Explainer: What the university election is all about

Disclaimer: This text was translated using machine translation / AI and post-edited by Maria Nielsen Pedersen.

You and your fellow students have from November 11 to 14 until 4 PM to decide which candidates you want to elect to the boards of studies, the academic councils, and the AU board – or simply to learn what the university election is all about. If you’re new to university, it can be overwhelming to wrap your head around academic councils, boards of studies, and the AU board just three months into your studies. But don’t worry – grab a cup of coffee, and Omnibus will break down the election for you, step by step.

It's a far cry from the show of hands you remember from upper secondary school when class representatives were elected to the student council. The university election at Aarhus University includes an election chair and an election secretariat, and it’s conducted through an electronic voting system. So you won’t have to raise your hand or head to the gym at your local school to cast your vote.

This year, students will be voting in three elections at once. You’ll be electing student representatives for the AU board, the academic councils, and the boards of studies.

Here’s a digestible overview of what you’ll be voting on.

The Aarhus University Board

Let's take it from the top; the Aarhus University Board. Here, two student representatives will be chosen to represent all students during important strategic decisions about the university's guidelines, interests, and future development. In addition to members representing the academic staff, technical/administrative staff, and students, the board also includes six external members. The current board includes notable figures such as Lars Rohde, former director of Denmark’s National Bank; Trine Holm Thomsen, director of Aarhus Theatre; and Birgitte Nauntofte, former director of the Novo Nordisk Foundation, who serves as the chair of the board. In other words, the two student representatives sit alongside some prominent figures in Danish business and industry, and as a student, you have a say in who will occupy the two seats reserved for students on the board.

These positions can be occupied by candidates from an independent list or candidates from any of the three different student political organisations at Aarhus University.

Konservative Studenter is based on conservative values, but should not be confused with the political party, the Conservative People's Party.

Frit Forum is based on social democratic values. They claim to represent the left-leaning students at AU.

Studenterrådet is not based on any party-political values. It’s a large organisation with members from 16 degree programme councils across various degree programmes at the university.

You may have already heard about the degree programme council associated with your degree programme. The members of the degree programme council are not elected during the university election but rather at general assemblies within their respective degree programmes. The degree programme councils nominate candidates for the academic councils and boards of studies.  

The academic councils

Now let’s move down to the faculty level, where the academic councils operate. They serve as advisory bodies that ensure both students and staff are represented in the development of academic policies at the faculty. Here, student representatives play an advisory role in the development of the faculty’s educational strategy and action plans, including those related to equality and diversity policies. Each faculty has its own academic council.

Boards of studies

We conclude at the degree programme level with the board of studies. This is the body that is closest to you as a student. The board of studies represents one or more degree programmes and is responsible for making local decisions. Among other things, the board is responsible for creating your teaching schedule and handling your application for credit transfer and exemption. If you plan to study abroad and need your courses pre-approved, it’s also the board of studies that manages that for you. Additionally, the board of studies handles complaints. The number of boards of studies varies across faculties. Aarhus BSS has nine boards of studies, while ARTS has four. The number of student representatives on each board of studies also varies. In addition to students, there are also academic staff on the board.

Now you should be well-prepared to vote in the university election. The digital ballot boxes will be open from November 11 to 14 at AU Elections – as a student, you can stand and vote in the election. You can find the candidate lists for this year’s election on AU’s website, in case your photographic memory of the campaign posters fails you during a heated election debate with your fellow students at the Friday bar.