SiN will be holding its annual general assembly (AGM), which is a whole day event that is scheduled to take place on Saturday 27 November at the University of Bergen. The general assembly is the highest decision making body of SiN and comes together annually to decide on the future course of the association as specified in our statutes. As such, we are inviting all our member organisations to send two delegates to the general assembly, to represent their organisation, express their organisation’s opinion on important matters and vote on the following topics:
- Admission of new member organisations into SiN
- Annual and financial report of the past board year
- Plans and budget for the next board year
- Proposed changes to the statutes
- Election of the new board
The new board will be elected with a simple majority vote of the assembly. For all rights and duties pertaining to the AGM, please refer to our statutes. In addition to the formal agenda, there will be time to discuss general topics of interest to PhDs and postdocs in Norway, to reflect on our mission as an organisation and to socialise. The minutes of the AGM, like all other meetings, will be published on our website. Following the AGM, the new board will also be announced in a press release.
Programme and other documents
More information, including all relevant documents subjected to vote, will be sent out to delegates at the latest two weeks before the AGM. More information on the nomination process follows below.
Two delegates per organisation
All member organisations have been invited by e-mail to register their delegates.
Additional observers
The AGM is open to all PhDs and postdocs represented by one of our member organisations. As the name suggests, these people have no voting rights and can only observe the proceedings (although they may ask questions and participate in discussions). SiN will not be able to cover dinner and travel expenses for observers.
There is no cap on the number of observers, but they must be registered by their member organisation. Please contact your local member organisation if you wish to be an observer. Member organisations have been asked to submit the observer registrations by 5 November.
Nominations: eligibility
Any person represented by one of our member organisations can run for a position in the SiN board. Candidates do not have to attend the AGM, although it may be useful for them to become aware of the work that SiN does and to follow the election procedure. Nine positions will be up for election this year. These are:
President
Vice President
Treasurer
UHR representative
EuroDoc Liaison officer
Events Officer
Communications officer (1 – 3 people)
All organisations have been asked to send a list of nominations from among their members with a short description (max. 300 words) stating 1) who they are, 2) their motivation for joining the SiN board, 3) the position(s) they are interested in and 4) any relevant background for the position.
If you are interested in running for the SiN board please contact your local organisation. More information about the positions is sent to all member organisations to be spread to their members at the different institutions.
Nominations: presentation
For candidates not able to attend the AGM in person, their written nomination will serve as a stand-in for a personal introduction at the AGM, and a representative delegate will be asked to present the candidate in their stead. Alternatively, we could set up a video call for people to present their candidacy remotely. Nominees who are not registered as delegate or observer will, however, not be able to attend the full AGM. For nominees attending the AGM as delegate or observer, it will be possible to give an oral introduction (1 min. max) describing the same points, but we still encourage you to submit your nomination in writing. Written nominations are not binding in any way, but will be used for information only and circulated to the delegates two weeks in advance.
The deadline (for member organisations) for submitting nominations and proposed statute changes is two weeks before the AGM, on Friday 12 November at 5pm at the latest.
See you on 27 November!
We hope this gives you enough information, but if you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask!
We look forward to seeing you in Bergen!