The new members of the SFS Committee for International Affairs, Komit, for the 2026/27 academic year had their handover last week. The handover was carried out over three intensive days filled with European student policy, engaging visits and team building.
The handover took place at the SFS office in Stockholm and was led by both SFS presidium and last year's Committee members.
This year, Komit has five brand new members: Hermela Embaye (Stockholm University), Saga Mattsson (Halmstad University College), Victoria Söderberg (Gothenburg University), Gumru Nuri Ahundzada (Royal Academy of Music) and Alexander Palme (Gothenburg University).
Day 1
On Tuesday, the focus was on all the basic information about SFS as an organization and its business plan for 2026/27, as well as an introduction to EU higher education policy. These parts served as a starting point for a review of the Committee's work and the main themes of the handover.
It is important to mention that Komit also received an introduction to the role of SFS within the umbrella organization European Students' Unions (ESU, more about them below!). A big issue within both ESU as an organization, but also for SFS as a member organization and our influence.
Day 2
Wednesday started early with an exciting visit to Robin Moberg and Lelav Zandi at the Ministry of Education. There, Komit learned about the important Bologna Process, how the EU handles education policy through soft power, and what Sweden's position is in this.
After the visit to the Ministry of Education, the handover continued back to the SFS office where Komit gained a deeper insight into the Bologna Process and how it affects both the Swedish higher education system and the EU's Erasmus+ program. Komit also learned about which aspects of the different organizations/functions overlap and differ.
After that, Komit received a digital visit from Bryan O'Mahony, who sits on the ESU Executive Committee. He is the SFS "buddy" within ESU, which means that he acts as Komit's contact person for questions, support and other important matters! In other words, a very important visit for all of us in Komit.
After that, Komit got the long-awaited (and long!) introduction to ESU. Among other things, we learned about ESU's history (where Sweden was actually one of the founders!) and about the umbrella organization's policies. We also went through how ESU's policies are similar and different from SFS's position on various issues, and how Komit takes SFS's opinions and translates them to the ESU level. After this, we went through all 43 (!) member organizations, their activities and their main issues in ESU.
In addition to ESU, there is also the network NOM (Nordiskt ordførandemöte), which consists of the national student organizations of the Nordic and Baltic countries: SFS and our siblings. Komit therefore gained a deeper understanding of the role of NOM and SFS in this organization, as well as what the network's conferences look like and how they differ from ESU.
We also discussed the European Universities Initiative (EUI) and SFS's own EUI network. The committee looks forward to picking up where the previous committee left off and meeting students involved in their respective university alliances!
Day 3
The last day of the handover began with another visit for Komit, this time to the University Chancellor's Office (UKÄ), where Komit met Sebastian Steele and Maria Wikse and learned about and discussed internationalization in quality assurance. The focus was, among other things, on transnational quality assurance, "The Joint European Degree Label", and what UKÄ will focus on in the future.
After this thought-provoking visit, the handover concluded with photography and early planning of which events will take place in the fall of 2026, as well as Komit's practical arrangements for these.
In summary, it was an intense three days for the new Committee, but now it is time for us members to roll up our sleeves and get ready for all the international meetings and conferences during the 2026/27 financial year.
Many thanks to Robin Moberg and Lelav Zandi at the Ministry of Education and Sebastian Steele and Maria Wikse at UKÄ for your informative presentations. We would also like to thank all our representatives David, Matilda, Némo, Hampus and Andreé, as well as SFS presidium for your unforgettable efforts and continuous support during the handover!
All's Well,
Hermela, Saga, Victoria, Gumru and Alexander
Read more about Komit and their work on the committee's page, here!