The Swedish National Union of Students (SFS) is a member-driven organization and is the collective student voice in Sweden. SFS organizes around 50 student unions at universities and places of higher education throughout Sweden. Together these represent more than 390 students, including doctoral students. SFS main purpose is to represent and promote the members' and students' interests in education, research and student welfare issues at the national level.
About SFS-DK, SFS doctoral student committee
SFS-DK is a committee in SFS which works as an advisory board for the presidium and board of SFS in questions regarding third-cycle education, research and the general conditions of doctoral students. SFS-DK aims to enable SFS to influence the development of the third cycle education, research, and the general conditions of doctoral students in Sweden.
SFS-DK also works within SFS to bring attention to these issues. SFS-DK consists of 7 members who are doctoral students at Swedish higher education institutions. Of these 7 members, one is the chairperson of SFS-DK, and 1-2 are vice-chairs of SFS-DK. SFS-DK has a mandate period from the 1st of August to the 31st of July.
SFS-DK hosts an informational meeting on Thursday 25th April at 17:00 on Zoom about the call for nomination and the work of SFS-DK in general. The invitation will be sent directly to local Doctoral Student Organisations, but you are also very welcome to contact [email protected] for a direct invitation for this meeting.
The task as chairperson of SFS-DK
As chairperson of SFS-DK, you are the national representative for doctoral students in Sweden together with the SFS presidium. The main tasks of the chairperson include leading the work of SFS-DK, maintaining contact with the SFS presidium and board, and other representational work. The chairperson of SFS-DK is expected to spend 50 working days in total on the task.
We are looking for someone who:
- Is a doctoral student at a Swedish higher education institution
- Is proficient in English both orally and in written form
- Has the ability to collaborate well with others, both internally and externally
It is also of merit if you:
- Have experience with student representation and/or doctoral representation
- Have experience of the Swedish student union system
- Have experience of working within the higher education sector
- Understand written and spoken Swedish
- Have experience with a leadership position, organizational work and representing others
- Have a great interest in representing doctoral students at the national level
Appointment
Please send your nomination no later than May 13th to SFS Vice President Klara Dryselius via [email protected]. Nominations can be made by a member union of SFS, a group of at least 10 members from a member union, members in the board of SFS and members in SFS-DK.
The nomination should contain the following:
- A motivational/personal letter written by the candidate (1-2 pages long)
- The candidate's CV, also containing contact details of phone and email
- Contact information on who is nominating the candidate
- At least one reference containing contact details of phone and/or email
If the nominee suspects that they will not be able to undertake the entire workload (50 working days) or if you are a representative of a political party, a trade union or an advocacy group, the nomination should contain information regarding this.
Tag your nomination with [Nomination SFS-DK Chairperson] in the title of your email. If you have any questions about the nomination please contact Vice President Klara Dryselius, [email protected]. For questions regarding the position please contact SFS-DK chairperson Topias Tolonen-Weckström, [email protected].
Election process
It is the board of SFS that elects the chairperson of SFS-DK. To assist the board in this matter, the board has appointed a preparatory election committee (PEC) with representatives from the board and SFS-DK.
Candidates with valid nominations will be called for digital interviews to be conducted by members of the PEC. The PEC will make a recommendation to the board, and the board will elect SFS-DK members and chairpersons on 14-16th of June 2024.