its education system, especially the one at the highest level. Now, more than ever, this country’s economy, and the world, need a workforce that is skilled, adaptable, creative, and equipped for success in the global marketplace.
President & Students Meetings - The President is LISTENING
Every week, there will be a time interval (if it is not enough - no interval, from the first, till the last, person) where I will sit down with you, every one of you who has something to say, no matter on what topic, or interest. The President represents you, but if we break down the real function, he is there to serve you, so that will be my priority.
I cannot know all the problems that students are facing, as well as the solutions to them, but I am going to listen, and I am going to be next to you, shoulder to shoulder, arm to arm, when a difficulty arises, or a problem presents itself.
I know that these kinds of meetings are tough to arrange, but be sure that I will have them. Communication is the right channel for finding the solutions that will guide us to the long - lasting peace that we are constantly searching for.
The President is LISTENING will be a meeting where everyone can be seen and heard. As simple as that.
“COLLEGE
INFO CARD” - Helpful way of finding out what you want to find out about your future degree
I will initiate a different blueprint of the programmes that the University offers to future students, making it clearer how much it will cost you, so you can precisely calculate what will be the financial burden on yourself during your studies here.
As part of my commitment to help students make better college choices, I personally plan to launch something that will be called College Info Card to offer future students a clearer view as they search for and select a college suitable to their academic and career goals.
It will be designed with direct input from students to ensure they have access to userfriendly, easy - to - understand information on college opportunity, cost, and value. This tool will be built from the most comprehensive and reliable data on all higher education parts of the University, which includes every figure needed. This data will be open to the public, making it possible for anyone to learn about the different programmes. I think that better information will help students choose which programme is the most adequate for them, and help them decide what they are likely to learn, and afterwards, graduate, and find a job they are aiming for. On the opposite side, the University will get better information that will help different colleges understand how well they are serving their students. Better information can unite both the students and the colleges on goals to the world - class education that I have mentioned before, and help more students graduate.
I know that future students use too much time in front of the screen looking for a suitable University to study at, and which College to go to, but when they try to narrow the list down, there is something that is missing, and that is the unclear position they are looking from. They are constantly questioning themselves if they have made the right decision or not, which takes a toll on them. I believe this will also lower levels of depression and anxiety.
It’s Not Done, Until It’s Done Policy
I think that the policy itself gives out the meaning behind it. I can freely promise that if you are getting ignored, or mistreated, while contacting university staff, academic staff, or accommodation staff, through your own channels of communication, we will step in, because every student deserves to be seen and heard.
I know that the communication with the staff, whoever it may be, it is broken. I have experienced myself, and I certainly want to put stop on it. But I know that from this point of view that seems almost impossible. How to change the people that are doing a bad job? How to find a way that serves as a shortcut for students to get immediate answers? How to provide answers that can be precise and concise about the questions that students have?
These questions will be a serious challenge for my reputation as a human being before everything, and then as your President, but I will not give up on the community that gave me the honour to serve. Be sure that even if I am powerless to get the answers, I will stand next to you, and I will show up when you are going to need me.
“Unhinged” Door Policy
“Unhinged” door policy (I might be not allowed to literally take it off the hinges because it is a safety hazard when it comes to fire and toxic smoke, but I will do everything in my power to do just that. An unhinged door can allow them to rapidly spread rather than to be contained) - The door of my office will be constantly open, whether unhinged, or hinged, so everybody can enter. The President’s office is people’s office, as simple as that. Students can come and go, sharing what they want to share, talking about what they want to talk about. Student Unions exist because of that, not for bureaucracy, especially when the students expect to be protected by the organization which should stand up for them.
I am one of you, and I will remain like that. We are all equal, we are all in this journey, called higher education, together. Under my leadership, I will help you feel safe. I can guarantee that just because I know what kind of person I am. I know that I care about the importance of communicating and expressing the problems, so that solutions can arise.
As everybody, I am worried about the future, but if we can conversate about the issues you are facing, especially the issues that you are facing in the education system at the university, for which you are paying, we can move forward in finding the roots of them.
The “Unhinged” Door Policy will be a continuous part of my presidency if I am elected.
NO ONE IS LEFT BEHIND!
WHEN YOU FACE A DIFFICULTY, KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
Under my leadership this organization will not abandon you. Whether you are a British national, or international, we will help you learn your rights when it comes to facing any kind of difficulty.
FREEZING THE ACCOMMODATION PRICES
I stand firmly for this temporary emergency measure that will cap the rental costs for both new and existing tenants on the campus, and will prevent any kind of increase for a set period of time, because we are witnessing rapid rise of the living costs in the UK, especially in the capital where we are, London.
I, personally, experienced horrifying things living on campus, and whenever I contacted the accommodation team, I felt left aside. Whenever I reported the problem, I either got late responses with excuses, or I never got any. So, my priority will be securing living conditions on campus that are up to the standard. I know that many of the students that come to university, and live here, had too many investments already done, and when they are paying for something, I know that they are being cautious in every aspect, and that is why this will be one of the crucial things that I have to monitor.
OPEN AND TRANSPARENT PRESIDENCY
This organization will recognize you as YOU. You are the reason it exists. Through the initiative “OPEN AND TRANSPARENT PRESIDENCY” you will be able to find out everything you want, or need, to know about this organization.
ENROLMENT DAYS ‘26/’27
Different approach to enrolment days, not just for the freshers, but for everybody.
Everybody is all about the start of the university days, but nobody talks about the enrolment days. Those are the most challenging days for the future students, especially the international ones, who not long ago (before that happened), waited for their Visa, hoping that everything will go smoothly with getting it, while preparing for life outside their homeland borders. This is something very tough, and I speak as someone who went through it. Those students that arrive just before the beginning of their studies are the most vulnerable category, meaning they are not fully prepared for what awaits them, and are not well introduced to the environment that is around them.
The enrolment will be actively, not passively, overlooked by us, helping students in every way we can, especially to those who do not know and understand the English Language, because yes, there are students who do not know and understand the language of this country, and I personally witnessed that the university staff were more interested in making fun of them, rather them helping them.
The questions arise: You gave them offers, right? Your country gave them Visa, right? Now they are here, and they are probably facing one of the most frightening moments of their lives, and you are trying to make them feel disrespected? Nobody deserves to be disrespected, especially not like that. The University gave them permission to come here and study, so if you do not want to help them, under my leadership, we are going to do that. I say again: Nobody will be left behind, and that is why we should find a practical way of helping the international students that are not coming from English speaking countries, to learn the English language, at their own pace.
RACE TO THE TOP
Race to the top will be an initiative where at the same time both, teaching, and learning, will be improved. If we start working on the way of teaching, we should be conscious that we will need to work on the way of learning. This means one thing, and one thing only - systemic reforms.
These systemic reforms will require strong collaboration and strong belief based on mutual values and commitments towards change.
I know that this is possible, but are we willing to sacrifice more, so we can gain more? I think yes. Both sides are ready to change the way they do things. The academic staff and the students are the crucial part of this university. More precisely, without them there will be no university.
Race to the top means pursuing higher standards, improving the effectiveness of the academic staff and students, as well as using data for moving forward on daily basis, and implementing new strategies for improving the parts of the education where we struggle the most.
Something that is, and has been, a long - lasting problem for the students is the unclear marking criteria. Working towards clarifying it will be a tough process, but I will not put it aside. I will work on delivering new ways of helping the academic staff and students build the ideal relationship, so that everybody can thrive, and have the right opportunity, and possibility, to achieve the goal, or goals, they might have.
To make these changes it doesn’t take too much time, it takes courage. There is much more that I plan to do, but … I worry about time. And the main mission of my mandate will be to bring A Time We Can Look Forward To.