Arsalan Ghani from Faisalabad has been elected as the President of the Cambridge University Graduate Union. He defeated his rival Amie Ladley in the elections and will lead the student union representing 12,000 MA, M Phil and PhD students studying at Cambridge University. It is a sabbatical position meaning that Arsalan Ghani has to take a full time role as president and head the union offices.
This is the first time ever, in the over 800-year history of the Cambridge University that a Pakistani student has been elected as the President of the Graduate Union, somewhat similar to what Shaheed Benazir Bhutto had achieved as leader of the Oxford union.
After the announcement of results, Arsalan Ghani thanked all his supporters. He said he decided to participate in the elections to protect the students’ rights and improve their academic and social experience. He vowed to raise voice against the increase in the fees and the funding cuts in the education sector.
Arsalan Ghani also promised to work towards increasing and better advertising the University’s internal part-time jobs and supervision opportunities so that the graduate and especially international students can benefit.
Arsalan did his bachelors from National Textile University Faisalabad and then Masters in Belgium. He worked in industry, university and government before proceeding for his PhD in manufacturing policy from Cambridge University.
Arsalan Ghani has been involved in various campaigns during his studies in Pakistan and Europe for the right to free education and against government austerity measures affecting education.
