News

Call for nominations: BISA PGN Committee elections 2020/21

This article was published on
female BISA members talking

Nominations are open for our 2020 Committee elections. The elections will be run online, and we have three Committee positions to fill before the start of the 2020/21 academic year.

This is a fantastic and unique opportunity to take on a position of real responsibility, serving a wide community of postgraduate and early-career researchers in International Studies.

Our community is not limited to the UK - we have members around the world. Taking a role on the BISA PGN Committee will give you access to a wide network of researchers and practitioners, enabling you to make connections that will last throughout your career. You’ll gain valuable insights into how the field operates at the national level, and experience of academic administration. You’ll also collaborate with colleagues from different universities, and assist with managing a large professional network. This is an opportunity to gain the kind of experience that can give your job applications a significant boost as you enter a challenging academic employment market.

Finally, this is a great chance to serve your academic community and make a real difference. As we adapt to the new realities of academic life in a post-Covid-19 world, you’ll play a crucial role in making sure the BISA PGN is fit for purpose and continues to serve its members interests in an increasingly uncertain environment.

Watch our video to see what current and past committee members said about their time on the committee.

Positions available

Events Officer: You will take the lead in designing and developing our events programme, which this year will take place mostly online. Utilising BISA’s membership, event registration, and communications systems, you will have the facility to run a variety of virtual roundtables, workshops, and even conference-style events to connect our community within the UK and beyond. You may assist our members in putting on their own, subject-specific events using our digital infrastructure, as well as running broader sessions aimed at the whole BISA PGN membership.

Elections and Funding Officer: You will be in charge of some of the PGN’s most important administrative tasks. You will handle our internal democracy process, running the annual Committee elections, and you will work alongside the Chair in advertising and recruiting for the Vice-Chair position. In the event that the Committee wishes to apply for extra BISA funding, you will take the lead on putting together a funding application.

Communications Officer: You will be tasked with maintaining and developing the PGN’s social media and digital communications presence. We already have active Twitter, Facebook, and Mailchimp accounts, but you may wish to further synchronise our different channels or expand into new ones. You will also be in charge of generating content for our pages on the BISA website, populating it with interviews, blog posts, articles, videos, and other types of content to establish our web presence, working closely with BISA’s Communications Manager.

Please note that all Committee members have the ability to participate in all aspects of the PGN’s work, and you can share tasks among yourselves as you see fit. Each Committee member will have the ability to develop their own ideas and you won’t be limited to your specific role.

The fine print

Eligibility: To stand for election, you must be a member of BISA. You must also be a current PhD student, and your PhD must not finish before September 2021. Nominations from outside the UK are permitted and encouraged.

Closing date: Monday 29 June 2020

Please e-mail bisapgnexec@gmail.com with any questions.