The voice of students

The Voice of Students

New form for reporting of engaged students in the sections 

The student union has developed a new form for reporting section-engaged students that will make it easier for the union to keep track of who are involved in the sections. The form is so far only in Swedish but will soon be published in English as well. Representatives covered in in the form are: Program Council, standing committees, councils, the union council and the election committee. The idea is that the form should be filled in by the section chairman or other responsible person.



You can find the form at the student unions document archive, https://www.utn.se/en/about-utn/document-archive in the folder 'Informationsdokument'

The Voice of Students

Are there problems in the courses you are taking that cannot wait until the course evaluation or the next student council in your section? Express your rights directly in the classroom!

  • Take a look at the Student Working Conditions http://www.uu.se/en/students/your_rights/student_working_conditions/ to see what rights you as a student have. 
  • Keep a continuous dialogue with your teachers and course coordinators to avoid misconceptions regarding for example course contents or exams.
  • Keep an eye out for your fellow students' study environment. You can for example ask the teacher to use a microphone even if you yourself have good hearing. 

If you feel uncomfortable talking to your teachers or course coordinators you can turn to your student council or to us at the union at bevakare [at] utn.se for help. You can find more information on your rights and responsibilities at http://regler.uu.se/! 

The Voice of Students

  • When applying for student aid from CSN you are applying in weeks and activity rate (100%, 50% or 75%). You can chose to apply for only aid or aid + loan at a activity rate. You can not have full aid and reduced loan.
  • Each person can recive study aid for 240 weeks and one semester of 100% corresponds to 20 weeks.
  • To save weeks you can either take fewer weeks, or take part time (50% or 75%). A term of 50% corresponds to 10 weeks. To save weeks the union recommends to study part-time throughout the semester, in order to avoid the risk of possibly affect the Sickness benefit qualifying income (SGI).

CSN (In swedish): www.csn.se/hogskola/hur-mycket-kan-du-fa/spara-veckor-1.2564

SGI (Försäkringskassan): link

The Voice of Students

  • Want to be the voice of students? The Union has four (and a half) students which have a break in their studies to work full time raising the voice of students to the University.
  • Now you can be the voice! The Unions is looking for two Student Liaison officers: Head of Academic Affairs - Engineering (Utb-T) and Head of Student Welfare Affairs (Soc).
  • Utb-T is working to improve the engineers education, coordinate student representatives and distributes UTN's pedagogical prize.
  • Soc is working with issues related to students' well-being, for example equal opportunities, places to study and working/study enviroment.

     

Do you want to know more? Look at www.apply.utn.se, stop by the office and talk to us or email at utb-t [at] utn.se or soc [at] utn.se. OBS, you have to be able to read and write fluently in Swedish. 

The Voice of Students

The right to examination

  • As a student you can never be denied to hand in your bachelor or master thesis for examination, neither by your supervisor or your examiner
  • You can never be denied to take an examination on the basis that you haven't completed other mandatory elements on the course before the examination date
  • As a studentrepresentative you have the right to do mandatory elements at another time during the course or compensate the element in another manner if the element collides with a meeting for the bodie you're a representative in

Read more about your rights in the Student Working Conditions: https://www.uu.se/en/students/your_rights/student_working_conditions/

The Voice of Students

Head of Academic Affairs - Engineering (Utb-T) monitors the faculty's so-called technical programs. It's her responsibility to ensure that students' opinions are put forward so that our technical programs keep a high quality and helps students who encounter problems with anything from late exams to master's theses. She is also the coordinator for the union's student representatives and is responsible for handing out the unions pedagogical award. If you encounter problems in your education and need help or advice, you can always talk to Utb-T.



Utb-T 2016/2017 is Matilda Trodin and sits in the office on Uthgårds upper floor, you can reach her at utb-t [at] utn.se

The Voice of Students

The Voice of Students

  • Did you know that the union has four students whom work full time to monitor your education and study situation?
  • Head of Academic Affaris - Science (Utb-N) operates to ensure that the quality of the educations in natural science at the Sci-Tech faculty is as high as possible. Along with this she is also the Head of International Affairs, and looks after both the incoming and outgoing science and engineering students. If you wish to express you opinions on your education, for example on the content of your courses, if you think your teachers are not pedagogical enough or if you suspect that an exam has been wrongly marked, you can turn to her. 
  • Utb-N 2017 is called Ebba Fogelström and she can be found on the upstairs floor at Uthgård. You can reach her on utb-n [at] utn.se.

If you have questions regarding your education, get in touch with Utb-N

The Voice of Students

  • Did you know that the union has four students who work full time to monitour your educationband study situation.
  • Head of Labour Market Affairs (ARB) does influence work towards the University for the profit of your education and its connection to working life. The work aimes to bring your education together with all sorts of career opportunities, such as companies, industry, the public sector and the academia. Arb also has contact with the alumni of the union and has the main responsibility of all the alumni activities. 
  • ARB 2017 is Emma Stam and she is sittning in the office of Uthgård (upstairs) surounded by all her plants. Her email is arb [at] utn.se

To get in touch with the alumni or if you have any questions regarding work life, contact Arb. 

The Voice of Students

  • Did you know that the union has four students whom work full time to monitor your education and study situation?
  • Student Liason officer with head of Welfare Affairs (Soc) works with everything from equal rights and discrimination, to your studyenviroment and locals, in short, issues that affect your well-being at the university. If you have come across something that does not feel right, or has opinions about the work environment, you can always send an email to soc.
  • Soc 2016/2017 is Matilda Ninasdotter Holmström and she is sitting in the office of Uthgård (upstairs). Her email is soc [at] utn.se.

The Voice of Students

  • Did you know: Students can not be required to buy textbooks, lecture notes, or study materials. In other words, you can not be required to buy, for example, a collection of formulas if this will be a requirement to pass the exam. However, it is perfectly fine to recommend students to purchase textbooks, etc.

The Voice of Students

  • Did you know that all students at Uppsala University have access to all campuses via your campus card/access card? Some campuses have specific opening hours, for example ekonomikum. EBC, Geo, Ångström and ITC are open around the clock for students with a campus card/access card.
  • The old gray access card is being removed and replaced by an access card with a photo, called the campus card. If you have not renewed your card than you should do it as soon as possible, since the gray card is being disabled.
  • The new campus cards are stamped with a validity period. If your validity period is about to expire, you can update the card by stamping it in an similar machine which you activated it in.

More information: http://www.uu.se/en/students/campus-card/

The Voice of Students

Are you allowed to copy the course litterature? Yes you are! But there are a few conditions:

  • You are only allowed to copy from the publishers that are included in what we call the BONUS-agreement. The agreement includes Studentlitteratur AB which publishes most of the course litterature used by the university.
  • When copying, you must follow the 15/15-rule, which means a maximum of 15 pages, but also maximum 15% of the material
  • Copying includes scanning, downloading, taking pictures, printing, copying in a copier and much more. Both students and teachers are allowed to share the material, although only within the university network, email-groups or in physical copies. 

If you wish to read more about the agreement, click on the link:
http://en.bonuscopyright.se/pages/Copyin

Questions can be directed to utb-t [at] utn.se

The Voice of Students

UTNs pedagogical award
This week UTN will give out our pedagogical award during the Natural Science ball, and the winners are Steffi Knorn and Gunnar Berg! It was last fall that all students on the faculty could nominate teaching personel to the award and it was then up to a jury appointed by our education standing committee to decide on a winner.

The nominations to the winners will be reveald on the Natural Science ball, and then be put up on our website

Questions can be directed to: utb-t [at] utn.se

The Voice of Students

New regulations for re-exams starting fall 2017

  • Starting this fall 2017, the faculty has set up new regulations regarding re-exams. The new regulations are a result from a long and well executed process where many factors have been taken into account, especially opinions from students and teachers. If you want to read more about it, click on the link below.

The document is in Swedish, so if you have any questions, please contact utb-t [at] utn.se. We will give you more information about this on our website and Facebook page in the future.

http://teknat.uu.se/digitalAssets/411/c_411556-l_3-k_riktlinjer-for-omtentor-from-hosten-2017-utan-markeringar.pdf

The Voice of the Students

  • All exams must be corrected and graded within 25 calender days and at least 14 days before reexams
  • Courses content can not be changed during the course
  • Mandatory course content must be scheduled one week before the start of a course
  • According to högskolelagen (law of higher education) students have the right to be represented in all decision taking organs that has significance for education and the students situation 

Studenternas arbetsvillkor: http://www.uu.se/student/rattigheter/arbetsvillkor/
Högskolelagen: http://www.riksdagen.se/sv/dokument-lagar/dokument/svensk-forfattningssamling/hogskolelag-19921434_sfs-1992-1434
Högskoleförordningen: http://www.riksdagen.se/sv/dokument-lagar/dokument/svensk-forfattningssamling/hogskoleforordning-1993100_sfs-1993-100
(Documents only in Swedish)

The Voice of Students

  • Did you know that the university (together with Academic house) is building two new buildings at Ångström; house 9 and 10. House 9 will be built as a wing opposite to house 8, and house 10 will be a stand-alone building situated on the existing carpark in front of Ångström.
  • large parts of the existing Ångström will undergo reconstructions.
  • They will build around 3400 parking spots for bicycles!
  • Start of construction is expected at autumn 2017/2018, and the houses are scheduled for completion in the fall of 2019/2021.

More information is available at the Academic House website (swedish only!):
http://www.akademiskahus.se/vara-kunskapsmiljoer/byggprojekt/vara-byggprojekt/region-uppsala/angstrom-etapp-4/

The Voice of Students

  • Did you know that several institutions at the faculty have started to scan the corrected exams, enabling students to collect their exams online?
  • You can still request a paper copy of your exams in the exam extradition.
  • You can view your scanned exams on https://mintentateknat.kvk.uu.se/myexam/

The Voice of Students

If you have taken courses elsewhere in Sweden och abroad, you might be entitled to be given a credit transfer. These are the rules:

Ask int [at] utn.se for more information.

The Voice of Students

  • Uppsala University phase out the students' email inboxes in autumn, 2016.
  • Student Address (firstnamernamn.efternamn.1234 [at] student.uu.se) will continue to exist, but not the inbox. Therefore, it will be mandatory to redirect your student address to a private email inbox.
  • 88% of all students already forwards their student addresses. The remaining 12% will receive an email with information on how to forward their mail.

More information:
http://uadm.uu.se/it/news/student-email
 

The Voice of Students

What is the Student Working Conditions?

  • The Student Working Conditions is a document, designed for you as a student to know your rights to a good study enviroment during your time at the university
  • The conditions applies to all students at Uppsala University, and much of what is written can be found in the college law and regulation
  • The document includes for instance that a working week should be 40 hours, when your exam has to be corrected, when the schedule has to be set and that course evaluations should be anonymous

Link: http://www.uu.se/en/students/your_rights/student_working_conditions/
 

The Voice of Students

The Higher Education Law provides the foundation for public universities in Sweden. It contains many important rules and regulations, including:

  • That there must be one or several Students' unions with exclusive rights to represent students.
  • That there are Student nations in Uppsala and Lund.
  • That there must exist an Appeals Board.

Apart from these general rules, there are additional, more detailed rules instituted by the Cabinet of Sweden. Link: https://lagen.nu/1992:1434
 

The Voice of Students

  • The University can help you with individually special assistance in several ways. Some examples are extended exam times, note support, mentoring, etc.
  • You must be able to show a diagnosis/certificates in order to receive special assistance.
  • To find out which support you can get it your studies, you can either contact Martin Holmberg, Coordinator for students in need of special assistance or learn more at the link below:

Martin Holmberg email: martin.holmberg [at] uadm.uu.se
More information: http://www.teknat.uu.se/student-en/support-services/disabilities/
 

The Voice of Students

There are many preconceptions about how to act when interacting with employers, and here are some simple hints that might help you:

  • If you feel that you have difficulties finding an employer that fits your education, then make sure to know your own strenghts. Sell yourself and convince the employer, more often than not they do not know precisely which students have the right skills for them.
  • You do not need to wear a suit when meeting employers at the Utnarm fair for example. It is always important to give a good first impression, but in the way of clothing a shirt or a nicer sweater is more than adequate. Be whole and clean!
  • Be nice and honest! It is good to seem professional, and that does not exclude being nice and to smile. Make sure to be honest about which skills you have and what you are looking for, that way it will be easier to find a job that you like.

The Voice of Students

  • As a student at Uppsala University you are coverd by an insurance.
  • The insurance applies during school hours and during direct travel between your home and the place where the education is given. The insurance can provide compensation for emergency health- or dentalcare and some covering for accidents.
  • The emergency health- or dental care is not covered by the insurance if you are a member of EU/ESS or Schweiz. Instead you have the blue EU-card which workes in Sweden.

More information: http://www.kammarkollegiet.se/en

The Voice of Students

  • Housing allowance is an allowance provided by the social insurance to families with children and young people aged 18-28 years who have low incomes. You have to, in most cases, be registered in Sweden and at the address proposed for funding to be able to apply.
  • The allowance is based on your income and the allowance qualifying housing cost. If you gain student aid (studiemedel) from Swedish agencies, 80% of the grant is counted as an income. The student loan is not counted as an income.

Find more information and how to apply here.

The Voice of Students

The Omdubsman for Grading Issues is a position in the University that you can turn to if you think that an examination or grading has not gone according to regulation.

  • The Ombudsman for Grading Issues can work out if the grading process has gone according to regulation. However, grading can not be appealed to a higher instance; it is the examiner that grades and has the right to change grades.
  • If you ask for it, you have the right to get a motivation to why you got your grades. The examiner can also reconsider the grades, but only if additional circumstances has arisen or if the grading is obviously faulty.
  • The Ombudsman for Grading Issues is appointed by the vice-chancellor. If you report your matter tot hem, they will investigate the process and leave a written statement to the institution in question.
  • Your formal report should be sent to registrator [at] uu.se. Please contact the Ombudsman for Grading Issues in advance of your report.

More information about the Ombudsman for Grading Issues is to be found at:
http://www.uu.se/en/students/your_rights/ombudsman_for_grading_Issues/

The Voice of Students

  • Every third student at Uppsala University have experienced that stress and mental illness affect their study sitation. This means that you are not alone. There are several things you can do if you are experiencing stress or mental illness.
  • Student health centre (Studenthälsan) is now a part of University of Uppsala and therefore it is free to take easier therapy sessions with them. They can offer different types of therapy, tools for managing stress and various courses/groups.
  • Project Hamnen is a project conducted by students at our faculty that aims to spread information on mental health and stress.

Project Hamnen: https://www.utn.se/en/studies/your-wellbeing
Student health centre: http://uu.se/en/students/support-and-services/health-care/