Join the BISA PGN Committee for 2022-2023

Why stand?

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 - an ever more important part of early-career academic jobs.

You’ll also collaborate with colleagues from different universities, and assist with managing a large professional network of over 1,000 members.

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.

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 a rapidly changing world and evolving job market.

Finally, this is a great chance to serve your academic community and make a real difference, as there is scope to reshape the PGN network’s agenda in a new direction.

Positions available

Vice-Chair: This post is a two-year commitment. In your first year, you will assist the Chair with the day to day running of the Committee and help to coordinate the Committee members’ work. In your second year, you will take over as the Chair of the Committee. To be eligible, you must be a PhD student until the end of your prospective term as Chair; i.e. you must have at least two years until you are expected to complete your PhD.

Events Officer: You will take the lead in designing and developing our events programme, which this year will take place mostly online (but with increasing scope for hybrid or small in-person events). Utilising BISA’s membership, event registration, and communications systems, you will have the facility to run a variety of virtual roundtables, workshops, and conference-style events to connect our community within the UK and beyond. 

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 and run the annual Committee elections. You will also work alongside the Chair to organise and advertise talks and events when necessary. 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 strategy. We already have an active social media presence, 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.

 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 2023 (or 2024 for Vice-Chair nominations). Nominations from outside the UK are permitted and encouraged.

Deadline: 30th June 2021

Please email pgn.group@bisa.ac.uk with any questions.