Tahmid Chowdhury: Candidate for Student Trustee

By Julie Capkova

As the whole campus prepares to vote in the upcoming student elections, The Print has interviewed a number of candidates standing for representative and executive positions. All candidates were invited to participate. Those who did not respond are not included. Other candidates are available and students can see all of them on qmsu.org/elections. Anything mentioned in the text reflects the candidates’ opinions, not The Print’s. The length of the interviews does not imply preferences for a candidate, but instead ensures that we are factually reporting on their interviews. 

Tahmid Chowdhury, running for the student trustee position, says that he decided to run, because university ‘is about much more than just lectures and classes. It is about participation, making a difference, and learning even outside our classes.’ Tahmid also states that he sees this position as ‘an investment and a stepping stone for future roles.’ He believes that this role would give him strong insights for the future. He then continues by describing his previous experiences in formal leadership roles, which ‘equipped’ him with ‘strong networking skills.’ 

Tahmid’s campaign addresses several key issues he would like to focus on if elected. Those include scholarships, safe spaces on campus, ethical investment at QMUL and the concerns around the limited job market and the cost of living crisis.

One of Tahmid’s main points addresses the aspect of ‘safe spaces’ on campus. He plans to increase the number of permanent women’s only spaces and the number of multifaith spaces, to achieve a stronger sense of inclusion. 

Tahmid further emphasises the importance of clear communication. He plans to ‘actively communicate with the elected candidates to communicate and gain feedback from people who represent their best interests.’ He also plans to ‘actively collaborate with the team who are all aware of issues that have not been prioritised.’ 

He further elaborates by emphasising the importance of ‘data and clear-cut strategic plans and steps.’ This would give him a clearer idea about the issues students currently face and what changes they would like to see implemented. ‘Implemented decisions should be transparent and evidence-based.’ 

He believes that the cost of living crisis is the biggest concern students currently face. Addressing this issue would be one of his top priorities, because he doesn’t want ‘the fees or the cost of living deter anyone from attending university and getting a good education.’ 

‘My goal is to help the Board make decisions that protect the charity’s long‑term stability while ensuring students continue to benefit from high‑quality services and opportunities.

While he recognises that representing everyone, including those voices who might disagree with him, is a difficult task, he still wants to listen to those voices and give them space to be heard. He believes that this is a great way to ‘get insight’ and even ‘challenge’ his own views and opinions. 

For Tahmid, success at the end of his term as a student trustee would be the prioritisation and implementation of the policies he advocates for that are ‘closely linked with a number of other candidates,’ and ‘achieving goals as a collective, and not just our own individual policies.’

He concludes by saying: ‘Whilst some people may want a candidate with slightly more duration than me, this role extends beyond its simple position requirements. It is about trust and strong representation of the student body.’ 

Voting runs from 23 to 26 March 2026.