Joel Agarwal is the 2019-2020 Vice President Academic for the University of Alberta Students' Union and a Science student with a keen interest in research. Having been involved in student governance for the past two years, he has served the University of Alberta Students' Union as a Faculty of Science Councillor as well as on the General Faculties Council (GFC) which is the primary academic decision making legislative body at the University of Alberta. Within these roles, he actively sat on various committees and developed his passion for student governance, and student academics. Joel represents and advocates on behalf of undergraduate students in their academic concerns. He is passionate about undergraduate research, open education resources, and ensuring students have the resources available to reach academic excellence.

Apart from governance, Joel has a diverse background where he has an interest in health policy and pulmonary research. He has been involved with the Undergraduate Research Initiative (URI) as a journal reviewer and peer mentor and was a past recipient of the URI research award. Born in Saskatchewan and raised in Calgary, he has an appreciation for the prairies, mountains and the wild. In his spare time, Joel is an avid nature photographer, loves jazz, and plays the piano and trombone.