The Swedish National Union of Students ( sv, Sveriges Förenade Studentkårer, SFS), is an

umbrella organisation An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions who work together formally to coordinate activities and/or pool resources. In business, political, and other environments, it provides resources and ofte ...

students' union A students' union, also known by many other names, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, ...

s at

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...

facilities in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. The organisation was founded in 1921. It has around 47 affiliated students' unions, gathering around 270,000 students (2012). The large number of organised students can in part be explained by the fact that membership in the official local students' union was mandatory for students at

universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

and

university college In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...

s in Sweden until 2010. The requirement has a long history back to the precursor to Swedish students' unions, the students' nations where membership became mandatory in 1667. The local students' union is, however, free to decide whether to join the National Union of Students or not. Although a majority of the students' unions are members, some have opted to stay out, including several organising business, law and medicine students. Occasionally, affiliated unions choose to leave the organisation, but sometimes rejoin at a later date, a pattern followed by both the

Stockholm University Students' Union Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

and the Uppsala Student Union. The organisation works to represent the interest of its members on a national level, towards the Government, the

Swedish Parliament The Riksdag (, ; also sv, riksdagen or ''Sveriges riksdag'' ) is the legislature and the supreme decision-making body of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral legislature with 349 members (), elected proportionally and s ...

, the political parties and the government agencies concerned with higher education. The organisation is also active on the international arena, particularly within the

European Students' Union The European Students' Union (ESU) is the umbrella organisation of 45 national unions of students from 40 countries, representing almost 20 million students. A consultative member of the Bologna Process, ESU is also a full member of the Europea ...

, ESU. At the annual national conference representatives from the member students' unions meet to decide on the policy framework of the organisation and to elect a national board. The board has 15 members, including the President and two or three Vice Presidents. The President and the Vice Presidents work full-time at the head office in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

during their term. Several former student politicians in Sweden have moved on to high-level national party politics. Among them are

Olof Palme Sven Olof Joachim Palme (; ; 30 January 1927 – 28 February 1986) was a Swedish politician and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1969 to 1976 and 1982 to 1986. Palme led the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1969 until h ...

(President 1953), and

Fredrik Reinfeldt John Fredrik Reinfeldt (pronounced ; born 4 August 1965) is a Swedish economist, lecturer, and former politician who was Prime Minister of Sweden from 2006 to 2014, and chairman of the liberal conservative Moderate Party from 2003 to 2015. He ...

(Board member 1989/90)

Doctoral students

Postgraduate or doctoral students have a committee within SFS called ''SFS Doktorandkommitté'' (SFS DK). Formerly, the organisation ''Sveriges Doktorander'' (Sweden's Doctoral Students, SDok) existed. SDok was formed on 29 April 1997, aiming to contribute to improving research education in Sweden and to encourage deeper collaboration and increase the exchange of information between the country's doctoral students. One of the aims of SDok was to influence Student Unions and universities/colleges to employ Doctoral Student Councillors (''doktorandombudsman''). In 2008, SDok was merged with SFS DK.Doktorandhandboken: Partner organisations for doctoral students
, accessed 2013-08-06 SFS DK is a member of Eurodoc, the European federation of national organisations of young researchers.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Student organizations in Sweden Groups of students' unions 1921 establishments in Sweden

Doctoral students

See also

References

External links