A third year undergraduate student of Interaction Design at Anant National University, Zarqa Khan serves as president of the student council. Her key interest areas include user studies, research and marketing, as well as interaction design, which she hopes to pursue further. She aspires to create designs for overall experiences that are natural and significant for applications, websites, and physical products.
She believes the undergraduate programme she is presently pursuing, with special focus on Interaction Design, is in line with her professional aspirations. When she is not studying, she enjoys event management, material art and calligraphy. She feels these activities serve as excellent outlets for her imagination and creativity, as well as enable her to develop essential skills for her chosen career path.
In the future, she aspires to pursue a master’s degree in Interaction Design.
The student council representative is a coveted position. How do you carry out your responsibilities and studies together?
It is an amazing experience to head a student council but it is challenging too. When things get busy, it becomes difficult to balance my student council activities with my studies. I had to become really good with time management, planning everything using planners and apps and putting everything in order. Staying organised and having set priorities ensures that I complete council tasks as well as my coursework.
However, there are other moments where things do not go as intended. There are circumstances whereby I have a meeting or other unplanned activities and I have to adjust to a lot more than I am used to. The same challenge is present during juries or when there are many big assignments due. I have come to realise however that keeping an open mind for when things get rough is really important. As flexible as I have had to become, I also find that there are a lot of decisions I need to be making on the spot. This does not always work with my study schedule because it can be very unstructured.
Even so, I remind myself of the unique skills I get to acquire through active leadership, effective communication, and problem solving which is perhaps just as eye opening as the knowledge we gain in classroom. Most importantly, when things become hectic I do my best to take a break in order to recharge and make sure that I do not experience burnout. I have been able to make it work with some planning and patience but it is without a doubt, a balancing act.
Fulfilling your responsibilities as a student council representative has its pros and cons. Friends have their umpteen demands on you. How do you maintain the same? Mention the challenges that come alongside this role..
Being a student council representative comes with its own ups and downs. One such challenge is the need to balance my responsibilities with spending good quality time with my friends. Because there is so much on my plate including assignments, council events and tasks in leadership it is difficult to be as available for my friends.
However, I try to be honest with them as far as possible while setting my boundaries. Mostly my friends understand my situation however I believe that it is important to keep the communication open so that no one feels ignored. While it is sometimes difficult, I make time for my friends whenever I can. These moments even include short conversations or hanging out with friends after university hours. These breaks are important because I get to recharge while making sure that I stay balanced. It is challenging at times but what I have learned to do is be clear with my friends about expectations which makes everything so much easier .
How much time do you spend on social media daily? Do you find it distracting?
I am active on social media but I keep it in proper limits. It is a great means of maintaining connections with friends and staying aware of what is going on in my surroundings and also it provides ample stuff I get inspired by my design work. Moreover, because my passions are user research and marketing I use it to inform me on the way people relate to both platforms and the types of content that get noticed.
However, I also find it to be time consuming. Sometimes I tend to forget what I am doing and end up just mindlessly scrolling or watching random videos and before I realise, I would have lost an hour or more. Therefore, when things get busy, I seriously work on holding back during free time in particular when I have assignments or council work to focus on.
To conclude, I think social media is useful if it is used consciously but I am being cautious not to get too carried away by it at the expense of things that I need to be doing first.
Have you understood the takeaways of the National Education Policy 2020?
Yes, I have actually made an effort to be aware of and explore the National Education Policy (NEP) of 2020 and I feel that it is a forward step in the direction of education for India. What actually strikes me is the way it is a more comprehensive approach to learning in general moving beyond the old ways along with the inclusion of critical thinking, creativity as well as life skills.
As a student in interaction design, such a concept truly resonates with me because I can relate to the idea of producing new creative skills or practical ones as alternative options to traditional subjects.
One of the things that impresses me the most in the NEP is the intention to link vocational education and skill development already in the early years. It’s only natural for students to be able to explore different fields and find out what topics they love more than just sticking to a certain rigid path of study. I believe this can enable a huge increase in practical learning opportunities, especially in the field of design.
Another aspect I resonate with is the reforms in examination system and focus on continuous assessment. As a result, the mental health programmes can gain more popularity and this is a good sign because it is a highly competitive world we live in today.
Finally, the integration of technology in education excites me a lot. It seems to me that NEP 2020 is a shift towards developing a more all embracing, more flexible and more skill focused education system and this is definitely a great development that is lying ahead.
Do you think the post of a student council representative helps you develop your soft skills and makes you ready for life after school too?
I really feel that my position as a member of the student council enables me to develop soft skills that will be very important in the industry. Although it is mainly about university activities, most of what I am learning like communication, leadership, time management, multitasking and event planning are competences that can be easily put into practised in the professional world.
Even getting feedback or criticism whether from peers or teachers was necessary soft skill development and I am certain it has set me on a path of professional growth. Of course, I realise that the professional world may be more demanding and complex than school life. The game is more serious in the workspace and the pressure is on quite a different level.
Nevertheless, I think that I am equipping myself for the future through the student council.
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