Two exciting opportunities have arisen for an enthusiastic PhD student and an Early Career researcher to join the Regional Studies Association Board.
The RSA is an established global Association and a place on the Board will enable successful candidates to engage with students and early careers through to high profile academics, policymakers and practitioners internationally at meetings, conferences and social events. For more information on the RSA, please go to www.regionalstudies.org.
Successful candidates will be actively involved and participate not only in the discussion and exchanges among the Board members at their (normally) four meetings per annum but will be expected to participate with them in the delivery of the Association’s aims and objects. These posts are observer post on the Board and carry no right to vote and no associated liability.
During their term of office, the post holders will meet distinguished scholars, practice their organisational skills, develop interpersonal communication abilities and benefit from our Board Members’ experience. Both positions offer a unique opportunity for career and network development.
Reasonable travel and accommodation expenses will be covered by the Association to attend the Board meetings three of which are normally held in London and one is linked to one of the Association’s international conferences.
The Student and the Early Career Representatives have the following deliverables:
-to actively engage in RSA Board meeting either in person or by sending in papers for discussion;
-to proactively develop ideas on how to strengthen RSA student and early career networks and how to engage student and early career members;
-to work strategically with the RSA office and Board to improve and refine the membership benefits to student and early career members;
-to proactively post, and encourage others to post, on the RSA Student and Early Career Facebook platform www.facebook.com/groups/156406957851069;
-to write a minimum of one short article per year for the RSA Blog www.thersablog.com;
-to proactively, with support of the RSA office team, develop student sessions at RSA conferences which offer skills’ sessions for PhD students in the field;
-to champion the RSA to suitable networks and individuals to help the RSA grow its network and reach globally.
The Early Career representative on the Board will provide some mentoring to the Student Representative.
Each appointment is for a one-year term with the option to extend for a maximum of three years or until the incumbent is no longer a student or early career researcher depending on the deliverables being met.
The Student Representative position is open to student members of the Regional Studies Association. The Early Career Representative position is open to Early Career members of the Regional Studies Association (defined as being within 5 years of the date on the PhD certificate or equivalent). Non-members are encouraged to join the Association and to apply for the posts at the same time. Candidates are more likely to be successful if they have already engaged with the Association through attendance at an event, applications for grants or through publication in any of our channels including Facebook and the blog.
See what previous post holders say:
‘I have been working as the early career representation for Regional Studies Association for the past four years, witnessed a growing number of early career researchers joining the big family of RSA from across the world. I have been particularly enjoying working with our members with diverse research backgrounds and interests, but all share the same merit of hard working and determination to contribute to the wider science discipline of regional studies. Through organising our Students and Early Career Social Event Series, helping in conference organisation and marketing the benefits of our membership, I have benefitted significantly in event organisation and improved my leadership and management skills. I also made friends with a large number of early career and established scholars, who are always ready to help me in professional and career improvement. The post of early career representation for RSA offers me a broad and outreaching platform in my career advance. Therefore I strongly advice anyone who is ambitious in pursuing career development, interested in perfecting their leadership skills, and having a vision for further developing our early careers membership, to apply for this post. We look forward working with you.‘ Dr Julia Tian Miao, Lecturer in Urban Planning and Development at Glasgow University, and Glasgow-Nankai Postgraduate School in China.
Being the student representative of the Regional Studies Association is definitely more than a title, a set of tasks or procedures to accomplish. It is more being able to share visions, goals and the passion of making of regional studies a discipline that really matters in day to day life.Two years have passed since I was appointed Student Representative of the Regional Studies Association. Two years passionately committed to the RSA’s strategies and goals of enhancing regional studies and regional science worldwide, in particular among students and early career researchers. Working together with the RSA team gave me the feeling of joining a united and mutually supportive family. United through the passion of enhancing regional studies, of sharing knowledge and engaging with academics and practitioners around regional issues. As student representative, I had the opportunity to work together with bright and inspiring researchers, bringing together students, early careers researchers and senior experts. Despite the end of my period as student representative I can promise that I will continue supporting the Regional Studies Association to strengthen its position as a world-leading learning society in regional studies and regional science. I will continue supporting students and early career researchers in their quest for more funding, more career opportunities and more access to knowledge. Dr Eduardo Oliveira, Postdoctoral researcher at the Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL.
Proposed dates for RSA Board meetings for 2017:
Sunday 4th June 2017 attached to the RSA Annual Conference in Dublin on 5/7th June 2017, Dublin, Ireland
Friday 6th October 2017, London, UK
Wednesday 15th November 2017 attached to the Winter Conference in London on 16/17th November 2017, London, UK
Additional information:
To learn more about the current RSA Board, visit: www.regionalstudies.org/about/committee/rsa-board
To learn more about the RSA Development Plan, visit: www.regionalstudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/RSA_Development_2015_2020_WEB.pdf
Application process:
Applications will be shortlisted by the RSA Chair, RSA Secretary and CEO with input from the RSA staff team.
Please send a letter of application (up to 500 words) in which you describe why you would be the ideal Student Representative or Early Career Representative on the RSA Board, what initiatives you would plan to undertake to promote the RSA and engage with the regional studies/ regional science community, your CV and a reference from your PhD supervisor (for the Student Rep post) or reference from your line manager (for the Early Career Rep post) to Daniela Carl at daniela.carl@regionalstudies.org. The deadline for applications is Sunday 7th May.