Bardia Mohammadizadeh is running for one of two student seats available on UBC’s Board of Governors (BoG) on a platform promoting representation for UBC’s Faculty of Science, addressing UBC’s Generative AI policy and increasing undergraduate research funding.
While the second-year neuroscience student acknowledged he didn’t have much university government experience, he said he has taken on leadership roles at UBC by tutoring for the Science Undergraduate Society and being an Imagine-Day orientation leader.
However, Mohammadizadeh said his closest experience managing budgets was when he was the head editor of his yearbook team back in highschool.
Mohammadizadeh decided to run because only one out of the last six student governors on BoG have been from the Faculty of Science — that was biology student Georgia Yee in 2021.
“I'm one of the few science students who's running for this position,” Mohammadizadeh said. “I think [that] is disappointing, and so I would like to see my faculty represented more.”
Of the seven candidates, Mohammadizadeh is accompanied by only one other science student — Norah Perkins, who is also a newcomer to UBC governance.
As a second-year, Mohammadizadeh also said he would bring a new, fresh perspective to the role if elected.
“Being a younger student, the connections that I have to the new students that are coming in is valuable.”
On Generative AI, Mohammadizadeh called UBC’s current policies “too vague and too generalized,” and said UBC should move towards better utilization of AI as a tool. He also added that UBC should provide AI tools like Chatgpt premium for free as a part of the resources students already receive through UBC Library.
“AI is one of the most powerful tools of our generation, but a lot of people also fear it, especially our teachers and professors, because of concerns about dishonesty and misconduct,” said Mohammadizadeh. “I want UBC to stand up for this issue.”
Regarding undergraduate research funding, Mohammadizadeh said UBC needs to provide more funding to raise the number of research positions available for its pool of “motivated students.”
“[Students] really want to just do research and get out there, but they can't, because the positions are so limited, and a lot of the time it leads to them leaving the school and going to other universities,” he said. “I think that's a wasted opportunity.”
The AMS recently secured an additional funding of $250,000 for undergraduate research to be distributed across three faculties. When asked if funding or the number of opportunities is the issue, Mohammadizadeh said the funding UBC has already secured needs to be better distributed across more positions.
In response to The Ubyssey’s question on continuous student calls for divestment, Mohammadizadeh said members of the BoG should “absolutely take into consideration human rights violations.”
“Ethical consideration is a big part of this job, and listening to what the students want is also a big part of this job,” he said.
"If the vast majority of the student body wants us to cut funding into something or cut investment into something, I think we should listen to them."
This article is part of our 2025 AMS Elections coverage. Follow us at @UbysseyNews on X (formerly Twitter) and follow our election coverage starting March 3.
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