The Steering Committee of the Global Student Forum is hereby launching an open call for volunteers to be part of the Working Group on Postgraduate Affairs, which will be working for best practice concerns related to postgraduate students, to facilitate mutual learning and knowledge for the global student movement. Representatives from the regional, national and associate membership of the Global Student Forum are encouraged to join in on the work of the group. 

Read the whole call also attached here: WG Call for Postgraduate Affairs

Objectives and Motivation 

The creation of this working group is based on a Steering Committee decision adopted on the 8th December 2021, calling for a stronger involvement of GSF’s membership in regard to the Work Plan item 4.3.4 Representation of Doctoral/Postgraduate Students. The working group will be composed of 8 individuals from the membership and a member of the GSF Steering Committee who is mandated to chair the group. The mandate of the working group starts on the 28th January 2022 and remains active for the duration of one year, ending with 28th January 2023. 

The purpose of this Working Group is to: 

  • Prioritise the respectful treatment of postgraduate and doctoral students, including professional development and educational training opportunities.
  • Advocate for fair and transparent institutional policy and practice in research supervision and procedure, free from relational or resource power imbalances.
  • Advocate for fair and equitable employment, when acting as both students and employees at a higher education institution (e.g. teaching, research, clinical, administrative etc.).
  • Support the rights of co-authorship, academic freedom and intellectual development in the publication of research and exercise of academia.
  • Uphold an equitable research environment free from exploitation, harrassment, discrimination or intimidation.

Responsibility and Outcome

The Working Group will work to increase mutual learning and knowledge sharing concerning best practice for postgraduate students, with the wider student movement. The group aims to strengthen current postgraduate representation initiatives, commenting on and advocating in current campaigns for fair labour for early career researchers, academic freedom to minimise exploitation or discrimination, improve policy for research students, consider research ethics and methodology, and explore options for increasing professional development for research students.

One of the central focuses of the Working Group shall be to establish a shared global document on best practice within the postgraduate space, similar to the APAGS Position Statement on the Rights of Psychology Graduate Students (2015) or the Eurodoc Statute (2010/21).  This shall be the first international document to focus on researcher student rights.

The group shall also provide feedback on current student campaigns, and may aid the Secretariat at times, to provide research advice or aid the structuring of internal and external policy.  The GSF Steering Committee would also encourage employing this platform to connect with relevant international journals, to promote student-led research on the global student movement.

Application

The GSF is committed to geographic diversity, gender balance and area of research diversity in this Working Group. The Steering Committee would like to encourage individuals to apply in order to ensure diversity amongst the Working Group members and support a balanced and differentiated approach in the Working Group outcomes.  The application should consist of a short motivation letter and a CV resume.

We encourage interested candidates to apply as soon as possible, but no later than the: 28th of January 2022. Applications should be sent to steering.committee@globalstudentforum.org 

The work of the members of the Working Group is on a voluntary basis. Meetings of the Working Group will take place online, making use of online tools provided by GSF, and face-to-face, during GSF’s future events, when possible

Expectations and Considerations

Working Group members are expected to:

  • Either be enrolled in or hold any of the following: Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma, Masterate, Doctorate (some consideration will be given to post-doctoral applicants, although preference will be given to current postgraduate students).
  • Have experience in a period of supervised research at a higher education institution.
  • Be capable of discussing and writing in English.
  • Engage wider networks of student organisations and movements as well as relevant stakeholders in their respective regions (consideration will be given to non-members of the GSF who are actively engaged in postgraduate representation in their region, although preference will be given to members).
  • Participate in regular working group meetings held online and face-to-face, when possible (workload: 5-10 hours per month).
  • Work on a voluntary basis but can expect to gain valuable policy and networking experience.
  • Attend meetings and events on behalf of the Working Group when applicable. 
  • Ensure that information is widely distributed within their home organizations and movements.

Reporting

Participation in the preparation of reports to the Global Student Forum Steering Committee is expected from Working Group members.

Selection panel and Deadline

Applicants will be selected by the Steering Committee based on their motivation letter (maximum 600 words) and CV according to the rules of selection adopted by the Steering Committee, taking into account regional, gender and research diversity.

If you have any questions regarding this call and the Working Group at large, do not hesitate to contact GSF’s Steering Committee member and working group chair, Ellen, at ellen@globalstudentforum.org.nz 

The GSF Steering Committee avails itself of this opportunity to engage membership in advancing the strategic and political objectives of the global student movement.