The Graduate School of Natural Sciences (GSNS) is a large organisation, and the decision-making bodies can seem distant from the everyday lives at the individual Departments. However, the GSNS PhD committee is the place to make your voice heard, if you feel that there is a need for structural changes in the PhD programmes and the Graduate School.

Being a member of the committee gives you a significant chance to influence the state of the Graduate School. You participate in important discussions on the state and potential changes of the PhD education within GSNS, you can influence the transferable skills courses offered by the Graduate School, and you can discuss matters related to all the Graduate Schools at Aarhus University.

You represent the PhD students in your programme, of course, but also the students from the entire GSNS. You partake in ensuring the high quality of the PhD education and the wellbeing of your fellow students. Examples include revision of the Science Teaching course, developing a new onboarding programme for PhD students, and discussions and decisions related to the Quality in the PhD Process survey and the subsequent action plan.

As a PhD student, you have a crucial perspective on needed changes and possible improvements, which makes it very important to have many PhD student representatives in the PhD committee.