About us

Int. Students Union

What is ISU?

The International Student Union (ISU) is an organization composed of international students that attend various Universities and Hoegskolen throughout Norway and who have a particular interest in student politics and international student rights.

What is ISU?
The International Student Union (ISU) is an organization composed of international students that attend various Universities and Hoegskolen throughout Norway and who have a particular interest in student politics and international student rights.

Top: Eduardo Aguilar, Miriam Venturi, Joseph Kawuki Kiggundu. Bottom: Bærbel Prevost, Tawina Kopa, Andrea Lawseth, Shimelse Mekonnen Ali

ISU is a democratic, non-profit, non-religious, anti-racist, and non-partisan organization, which seeks to serve and promote the interests of foreign students who are studying in Norway. ISU represents the voice of international students in political and academic matters and has two main aims: to ensure that the rights and interests of all international students are suitably represented and protected and to maintain social welfare. ISU also promotes the relationship between Norwegian and international students and works to sustain the connections with local student organizations. Membership with ISU is free and open to all international students in Norway. Elections for the executive board are held once a year and all international students have the right to run for office and to vote.

The members of the board meet in the student post office approximately every two weeks after classes and work in a team environment to discuss many different aspects of the international student life. We face our share of problems from time to time and work hard as a board to find solutions that are suitable for everyone. The key word for the members of ISU in Aas is democracy. The decisions are made as a team in a friendly and cooperative environment and each member has the right to come with proposals, suggestions, and advice. The general assemblies that ISU attempts to hold once a year are open to everyone. We hope to see the next general assembly occurring sometime this semester to discuss the constitution.

The highest organ of ISU is the National Assembly that carries out the working plans and realizes the budget for all ISU activities. ISU’s local branches are present at the universities of Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim, Tromsoe, and Aas and at the university-colleges (Hoegskolen) of Oslo, Narvik and Stavanger. In addition, NHH Bergen has a local branch to serve their MiB program. Local branches have the autonomy to decide the conditions for their own activities.

ISU Board 2005-2006

Andrea Lawseth, President of ISU, was born in Canada and has lived most of her life on Vancouver Island. She attended the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, where she earned her BSc in Agroecology with a specialization in Animal Science. She has worked in many different jobs throughout her university career and has gained a wealth of experience to offer to ISU. Currently, she is in her first year in the MSc in Agroecology program here at UMB. She plans to do a semester abroad in Wales and eventually return to Canada to write her thesis. Her favourite hobbies include hiking, yoga, reading and travelling.

Shimelse Mekonnen Ali, Vice-President of ISU, was born in Ethiopia. He has a bachelor’s degree in Economics and is now studying at UMB in order to obtain his master’s in Development and Resource Economics. His interests are reading, listening to music, and playing football.

Miriam Venturi, Social Secretary , is a Member of Social-Sport Committee and also a Member of the International Committee at Sumfunnet, was born in Verona and earned a MSc in Agricultural Science and Technology at the University of Tuscia in Viterbo. She spent ten months in England working as an au pair and also worked as a part time laboratory assistant at the University of Tuscia. She also worked for two years as a secretary for a marble company. She is presently studying at UMB in order to obtain a MSc in Agroecology. Her hobbies are reading, cooking, listening to music, travelling, modern art, architecture, jogging, trekking, cross-country skiing and swimming.


Tawina Jane Kopa, Secretary for ISU, was born in Malawi. She has a BSc in Agriculture obtained from the University of Malawi and is now studying for a MSc in MNRSA at UMB. She worked as an Irrigation Agronomist in the Department of Irrigation Services in the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Development in Malawi. She is a member of the International Young Professionals through the YES campaign and also a board member for the National Youth Council of Malawi and a Co-ordinator for the Young Women Empowerment for Economic Development Organization (WEEDO) in Malawi. Her hobbies are reading novels, writing poems, making friends and travelling.

Joseph Kawuki Kiggundu, Treasurer of ISU, was born in Kabarole, Uganda. He holds a BSc in Agricultural Science from the University of Makerere of Kampala and he is currently studying at UMB for his master’s in MNRSA. He has worked as a research assistant and an agricultural officer for two years while in Uganda and has a lot of skills to offer to the ISU team. He likes making friends and watching and playing all kinds of sports, but football is his favourite!!

Bærbel Prevost, Social-Sport Committee Member, was born in Austria, where she is currently a student of the Austrian University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences in Vienna. She is crazy for snow-covered mountains and loves to have powder under her skis. She also enjoys cross-country skiing, cycling, swimming, and capoeira. She is looking forward to organizing some sports activities for everybody for the coming semester. She hopes we'll all have a great time in Aas and can share a lot of activities together, both Norwegians and International students.

Eduardo Aguilar, Web-keeper of ISU, is from Costa Rica. He has a BSc in Plant Science and is currently enrolled in the MSc program in Agroecology at UMB. He will be taking care of the web page of ISU, and he hopes they will be very useful to open a clear and direct channel of communication between the board’s work and the international community’s needs.

Eyilachew Yitayew, Social-Sport Committee Member, was born in East Gojjam, Ethiopia, and obtained a master’s degree in Water Resources from Addis Abeba University. He has participated in different international conferences, seminars, and training courses in Europe and Africa as well. He has work experience in the water sector in Ethiopia and has been involved in different government and private organizations in the water resource sector. He is presently studying for a MSc in MNRSA. His hobbies include scientific investigation and findings, swimming, listening to local music, and joking around. He also wants to participate in humanitarian issues and assist homeless people or excluded groups and individuals in maintaining their social rights.



Updated: 14.03.06
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