What does the "researchers community" mean in TAU? An essay as food for thoughts

The international community in TAU is a broad group of students and scholars who come from everywhere in the world and live for a few years in Tel Aviv. As such, we are definitely entitled to extra care that the typical Israeli citizens don't need because they have spent a lifetime here, in their country. This evidently stark difference, other than the language barrier and the different lifestyles, is also what define us as the international community.

But wait a moment. What is a community? What should it do within the University (and maybe also outside) environment?

We start this discussion with the assumption that in TAU, the international school is a relatively new concept, that has been developed in the last 8 years plus or minus. And that the international students have been here even before that. In this perspective, the international school is shaping its identity and modus operandi year after year, offering assistance, bureaucracy solutions and various opportunities for our fun and personal/professional growth, in the effort to get the students together. In other words, it's a work in progress for the betterment of our experience.

Informal gatherings, personal friendships, colleagues and PIs are also helping us with a friendly and unconditional approach, as a favor, and not as their job. Nevertheless, most of us are in the country as a solo player; some of us are lucky to have their spouse (and children) with them, but for sure none of us has a complete welfare system around themselves.

So, let's go back to the point. What is a community? A dictionary definition of it has two declinations:

1) a group of people living in the same place or having particular characteristics in common

2) a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests and goals

These definitions are equal in the same broad meaning of the community concept. Obviously, the first instance of the definition is quickly well set. We are definitely a pool of students living in the same place and having the "TAU" characteristics in common.

The second instance instead is almost a philosophical matter. 

Living TAU together as internationals does not mean automatically that we are fellows. This second instance of "community" definition needs to be explored, especially in the TAU population. Basically, there are two visions for this: one is the informal groups of students here and there that have something in common (living in Broshim, or the chess club, etc...), from the smallest ones to the big projects, as the one we - the volunteers in the researchers' community - are pursuing, which is creating a peer-to-peer, open-minded and democratic social group encompassing all researchers.

The other one is the client-based approach, which is more formal and allows for things to work in a safe, legal, uniform manner. This is the typical approach of TAU international school, since it is a legal, recognized institutional body and the people inside it are workers, with real working contracts and hierarchy.

So far, so good. These two realities can, and should, coexist because they are complementary and equally important.

What we need to make "sound good" is the core identity of the community itself. Chemistry and physics teach us that things don't happen spontaneously, unless some initial energy is provided. Same here: if we want the community to be a fellowship and not just a coordinated network of elements (the students) organized as a chess board, we need to put input and energy to make things work.

Fellowship means to be available to help each other, as much as one can. Fellowship means that your problem probably concerns me as well, because we are living the same situation. Fellowship means compassion and understanding above the strict bureaucratic rules that regulate the human matters like a traffic lights in the city.

Fellowship also means giving something of you away just for the sake of helping the community to thrive, because there is this "common good" and drop by drop, you can make an ocean.

It'sbnot only pure passion, it can also be a matter of survival strategy, because not everyone has the same love for humanity that us volunteers have. Even for the most selfish person, it's about having an interface that is humane and friendly, not only a professional one (which could be made of very nice people too!).

At this point in the history of TAU, things become blurry because the bureaucratic, well-formed, client-based matter is starting to flow into the social welfare, which is mostly made of informality and word of mouth. And vice versa. As you might have noticed, we are committed to achieve a minimum level of institutional recognition from this university and the people outside there, and for years we have advocated for the researchers needs and benefits. Nevertheless, we - the volunteers - are two ladies, sometimes supported by more people, who are basically researchers themselves, already committed to their academic appointment.

At the same time, TAU International School is also investing into creating the community according to the definition number two written above. Their vision is now involving the pool of international students, from all of the study categories and degrees, in contributing actively for a thriving, long-lasting, inclusive community branded Tel Aviv University.

Therefore we have the dilemma. Which approach works the best? On a hand, we - as volunteers in the community - have to ask all of the time for recognition and we don't have any budget. As we are not professionals in law, managerial organization, international mediation, what we can do is little compared to TAU int. School, because this is their expertise.

On the other hand, we are a bit concerned on the way the int. School is building a community that is meant to last even when the volunteers presence in TAU will no longer be. Paying some fellows, who live in Broshim and possess the requirements for a scholarship provided by the Student Union, in order to bring up the community and offer various activities - although theoretically reasonable - feels a bit discriminatory. For example, researchers who don't live in Broshim or the postdoc fellows are not entitled to apply for the scholarship because they are not students or they do not pay the welfare tax to the student union (thing that one can choose to pay as a student and probably can also be "paid" by living in Broshim).

These people who won the scholarship, elected unilaterally and not democratically, are called "volunteers", but if they are paid, they are functionaries, not volunteers.

This approach could be seen as a compromise between not having any opportunity and getting a fully professional services. Alright, it might work. But where is the fellowship? How can one who did not win the scholarship contribute and actively participate in the community affairs if they wish to do so?

Maybe one can send an email and sit to talk to someone from the int. School team. But it is again a one-to-one approach, not a community issue, especially if there was not interaction before.

In the case of us volunteers, it is tough to get the respect and the trust of the other fellows, exactly because we are not an institution and we need to demonstrate all of the time that we are motivated with good intentions.

Both cases, we (or the international school) are trying our best to create a TaylorMade welfare for us scholars in particular, because among the international community, we are a distinct group. And for the sake of the things discussed above, and the indispensable need for multidisciplinary interactions, we are actively trying to keep up because we believe that human fellows together, whether grouped for fun activities or scientific matters, can make amazing things. 

That's why we are open to any novelty, criticism, new approach, because the community should be dynamic and inclusive. Also because researchers have a sort of moral duty to advocate to the society outside on the cultural and scientific heritage of humankind, not only stay closed behind the lab or the office spaces working hectically. And bridges needs to be built instead of walls, because the things we have in common are more important than the things that divide us (in any instance of life), especially in the broad worldwide scientific/scholar community. It's a small, modest, meaningful way to counteract a world that everyday seems apocalyptically imploding.

But let's get back with the feet on the ground, and try to make something beautiful among us peers that is valuable for all of us.

Thus, what is a community?!