Introduction for the student representative

Responsibility for the introduction

When introducing a student representative, all members of the body are expected to contribute their perspective based on their conditions. Those who are well prepared and have understood their assignment and context find it easier to contribute constructively, which is why it is important to have an introduction for student representatives.

The chair of the body is responsible for giving the student representatives an introduction. Think through what is important for the student representative to be able to participate constructively. This can also be discussed with the students’ unions who can contribute their perspective.

Here are examples of some areas that can be good to discuss:

• Any background that can be important to know to understand the assignment.
• If there are any regulations and rules that have a major impact on the matters addressed at the body.
• The structure of the mandate and the roles. Perhaps a description of how the body relates to other parts of the organisation?
• The typical structure of the meetings. When and how the student representatives can add issues to the agenda and provide input. Are there unwritten rules that are important for the work to proceed smoothly? Is it possible to predict when certain issues will be managed during the year? An annual schedule can be illustrative to understand the larger context.
• Specific words and terms that are important to recognise – both those used in meeting contexts (adjournment, postponement, voting) and abbreviations and technical terms used in the area in question.

Offer a contact person

Additional ways to facilitate the process could be to offer a mentor or contact person to whom the student representative can turn with questions, and to offer pre-meetings at which the upcoming matters are reviewed.

Availability of meeting rooms

Ensure that students have access to the meeting rooms, so that the lack of access cards does not become an obstacle.

Students’ unions can help

The students’ unions regularly organise introductory training sessions of a more general nature, where meeting formats in academia are discussed. There is also a student influence handbook published by Uppsala University Student Unions.