The Swedish National Union of Students (SFS) is a member-driven organisation and is the collective student voice in Sweden. SFS organises around 50 student unions at universities and places of higher education throughout Sweden. Together these represent more than 390 000 students, including around 18 000 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 Committee
SFS-DK is a committee in SFS which works as an advisory board for the presidium and board of SFS in questions regarding doctoral 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.
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, and is entitled to up to 50 days prolongation in accordance with SUHF REK. 2020:2.
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, organisational work and representing others
The chairperson is expected to:
- Lead SFS-DK’s strategic, executive, and operational work, including planning, organising and leading the meetings of SFS-DK.
- Represent SFS-DK in respect to other parties internally within SFS as well as toward other actors outside of the organisation, including by informing the board of SFS of the committee’s activities through SFS-DK’s report.
- Attend SFS’s member meetings, SFSFUM, the introduction day for new members of SFS or other similar events.
- Maintain contact and representation (together with other members of SFS-DK) with all relevant organisations that are concerned with research education, research and the general conditions of doctoral students. This includes, among others, trade unions and Eurodoc.
- Send out information to representatives of SFS-DK, local doctoral committees and other relevant organisations about the work of SFS-DK at least once per semester.
- Have a great interest in representing doctoral students at the national level
Vice-chairs of SFS-DK
The vice-chairs of SFS-DK are expected to work closely together with the chair of SFS-DK. This includes planning the meetings and other work of SFS-DK as well as representing SFS-DK within the organization of SFS.
The vice-chairs are entitled to up to 30 days of prolongation each in accordance with SUHF REK. 2020:2, which corresponds to the expected workload of their role.
We are looking for someone that:
- Is a doctoral student at a Swedish higher education institution
- Can communicate well in English, both verbally 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 at university, national, or international level
- Leadership experience
The elected vice-chairs are expected to:
- Participate in the tasks listed under the expectation for the chairperson of SFS-DK.
Ordinary members of SFS-DK
Members of SFS-DK are expected to participate in four whole day meetings that are held annually in SFS-DK, possible video meetings in between the whole day meetings, as well as email correspondence. There can be some work in between meetings.
Ordinary members of SFS-DK are entitled up to 10 days of prolongation in accordance with SUHF REK. 2020:2, for the work which corresponds to the expected workload of their role.
We are looking for someone that:
- Is a doctoral student or a recent graduate of doctoral studies of a Swedish higher education institution, or otherwise has extensive knowledge in doctoral student affairs
- Can communicate in English both verbally and in written form
- Has the ability to collaborate well with others
It is also of merit if you have:
- Experience with student representation and/or doctoral representation
Elected ordinary members of SFS-DK are expected to:
- Participate actively at the meetings of SFS-DK, both in the approximately four full-day (physical) meetings and additional (mostly digital) meetings.
- Stay updated and interested in the general aspects of research education, research, and the general conditions of doctoral students in Sweden.
- Follow the guidelines, opinions and policies that SFS has which are relevant for SFS-DK, such as decisions made by SFSFUM including the SFS’s statutes, operational plan, SFS Programme of opinions
Nomination
Please send your nomination no later than May 23rd to SFS-DK chairperson Topias Tolonen-Weckström, [email protected].
The nomination should contain the following:
- A motivational/personal letter written by the candidate (1-2 pages long)
- The candidate’s CV, including any relevant representative positions or other applicable experience
- Any possible references
- Which positions the candidate is applying for (chair, vice-chair, or ordinary member).
If you cannot spend the expected workload the nomination should contain information regarding this.
For applicants to the position of chair of SFS DK: 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] in the title of your email. If you have any questions about the nomination or positions please contact SFS-DK chairperson Topias Tolonen-Weckström, [email protected].
Election process
The nomination period is open from the 15th of April to the 23rd of May. It is the board of SFS that elects members and vice-chairs of SFS-DK. A nomination committee with representatives from the board and SFS-DK has been appointed by the board, to interview the candidates if applicable, and to prepare a decision for the board.
Relevant candidates with valid nominations will be called for digital interviews around the middle of May which will be conducted by members of the nomination committee. The interviews will be around 30 minutes long.
The nomination committee will make a recommendation to the board and the board of SFS will elect the chair, vice-chairs and ordinary members at their board meeting during the weekend 13th and 15th of June.
The elected chair, vice-chair and ordinary members will be contacted separately after the decision. The elected chair is expected to participate in the planning of hand-over, and the elected vice-chairs and ordinary members are expected to participate in the work of SFS-DK starting from 1st of August.