Sometimes we think that we do not have the possibility to bring about change for the better. But do you know who was behind the decision of providing menstrual products in some bathrooms in that one department? Or who insisted that doctoral courses need to accept more students because of long queues? Or maybe who helped guide that doctoral student that was crying behind closed door? The answer to all of these questions is doctoral students just like you.
Learn who your doctoral student representatives are. Do you have an idea or maybe a complaint? Then they can help.
Do you want to become a doctoral student representative? Then keep an eye out for any openings here:
Doctoral Student Representatives can be split into several groups. Depending on your question or idea, then you might need to contact one or the other.
These doctoral student representatives operate at a departmental level. They are in charge of portraying the concerns and wishes of the doctoral students of their department towards the leadership of the department.
Student representation at KI’s central level is vital to make sure that the voice of doctoral students is heard at KI’s highest decision-making bodies. These are bodies that shape KI’s vision, strategy, investments, recruitment, and work environment.
These doctoral student representatives contribute to organising, planning, developing, and evaluating courses, seminars, and other activities.
The main function of the Doctoral Students’ Association (Doktorandsektionen; DSA) is twofold; 1) to represent the interests and concerns of doctoral students to the university administration and other relevant bodies, and 2) to build a sense of community. DSA is responsible for electing and coordinating all Doctoral Student Representatives. It is independent of KI and run by doctoral students for doctoral students.
Departmental Doctoral Student Representatives can have a wide variety of responsibilities, depending on the department’s needs and culture. They participate in several departmental meetings and have close contact with the study director. In some departments, they are also involved in the green light applications for PIs.
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Department
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Current doctoral student representative
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CMB
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FyFa
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GPH
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KI SÖS
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CNS
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KI DS
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CLINTEC
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KBH
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LabMed
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LIME
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MedH
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MedS
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MBB
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MEB
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MTC
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IMM
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MMK
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NVS
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Neuro
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DentMed
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OnkPat
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Student and Doctoral Safety Representatives (or SSOs in short) are the first contact for students who experience issues with their work environment. They participate in the work environment meetings of the department and are also involved in cases of harassment and discrimination against doctoral students. It is a very important position to ensure no supervisor or colleague abuses their position. We have created a guide on how to report harassment and discrimination.
SSOs form a network known as the “Safety Network”, which meets irregularly and discusses cases. You can find who the SSO of your department is at that page.
The Chief student safety representative (HSSO) coordinates the activities of the student safety representatives and cover the departments which lack a student safety representative. To help the HSSO, a deputy is also elected.
HSSO is a student representative in KI’s Safety Committee (Skyddskommitté). The Safety Committee is a consultative body and, according to the Work Environment Act (AML) participates in the planning and implementation of work environment activities.
For more information, visit their website: https://staff.ki.se/our-ki/safety-committee
Konsistoriet is the highest decision-making body of KI and is formed by members appointed directly by the Swedish Government, the KI president, the university director, and representatives of teachers, employees, and students. The board discusses issues on various topics, from KI’s overall vision and organisation, to employment, annual reporting, and important recommendations for all university sectors.
Current doctoral student representative: Yongbao Zhuang
You can read more about the committee here: https://ki.se/om-ki/konsistorium
The Faculty Board is chaired by the KI president (rektor) and includes the three academic vice-presidents, the three campus deans, three faculty/teacher representatives, and three student representatives. The vice-president (prorektor) and the university director also join the meetings. The Faculty Board is the main management decision body of KI, which is responsible for all academic and scientific issues, budget, infrastructure, and resource allocation at KI.
Current doctoral student representative: Alma Larsdotter Zweygberg
You can read more about the committee here: https://ki.se/en/about/the-faculty-board
The committee for research (KF) decides and discusses topics related to the preparation, quality, and implementation of research and supports the Faculty Board. As a student representative, you can take part in decisions related to the quality and implementation of research at KI.
Current doctoral student representative: Louisa Azizi
You can read more about the committee here: https://staff.ki.se/committee-for-research
The committee for doctoral education (KFU) makes decisions about doctoral education at KI, including funding, course quality, admission and dissertation procedures, and supervisor education. KFU sets the guidelines that will then be implemented by other committees and the departments, which in turn report back to KFU.
Current doctoral student representatives: Daniel Söderberg, Niels Krämer, and Nan Sophia Han
You can read more about the committee here: https://staff.ki.se/committee-for-doctoral-education
This committee decides on courses that are given on a doctoral level at KI, their budget, as well as the evaluation of the different doctoral programmes. It suggests which courses are compulsory in the PhD syllabus and makes strategic decisions on which kind of doctoral courses and programmes are needed at KI.
Current doctoral student representatives: Christina Tsagkogianni and Maria Angeliki Toli
You can read more about the committee here: https://medarbetare.ki.se/kurs-och-programkommitten
The dissertation committee reviews doctoral and licentiate defense applications to ensure they follow KI rules and are of high quality. The committee is divided in two local committees Solna & Flemingsberg, and each committee meets once a month on Zoom.
Doctoral student representatives are not allowed at this committee.
You can read more about the committee here: https://staff.ki.se/doctoral-education/time-to-defend-your-thesis/the-dissertation-committee
The steering group for KID funding is responsible for proposing decisions on KID-funding announcements and grading criteria and evaluating and following up on previous KID-funding rounds.
Current doctoral student representative: Andreas Brutscher
You can read more about the committee here: https://staff.ki.se/steering-group-for-kid-funding
The Network Medicine Alliance (NMA) is an initiative coordinated by Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) | Harvard Medical School. NMA’s long-term goals are to build strong interactions between national and NMA partners excellent in theory and methods development and to catalyze competence building in network medicine.
Current doctoral student representative: Zihan Qin
You can read more about the committee here: https://ki.se/en/collaboration/the-network-medicine-alliance
The docent committee is responsible for reviewing the docentship applications, and deciding whom to assign the title of docent.
There are currently no doctoral student representatives at this committee.
You can read more about the committee here: https://staff.ki.se/the-docent-committee
The goal of the Internationalisation Board is to coordinate and prioritise investments in international collaborations/ internationalisation within the university.
Doctoral student representative: Andreas Brutscher
You can read more about the committee here: https://staff.ki.se/our-ki/international-collaboration-and-internationalisation-for-staff/internationalisation-board
The KI/SLL Research council is the body under the collaborative organisation between KI and Stockholm Region responsible for discussing actions to implement the research collaborations between the two institutions.
Doctoral student representative: Theodora Ntetsika
You can read more about the committee here: https://ki.se/en/collaboration/collaborative-organisation-ki-region-stockholm
The Council for Environment and Sustainable Development advises the President on KI’s environmental and sustainability work.
Doctoral student representative: Niels Krämer
You can read more about the committee here: https://staff.ki.se/our-ki/kis-environmental-and-sustainability-management-system/council-for-environment-and-sustainable-development
Cancer Research KI (CR KI) serves as an overarching umbrella organisation for cancer research at KI, conducted by more than 400 research groups at multiple campuses and departments. The overall goal is to generate new scientific discoveries that can be rapidly translated into clinical practice for the benefit of patients and society.
Doctoral student representative: Sara Abu Ajamieh
You can read more about the committee here: https://ki.se/en/cancer-research-ki/about-cancer-research-ki
The Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Health (CESH) is a collaboration between Karolinska Institutet and Makerere University in Uganda. The aim is to develop capacity and mobilise actions towards achieving sustainable health, in accordance with the United Nations’ Agenda 2030.
Doctoral student representative: Giulia Dallagiacoma
You can read more about the committee here: https://ki.se/en/collaboration/international-collaboration/collaboration-networks/centre-of-excellence-for-sustainable-health
Doctoral programmes and Research schools organise and coordinate courses and learning activities specific to their research field. As a student representative, you will contribute to organising, planning, developing, and evaluating courses, seminars, and other activities. The steering groups usually meet 2-3 times/semester (although that might differ depending on the group).
The Course and Programme Committee (KPK) is the superordinate committee and coordinates/evaluates all steering groups.
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Programme
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Current doctoral student representative
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Epidemiology
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Public Health Science (PHSP)
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Biology of infections and global health (BIGH)
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Neuroscience
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Allergy, Immunology and Inflammation (AII)
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Cell Biology and Genetics
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Development and Regeneration (DevReg)
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Cardiovascular Research
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Health Care Science (PUF-V)
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Joint doctoral education programme in medical technology (KI-KTH)
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Research School
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Current doctoral student representative
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Health Science (FiH)
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Family medicine and primary care
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The Board of the Doctoral Students’ Association (Doktorandsektionen; DSA) consists of ten KI doctoral students. It is the main decision-making body of DSA and is responsible for organising social and scientific events for the doctoral student community at KI, taking care of the doctoral education and welfare needs, and maintaining a dialogue with the KI doctoral education leadership. Moreover, the DSA Board is electing and coordinating the work of all Doctoral Student Representatives. This workload is divided among different workgroups that focus on specific aspects of PhD life at KI. The DSA Board has its own budget that can be used to organise activities and events for doctoral students at KI.
The DSA Board Meetings are conducted in English, so no prior knowledge of Swedish is required. We always welcome people without previous experience to apply: the Board is often composed of experienced members and newcomers to guarantee a good working balance.
As the DSA Chairperson, you are the reference person for the KI doctoral student community. During the time period of your appointment, you will be in contact with KI leadership, the Presidium of the student union (Medicinska Föreningen; MF) and with other external associations and organisations.
You are responsible for coordinating the work of the DSA board, chairing the meetings, supporting the other Board Members, and supervising the working groups.
As the DSA Chairperson, you will have weekly or monthly meetings with the doctoral education committee and KI leadership during working hours, evening meetings for some of the student union’s committees, and handling a large volume of email correspondence. Although it sounds like a lot of work, the position has many benefits, allowing you to really get to know some of the most important people in Life Sciences in Stockholm and Sweden.
Language requirement: The tasks of this position can easily be accomplished without prior knowledge of Swedish; however, understanding Swedish can be useful.
This position requires the candidate to have previous experience of how the DSA Board functions and how the Doctoral Education is organised at KI. It is also suggested to have a spirit of initiative and the ability to relate and communicate with people in leading positions.
The DSA Vice-Chair works in collaboration with the DSA Chairperson to complete various DSA tasks. They attend many of the meetings together, while some are delegated amongst themselves. The Vice-Chair is responsible for ensuring smooth organisation and running of each of the DSA workgroups, and supporting the workgroup managers throughout the year. Additionally, this position requires the candidate to be flexible and willing to jump in and help out wherever a need arises. As such, there is no strict job description for the Vice-Chair, but the ability to work with a variety of different tasks and people is necessary. It is a fun and rewarding job, with the potential to become deeply involved in decisions made throughout all DSA workgroups, and several Central KI committees. Previous experience with the DSA board is helpful but not mandatory.
The DSA Secretary ensures the smooth running of DSA Board Meetings. Prior to meetings, the Secretary is responsible for scheduling the meeting, creating the agenda, properly announcing it, and keeping track of absentee members. During the meeting, the Secretary assists the DSA Chairperson, makes sure the agenda points stay within the allotted time, and most importantly, takes meeting notes. After the meeting, the Secretary collects signatures to verify the notes and archives them according to the protocol. If you are good at organising and want to learn more about the inner workings of DSA and KI, this is an excellent position for you.
The DSA Treasurer is the accountant of DSA and has the task of overviewing the expenses of the association. It is the DSA Treasurer’s job to manage the budget wisely and efficiently, keep the finances up to date, and make sure that everything gets paid on time.
There are no requirements in terms of language or previous experience in finance. It is a fun position to have as you keep in touch with all DSA workgroups to hear about their activity and budget plans, and as a reward, you gain insight into financial matters and organisation.
DSA is organised into six different workgroups, each managed by a DSA Board Member known as DSA Workgroup Manager. Most of the work conducted by DSA originates from these workgroups. This position is a managerial position, meaning that you are expected to delegate the work that needs to be done to workgroup members that you will recruit at the start of your mandate.
Currently looking for:
o Manager of Doctoral Welfare and Health workgroup
The Doctoral Students’ Association is a section of Medicinska Föreningen
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