The Collegium.
– The individuals that make the visions of the union become reality.
– The people that help raise awareness to the questions we need to understand to become the best union we can be.
– The backbone of LundaEkonomerna.

It is doubtlessly so that being a collegial within LundaEkonomerna is one of the most rewarding things during one’s study time in Lund. And it is the project leaders within the union that form the collegium. Today, the Collegium consists of forty-two individuals that represent one of the twentynine different committees and one of the three legs: social, career and education within the union. However, understanding the practical process of becoming a collegial and what it fully means might not be the easiest. But don’t worry. We are here to answer as many of your questions as possible!

What is a collegial? And what is a project leader?

To be a collegial means to have a position of trust within LundaEkonomerna. Being a collegial is what unites you with all the other project leaders in the union. Your role as a project leader is to be a leader for a committee inside the union. It can be seen as being an active member, except for being given more responsibility, but also a higher reward. The roles are specific for what committee you are engaged in, and therefore requires different skills and capabilities depending on which committee you are in charge of. However as a collegial your role is the same no matter what committee you are part of. Together with the other collegials you interact and exchange information and experiences of your time at LundaEkonomerna.

THE ROAD TO THE COLLEGIUM

Finding a position

Take the time to browse the different committees that make up LundaEkonomerna. Hopefully you can find something there that interests you whether it regards arranging an event, being responsible for marketing or editing a magazine! At lundaekonomerna.se/positions you can find the positions that are available to apply for. Each committee normally engages one project leader per semester.

Being nominated

If you apply for a position of trust via the Nominations Committee, they will contact you for an interview with them. This is the case for all positions except for in recently started projects such as the The Vieri Project, Sales Team, Samday or LE Band. In those cases you are being chosen by the old project leaders there together with one person from the Board and do not have to worry about the whole nomination process. Otherwise you will have to make the recently mentioned interview with the Nominations Committee. After the interview, you will find out if you have been nominated for the position by them or not. If you have, your next destination will be the General Council. If not: don’t worry, you can still oppose the person having been nominated if you want to!

FUM or the General Council

FUM is a term that has a notorious reputation among many at LundaEkonomerna. It stands for Fullmäktige; Swedish for General Council. The council is the highest decision making body within LundaEkonomerna, and it is with them that you get the last ultimate test, before being chosen as a member of the collegium. However, this process is really not that bad as some people make it out to be. The council arranges meetings a couple of times each semester somewhere at Ekonomicentrum. In front of approximately thirty people who are chosen by the members, you will hold a three minute long speech that you prepared in advance as well as answer some questions on why you are the right pick for the specific position! The General Council will then discuss how well suited you are for the role while you wait eagerly in another room. This might sound a bit scary to some, but don’t worry, the most important thing is that you have a passion for the position you are applying for, the rest will come along. The speaker, who is in charge of the meeting, will treat you well and speak with you during what might at first feel like a couple of nerve-wrecking minutes. Upon returning to the room you will hopefully be greeted by applause. You are now part of the collegium of the greatest student union in the galaxy!

You’re in! What now?

Congratulaions! You are now a project leader. During the proceeding first weeks you will have a few checkboxes to mark off in order to start your time in collegium off right.

Your own personal email

You will be given a personal email and login information to use in your work in the collegium. It is usually of the type role.committee@lundaekonomerna.se

Welcome email

On the email you were given you can find four guiding documents to help you in your work.

The Welcome Letter gives you a quick introduction to working as a collegial.

The Code of Conduct lays out the rules and responsibilities you need to be aware of.

Booking Skånis, as the name implies tells you the rules surrounding the booking of Skånis.

The Legacy Report is a report written by your predecessor to help you get an overview of your role.

Start-up meeting

You will book a meeting with the internal relations manager where you gain a greater understanding of what it means to be a member of the collegium as well as to gain a deeper knowledge of the union and to get comfortable in your new role.

Meet with your contact person

Once elected you will be assigned a contact person in the Board. They will have continuous contact with you during the year and are there to guide you and help you with your work.

Hand in your business plan

You will get two weeks to finalize this document regarding your plans for your upcoming work in the union.

Meet the communications manager

The communications manager will guide you through our internal communication tool Podio as well as teach you our social media policies.

Meet the Treasurer

You will get an introduction to your committee’s budget and what you can use it for.

Meet the Corporate Relations Manager

This is only needed if you will have corporate contact during the year. They will help you with getting in contact with companies as well as to give you an insight into the existing contracts.

Now your daily life as a collegial begins! Here are some of the things you can expect:

Collegial Meetings
These are meetings held every month where the collegial members discuss issues surrounding topics like leadership and working within the union. It is also a great way to get to know your fellow collegials!

Your own cool shirt
Just look at it. Don’t you want one? You can customize to fit your committee’s aesthetics. It even has your name on it.

Get professionally photographed
Looking for that perfect LinkedIn picture? We’ve got you covered!

Workshops
You get the privilege to learn about fascinating subjects from professionals in a very interactive and intuitive way.

Lectures
Lecturers have traveled miles to let such a small group of people partake in their knowledge.

Collegial trip
This is definitely one you can’t miss! Once every semester the collegium sets off to a secret location for a weekend of fun and bonding with the group. For sure one of the highlights of the semester.

Have a kick-off with your committee
Our generous treasurer has reserved money so that you can have fun with your committee! Sounds too good to be true? It’s not. Here’s a picture from Nådiga Lundtan’s very own Gdansk kick-off, the possibilities are endless…

Gräddan/Uggleorden
Once every semester we meet up with Uppsalaekonomerna for a weekend with a sittning and workshop. In the autumn it’s Gräddan in Uppsala, and in the spring Uggleordern, here in Lund. This is an event that is universally praised by all attendees. Plus, Uppsalaekonomerna are just like us! (Although not as cool.)

Advance bookings and reduced price to most of LundaEkonomernas events
Get rid of the hassle of refreshing the page over and over to get a chance for a ticket! As a collegial will get a special ticket-link to some events in advance. How awesome doesn’t that sound?

AND OF COURSE: you will work together with the people in your committee to make your project the best that it can be! If you have passion and drive you should not hesitate to apply to be a collegial, it will be one of the most fun experiences of your time in Lund!

Text by:
Demet Olgac
Walter Behrman

Photos by:
Sara Ryttberg/LundaEkonomerna