Putting herself out there

Maybe you've seen this face before? That's because SSN's new chairperson of the board appeared on film during the presentations at the start of the semester, and she'll soon be appearing as a procrastinating student in an e-learning course produced by SSN.

– I think it's important to present myself in this way, even if it's a bit out of my comfort zone,’ smiles Emma, telling about the time the film photographer stood over her while she was lying in bed with no make-up pretending to be tired. In other words, you can look forward to this procrastination course!

Here you can watch the film about SSN, where Emma explains what a student welfare organisation is:

Student volunteering is important!

Emma is particularly interested in student volunteering and how she, as chair of the board, can help to facilitate, strengthen and support other committed students:

– The psycho-social impact of student volunteering and what it gives both each individual and the study environment is incredibly important. Students must own their involvement, it must come from them. And then we can work on encouraging them to get involved and make things happen.

– One challenge is the multi-campus model at USN. There are big differences from place to place and very varying levels of engagement, which is completely natural when there are such different conditions on the different campuses, says Emma.

👉 Read also: Get answers to all your questions about student organisations

Collaboration with other student welfare organisations

As chair of the board, Emma will actively participate in the collaboration between the country's student welfare organisations. Among other things, there are two meetings a year, where board leaders from different student welfare organisations meet to discuss common challenges and opportunities. In addition, the annual student welfare organisation meeting and the housing meeting are arenas where SSN's chairman is involved in exchanging experiences, electing representatives and discussing cooperation agreements.

– These meetings are useful and inspiring, and we always take a sober approach when we choose to attend such gatherings. Now it's SSN's turn to organise the housing meeting between the student welfare organisations in 2025 and I have a strong desire to use our own students as much as possible. I'm very conscious of the choices we make and I'm happy to have the opportunity to influence such an event, says Emma.

Emma also wants to develop a handbook for board work in the welfare organisations, to ensure continuity and security on the boards. For the same reason, she also wants to extend SSN's chairmanship period from one to two years (as most other student welfare associations already have).

👉 Read more about the council meeting and the housing meeting at Samskipnadsrådet

Accessible chairperson of the board

The board is SSN's highest authority, and as chair, Emma is keen to be accessible to both students and employees at SSN.

– I'm keen for people to have the opportunity to give feedback. If you have a specific issue you have questions about or want to discuss, you're welcome to contact me directly. This applies to both students and staff, says Emma.

Going forward, Emma wants to attend as many contact meetings with students on the various campuses as possible. She wants more dialogue with both the campus boards and the student volunteers, and is very clear about her door being open.

👉 If you would like to contact Emma, please send an email.

Good luck in your role as chair of the board, Emma!