FEATURE SIF Umeå is a newly started organisation that stands for ‘Students in Research’. The initiative aims to reduce the step for undergraduate students into the research world, and be a platform where students and supervisors meet.
In the autumn of 2023, Jessica Lindberg met a familiar student in the medical chemistry lab. The student turned out to be an aspiring researcher, and that meeting was the start of an idea of a research association. This was the starting point for Students in Research Umeå (SIF), an association that will be a bridge between students and the research world, with the goal of attracting more students to start research.
The upside for Jessica is that she is a doctoral student herself, she knows how it works and how important it is to have mentors and role models, but also the importance of people who can show how it works more structurally.
"It is important to have someone who can cultivate commitment", says Jessica Lindberg, who is also a member of the board.
At the first start-up meeting, about 20 people came and showed interested in the initiative, and from these meetings a board of 12 people was found.
"We have a full board, which is very luxurious," explains Jessica.
SIF Umeå Board, from left: Hampus Gerestrand, Betiel Abraham, Hampus Johansson, Sara Sten, Sofia Morney, Agnes Olsson, Mia Doslo. Board members missing in the picture: Daria Druzina, Emma Wärnsäter, Nils Jarlenfors, Jessica Lindberg och Jens Ingvarsson.
In addition to the ‘usual’ posts, the board also has a person who is responsible for membership. SIF Umeå wants to work with inclusiveness, where they have also developed a set of values.
"We want everyone, including English-speaking students, to feel included. The association is run by undergraduate students, for undergraduate students, to promote their interest in research," Jessica continues.
The idea is that the association will help lower the barrier to entering research, giving students a platform to meet and find supervisors.
"I always wanted to do research. I had a small list of potential supervisors and emailed a lot of people. I eventually became a PhD student, but it was a lot of work. It can be difficult to connect with the research community as an undergraduate student, while there are supervisors looking for students. Now we can be the platform where people meet," says Jessica.
The initiative is new in Umeå, but they are taking inspiration from the association that has existed in Gothenburg for ten years. Among other things, there is an established list of supervisors, as well as a number of events organised by the association. Here in Umeå, they have begun collaborating with Fika efter en forskare, a concept that brings together researchers once a month for lectures and coffee.
The focus now is to grow at the right pace, to establish the concept and make everyone feel comfortable along the way.
"There are many ideas in the pipeline, but we want to organise small events in the beginning. Then, when we have an association up and running, we can start the bigger events,"says Jessica.
In the autumn, they are planning lectures by doctoral students and in the spring they are planning the first major lecture, where they have several big and exciting names in the list of potential speakers. The association is affiliated via the Medical Student Union, and reaches out to students through them. The response has been positive, with both students, supervisors and faculty believing that this is a good platform, and something that has been missing.
The association will also collaborate with the trainee researchers, a programme run by the faculty where students can apply for grants to study in the summer. There have been difficulties in finding supervisors, something that Jessica and the association hope to help with through a list of supervisors.
"This autumn we will also be organising a workshop for students who want to become aspiring researchers, where we will go through how to write an application to become an aspiring researcher," explains Jessica, who has been one herself.
The idea is to increase the opportunities to get supervisors from both preclinical and clinical research, even for those students who are still early in their education.
"It should be obvious to all students that you can do research in Umeå," says Jessica.
Are you a student interested in doing research? Or are you a supervisor interested in supervising a student or future PhD student? Contact SIF Umeå, or check out their Instagram: sif.umea or Facebook.
Do you have any question, send an email to sif@medicinska.se
