Abhilash Ram
Role: President
Department: Microtechnology
Nationality: Indian
Languages: Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi, English, and learning Swedish along with several others!
“Hi! I’m Abhilash. You can call me Abhi. Everyone does! I’m from India and here at Chalmers I study Microtechnology. Before I came to Sweden I worked for 3 years as a software engineer at India’s largest and best known software engineering consultancy – Infosys. During that time, I also taught English, mathematics and Hindi to visually challenged children. Here at CIRC 2011 I am the President. Apart from “CIRCing”, I love music, singing, my violin, making friends, meeting people, helping them, learning about languages, customs and cultures, food, movies, space science, and the list is so long that I cannot even imagine beginning to finish it! People know me as someone who is always smiling and having a good time. I joined CIRC, because this is where I can put all of my energy, skills and experience to help those who really need help. It gives me immense satisfaction in putting a smile on the face of someone and I thank CIRC 2010 for having given me the opportunity to do so everyday for the next one year. So if you need anything do not hesitate to contact any of us at CIRC. We are here to help you!”
Melissa Lopez Rivera
Role: Vice President
Department: Industrial Ecology For A Sustainable Society
Nationality: Honduras
Languages: Spanish, English, Swedish (in Process)
“Humm…? I am very interested in sustainable development and I hope to have the possibility to be helpful to the society, specially that where I came from. For now CIRC is a good starting point. I enjoy to discover new worlds and that is posible every day in the most simple way you can imagine. I don’t feel afraid to cross new doors and confront those thinks that challenge me. Why? Because I am brave and decisive and maybe a little bit loca! Welcome to Chalmers!”
Lian Hong Zheng
Role: Secretary
Department: Mechanical Engineering
Nationality: Swedish
Languages: Chinese, Swedish, English, German
“I was born in China and came to Sweden when I was 10 years old. I have experience of two very different cultures and it took time to get used to it. I am glad to be in CIRC and be able to meet new people from all around the world and help them in having a comfortable and exciting beginning in Chalmers and a good stay in Gothenburg.”
Alexander Andersson
Role: Treasurer
Department: Automation & Mechatronics Bachelor
Nationality: Swedish
Languages: Swedish, English and some Japanese.
“I am a 2nd Year bachelor student at Automation and Mechatronics at Chalmers. I have lived most of my life in the city of Uppsala, 60 km north of Stockholm, but have also lived in the north of Sweden in a town called Piteå (the city used by our guide in Shanghai to teach us how to say “beer” (pi jou) in mandrin) =). I like to travel and have been most in Japan and Spain, but also Cuba, Guatemala, USA, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore among others. I joined CIRC to be able to meet people and learn about different cultures and languages. I hope you all will like Sweden and the (maybe quite unusual) way Swedish people are. Welcome to Sweden.”
Qiu Zhiyu
Role: Lindholmen Manager
Department: Shipping and Marine Technology
Nationality: China
Languages: Chinese, English
“My name is QIU Zhiyu. I come from China. For your convenience, call me QIU. However, if you love challenge, try my given name Zhiyu. I can speak Chinese and English. I like movies, TV dramas as well as football games. But I rarely play football, because I don’t want to be a proof of ridiculous Chinese football As the first Lindholm Manager, My job is to connect the two campuses. So the students who studying or will study in Lindholm campus would never feel isolated again. I would also be pleased to show Lindholm campus to the students from Johnneberg. CIRC is a great union that I recommend to everybody. I’ve made lots of friends since l joined it last year and I am sure you would. You would never imagine how many activities and parties we are going to organize for you. Come and join us, you really don’t wanna miss it.”
Ivana Komatina
Role: External Relations
Department: Architecture
Nationality: Serbian
Languages: Serbian (Croatian, Bosnian, Montenegrin), English, Spanish, Russian
“Hej everybody, my name is Ivana and I am from Belgrade, capital city of Serbia. I came to Sweden sometime during August 2010 and had a lot of help from CIRC during first couple of weeks. This is, I guess the main reason why I decided to join the team this year (surely, it wasn’t because of the uniform). As it happens, I have a lot of hidden talents, which I cannot speak about. All you need to know is “if there is something to be done, ask me. I cannot lift more than 20kg but I can do some other stuff. What else, what else? I enjoy nice weather and sun, going for long walks, playing computer games, being a nerd, shopping, reading, to draw and paint, say blah blah when I find something boring and so on. To keep this short, I am open to almost any new experience and culturally different thing, as long as it is fun and interesting. See you around!”
Daniela Farias
Role: Webmaster
Department: Architecture – Msc. Design for Sustainable Development
Nationality: Brazilian
Languages: Portuguese, English and soon Swedish!
“I’m Dani and I’m brazilian! (No, I can’t dance or play football, so don’t bother asking.) I’m an architect taking a master’s in Design for Sustainable Development here at Chalmers, so I spend most of my day locked inside the A building with all those other poor and crazy zombies. I joined CIRC because I loved to be able to make friends soon after arriving in Sweden (heck, in fact even before!), and that made me feel very welcome. I want everybody to feel the same! I’m also famous for being a HUGE nerd, and that’s why they made me the webmaster of the group. My passions are gadgets, games and music. So yeah, if something is broken (or if you just want to discuss Android x iOS or play Team Fortress 2), poke me. ”
Mohammad Ravanavar
Role: Activity Manager
Department: Master of Quality and Operations Management
Nationality: Iran
Languages: Persian, English, Swedish, a little Polish, and 1 sentence in French
“Hi to whom is reading this My name is Mohammad Ravanavar, but you MUST call me Mehrdad, . I am a master student in Chalmers and I have done my bachelor in Industrial Engineering. First of all, I am hyperactive and my biggest problem is that I never get tired . I am crazy about music. I play the guitar. sport is a big part of my life. I used to do rollerskating before and now I ice-skate. It is not an exaggeration if I say I had worn skates more than shoes. I am a big fan of cars and motorcycles. The guys who watch Top-Gear on BBC knows what I mean . My job in CIRC is to plan activities for new international students at Chalmers. Do not hesitate to contact me for any question or any problem you might face regarding staying and studying in Sweden.”
Julio César
Role: Activity Manager
Department: Complex Adaptive Systems’
Nationality: Mexican
Languages: English, Spanish
“I am the kind of person who enjoys the simple things of the life. From a beautiful landscape, a candy or an interesting talk with somebody, I am always trying to do something simple but important at the same time. I remember that when I came to Sweden, I was really impress by the energy and the amount of time that the previous CIRC members spent organizing activities for us as new students at Chalmers. That is one of the reasons because I’m part of CIRC, I want to return and share with all of you that feeling.”
Abhishek Rachumallu
Role: Phadder Manager
Department: Networking & distributed systems
Nationality: Indian
Languages: Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, English and trying to learn Swedish.
“Hi, I’m Abhishek from India. My pals call me Abhi and here at Chalmers, I’m doing my Masters in Networking and distributed systems. I love playing snooker, cricket & Travelling, and stuff like watching movies, knowing info about latest gadgets. I came to Sweden on 23rd August, 2010 and I made a lot of friends through CIRC conducted events, it was awesome..! I like to know about different traditions from various countries, CIRC is the best place for that. Sweden is a very peaceful country and Gothenburg is a fascinating city with beautiful lakes, shopping malls, amusement parks and charming place for students. Chalmers is the perfect place to have fun during your studies. Our CIRC members welcome all of you to join in the activites and have joyable student life. We are here to help all the students as much as possible. I’m sure CIRC is going to make splendid time during your student life. Welcome to Sweden. Bye bye..!!”
Mahdieh Mirhashemi
Role: Phadder Manager
Department: Computer and Informatics
Nationality: Persian
Languages: English, Persian, Swedish and French (in progress)
“Hi! My name is Mahdieh. I am from Iran and study Network and distributed systems here at Chalmers. I was Network administrator for about 3 years. Everythingwas good but to further my study, self-realization, broaden my horizon and to make international friends, I came to Sweden and joined CIRC, which is of course the best experience of my life until now. I am a kind of person who smiles all the time and have a lot of energy to help others cause of believing in humanity. Sport, watching movies, reading and writing poem and hanging out with friends are my favourite leisure activities. CIRC is the best place for any kind of help you may ever need at Chalmers. I am looking forward to get to know all of you; surely we are going to have a very good time together.