WOMEN'S OFFICER Aylin Cihan

It has been an unusual three years for UTS international students. This year, we will make up for stolen time. We aim to grow our international collective through existing events and collaborate with other collectives within the UTSSA and UTS departments. We want to attract diverse members who share at least one identity – our experience as international students – and support them to thrive.

This year we also want to listen to our international students more closely. We encourage everyone to do a student survey on O’Day and tell us about your expectations, struggles, and experiences. This way, we can arrange upcoming events and support your actual needs accordingly rather than through general assumptions.

The challenges of this year include how we can grow our collectives and our influence. We want to ensure that we can maximise our capacity for communication. One ideal solution will be negotiating with UTS internal departments and partnering with them. Alternatively, and also traditionally, we can arrange various activities and promote collectives within our campus. Either way, we want to be friends and comrades with each of you.

Hey! I’m Aylin Cihan, your 2023 Women’s Officer, a fourth year Bachelor of Laws student with a goal of pursuing gender equality in an unjust system. The Women’s Collective (WoCo) is a student-led safe and encouraging space for women, non-binary and women-identifying students at UTS. This year the WoCo is looking forward to increasing educational opportunities for all women and aims to provide further access to support and social networks that can help improve women’s wellbeing at UTS. The Women’s Space is currently in building 3 (CB3.4.32) and is a great space for enthusiastic women to meet like-minded individuals and have fun, empowering conversations about approaching relevant issues.

As a collective, we strive to respond to the sexism and misogyny that continuously affects women on campus and throughout the social and economic framework by creating a comfortable and judgement-free activist space. We are passionate about activism and ensuring that we are making the most of the university experience, aiming to encourage further education and social opportunities for women. We also organise game and drink nights and have many opportunities for you to get involved in things you're interested in and make new friends along the way!

INSTAGRAM: utswoco

FACEBOOK: UTS Women's Collective

EMAIL: womens@utsstudentsassociation.org