Dorcas Isabelle Lian Jia Ying
Candidate for
VP Academic
IBM with Marketing (Y2)
"Accountability, Communication, Empowerment"

How to reach me?
Instagram: @_dorcayyee_
Email: dl2004@hw.ac.uk
Mobile: +60163481070
Speech Recording
My Biography
Hello! My name is Dorcas, a second year student in IBM with Marketing, and I am currently running to be YOUR Academic Vice President.
I am someone often described as a go-getter, and someone who values progress over perfection. I thrive when I see my peers succeeding, and I only want what is best for my community. The elements I strictly live by are rationality and passion, despite these two seeming to be mutually exclusive. I believe that life is all about balance, and I allow my passion to drive me and become my source of motivation, and remind me of why I started something when I'm at the brink of giving up. Rationality is my grounding elixir and it is what keeps me focused, and guides me during decision-making. In other words, my passion creates the blueprint for me while my rationality paves the way for my life journey; and this same concept applies to my academic life.
My Manifesto
As your VP of Academics, I will strive to combine my experience and core values together to coordinate the academic department, and enhance the academic experience of both students and staff alike. Most importantly, I want to make the student voice heard. Academic excellence is the primary essence of universities, and from a rational point of view - the quality of the education received in a university is what creates the justification for fees and all the years spent studying!
Being part of the Academic Team doesn't just mean that we have to ensure that things are going how they supposed to be - exams having no hiccups, or having monthly meetings with class reps and staff to ensure everything is going just fine; however, as your next VP, I aim to go above and beyond to bring about changes that further enhances the learning experience of students. This goes beyond just the printed grades on your paper, but also to your overall wellbeing. My goal is to create a conducive and supportive learning environment for all Heriot-Watt students, and I strive to shape and strengthen the system to provide the needed support for you. I want to encourage and use my resources to supplement a system where students and staff alike are on the same page in terms of academic progression and milestones.
I aim to enhance and improve the academic experience for students, and progress into a more dynamic academic department that acts as a single vocal chord for thousands of voices.
What motivated me to nominate myself?
Personally, I have thoroughly reaped the benefits of immense self-growth and maturity with the past 2 years that I have spent in the Academic Department, and I aim to sharpen these qualities even further by challenging myself with a higher position. However, as a student myself, I have noticed several issues and vast areas of improvement in terms of the academic aspects in our university, and I aim to be the vessel that connects the students to the university. As cliché as it may sound, I want to make the student voice heard.
My top three priorities
1. To provide a conducive learning environment for students to flourish.
2. To supplement students’ academic life with HWUMSA’s available resources.
3. To construct a good and communicative relationship between lecturers and students.
What would I bring to the role?
The main thing I can bring to this role is my experience, as I have definitely gained lots of knowledge in the past few years in HWUMSA's Academic Department. With what I know, I believe I can carry out tasks more efficiently as I am already familiar with the existing system, and I know what is doable within realistic means of the university. With observing my own personal growth in such roles, I do think that I will be able to identify academic opportunities for students to develop their character and portfolio, and encourage growth together as a community.