Today UiAdoc has its third General Assembly. Henrik, who is a PhD in the Department of Management, School of Business & Law, told us why he is running for the position of President of UiAdoc.
"Hi, I’m Henrik, 27 years old and a PhD research fellow at the Department of Management with the Business School part of UiA in Kristiansand. I’m originally from Germany but have lived in Sweden for the last few years (Malmö & Stockholm) and have joined UiA in the Fall of 2020 (more or less - due to Corona I can’t really say that I feel like I’ve fully joined or arrived yet…).
Some words about my (research) interests:
My core topic of interest is is sustainable consumption behavior and helping people behave more sustainably. This is what I focus on in my PhD, specifically looking at how small changes in the decision environment (“nudges”) can be used to help people make sustainable consumption decisions, and what I push for with a business I co-founded and run in Germany, which makes sustainable grocery shopping simple, affordable and accessible to a large customer group by bringing locally produced, organic groceries to your regular supermarket where you can buy them in bulk (so you can also avoid single-use packaging).
Why do I want to become a UiA doc board member?
I’ve always enjoyed being a student representative and having the chance to lobby for and represent interests towards the university, and would like to take up the role of president of UiA doc to ensure a good representation of our PhD and Postdoc interests. I would also like to help build a stronger sense of community among PhDs and Postdocs from both campuses and across years, specifically considering a Corona-induced somewhat “new normal” that will likely involve more online and less offline activities. I believe there's quite a bit of untapped potential in UiA doc to bring more value to its members and build a stronger PhD and Postdoc community - and I would like to help realize this potential in the future.
I am currently PhD student representative at the Business School and have previously founded and chaired multiple student initiatives, which is why I believe that I have the necessary experience to succeed as a board member and president. I’m also sure that some “German directness” will be helpful in future negotiations with the university, not just concerning CoVid extensions and mitigation measures but also concerning salary negotiations, etc. ;-)
Please feel free to contact me with any other questions at henrik.siepelmeyer@uia.no.
Cheers,
Henrik"