New ISA President Bárbara Silva on shaping the future of studies at RSU 

Bárbara Silva, currently in her 10th semester of medical studies at Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU), has been in student representation for seven years. Her journey began when she was elected President of her high school’s student council and progressed when she was studying for her business management degree in Portugal. Upon joining RSU, Bárbara was the President of the Portuguese Society for two years before assuming the role of Head of Academic Affairs on the board of the RSU International Student Association (ISA) last year. Now, in her 6th and final year at RSU, Bárbara has ascended to the position of ISA President.

Newly elected RSU ISA President Bárbara Silva (centre left) and the former RSU SP Chairperson Elizabete Maija Liepa (centre right) meets with University management.

Have you always been interested in medicine? 

Yes, in a way. I focused on science and technology in high school already. Then I chose math and business management when I started studying in Portugal but did not enjoy it – I really missed biology! I considered nursing, or becoming a doctor in Portugal, but I always wanted to study abroad. When I found RSU, it seemed like the right university for me and offered what I needed for my future. 

What was your main motivation in running for president? 

I've always been very passionate about student representation. I'm a very social person and someone who cares a lot about the quality of the educational institution where I'm studying at any given time. I got to participate in and shape the social aspect of student life at RSU when I was part of the Portuguese Association. By joining ISA, I could focus more on academic issues specifically.

Were there any changes you implemented that you're particularly proud of? 

The thing that I would say that I am most proud of is that I was able to keep up with the large amount of work that the academic department handles. I was also very proud of the collaborations that we established with the RSU Student Union (Studējošo pašpārvalde, SP) last year. It just so happens that the RSU SP Head of Academic Affairs was also elected Chairperson this year, so both of our paths in our respective organisations have been the same this year, which is very exciting and bodes well for our future collaboration! We also developed a very good relationship with the International Admissions Office and the Vice-Dean for International Students, Prof. Smuidra Žermanos. 

What is your focus for ISA this year? 

I am dedicated to improving the quality of studies at RSU. 

I think the University has a very good base, but I would love to meet with management and involve more students in how to actually improve our day-to-day studies, not just the social aspect of student life. I'm very excited about this possibility because RSU management has shown interest in involving us in this process too. I've already discussed these questions with the Rector, Prof. Bahs, as well as Prof. Žermanos. 

Do you have any ideas already? 

There had to be a lot of adjustments during the pandemic, which were understandable considering the situation we were in. However, I think that some of those adjustments are not necessary anymore. Now, we need to learn how to pick the best of each method and find the right balance to make our study process the best it can be. 

A big part of the job will be to try to understand what the students need, not just what they want, and thus improve our study process the best that we can. 

Could you elaborate?

My personal opinion is that a lot of students try to advocate for changes that might facilitate their work and make studying easier for them. These do not necessarily make them better doctors, however. A lot of the time, what individual students try to advocate for is not something that will work in favour of RSU. Understanding the difference will require careful and honest consideration. From a different angle – a certain examination method, for example, might not be the easiest for a department to organise, but it is a method that will make students better doctors and dentists. 

That's an important distinction to make! 

Exactly. 

I anticipate that a lot of my job will be about understanding the balance of what we need, what we want, and how to make it happen in a way that works for everybody. 

I'm not trying to make anyone's life difficult, but rather to improve the education that RSU is offering. I think it's already very good but can definitely be improved on. 

Do you have any practical examples of things that were good during the pandemic that you would like to keep?  

It's primarily two things for me. One of them would be the fact that theoretical lectures moved online and are now pre-recorded. I started studying at RSU before COVID-19, so I used to attend all these lectures in person with 200 students. They would last two hours, and it was very difficult to catch up on all the material that was presented in such a short amount of time. It's a lot more useful to have all these lectures pre-recorded, because then students can study them at home and re-watch the lectures as many times as they need to. 

The other example is how exams are organised. Before the pandemic we took them onsite and on paper and during the pandemic online, i.e. on a computer, and at home. I now advocate for exams onsite, but on a computer, a healthy mix that many departments have already adopted. Taking exams on a computer allows students to have different variations of an exam and gives the organisers more oversight to ensure that students don't have the same exam year after year. It's also easier for departments to organise them, in my opinion. In some cases, depending on the type of exam, students can also receive their grades immediately after an exam is done, which is a plus.

Barbara on stage during the International Student Conference 2023.

What advice would you give to international students at RSU? 

I would urge all students to take advantage of the international environment at the University. 

Remember, what you are experiencing at RSU right now will never happen to you again; you will never be exposed to as many people from all around the world. You will never be able to have as many cultures around you as you do right now!