Participate in our Elections

Our annual leadership elections will be taking place in the first half of 2013. We encourage you to participate in the election process whether it be as a candidate or voter.

On this page you will find information on how to nominate a candidate and the election procedure. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to contact the Student Council Secretary at secretary@iscbsc.org.

The Procedure

• Nomination of Candidates: 15 February – 3 June 2013 (6 weeks pre-ISMB)
  Candidate nomination takes place through the ISCB website at http://www.iscb.org/nominate. All ISCB members can nominate other ISCB members for Student Council leadership positions. The Student Council leadership positions up for election are Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, Board of Directors Representative and Treasurer. We have included a brief description of the positions below. Self-nomination is not possible.
• Submission of Candidate Statements: 3 – 24 June 2013 (3 weeks pre-ISMB)
  Nominated candidates are automatically notified of their nomination by email. Nominees are requested to accept the nomination by submitting their CV and a candidate statement through the ISCB website.
• Elections: 3 – 17 July 2013 (2 week election period; ends on last day of ISMB conf)
  Election takes place through the ISCB website. All ISCB members can vote for the candidates and each ISCB member has one vote per position. The election results will be announced in August via ISCB website.
• Training Period: 11 October 2013 – 21 January 2014
  Elected candidates work with current Student Council leaders to become familiar with current projects and general Student Council procedures. Elected Student Council leaders will take office on January 21st, 2014.

The Positions

The following is a rough description of what is expected of the elected Student Council leaders. Experience shows that all positions require a time commitment of several hours per week. If you want to know more about any of these positions please don't hesitate and contact our current or past leaders.

• Chair
  The Student Council Chair has the overall responsibility for the activities of the Student Council. Together with the other elected leaders, the Chair defines the goals of the organization and outlines a strategy to successfully reach the goals. The Chair is the driving force behind the efforts of the Student Council, which means that s/he will encourage and support other leaders to ensure that projects are successfully completed. It is the responsibility of the Chair to propose new initiatives and projects to ensure that the needs of the member body are addressed. The Chair is involved in all decisions regarding the appointment of new committee chairs and other project leaders.
• Vice Chair
  The Student Council Vice Chair assists the Chair in fulfilling his or her duties. In the absence of the Chair the Vice Chair is responsible for all operations of the Student Council. Vice Chair and Chair are expected to collaborate closely. The Vice Chair can also take over a certain area of operations to oversee and supervise in collaboration with the corresponding committee chairs, e.g. education issues or development of our Regional Student Group network.
• Secretary
  The Student Council Secretary is responsible for the official correspondence of the Student Council and informs other leaders and members about upcoming meetings. With the help of other leaders the Secretary prepares meeting agendas, keeps a record of meeting minutes and distributes them after meetings. The Secretary also acts as the custodian of all important Student Council documents, including committee reports. The Secretary helps the Chair and Vice Chair to develop internal procedures and guidelines. He or she also helps to ensure proper communication between Student Council committees and elected Student Council leaders.
• Treasurer
  The Student Council Treasurer is responsible for the finances of the Student Council. He or she is responsible for creating the yearly budget, and managing this budget. They oversee expenses and, with the assistance of the Fundraising Committee, generate funds to support Student Council general activities as well as specific events, for example through the recruitment of sponsors or application for grants.
• ISCB Board of Directors Representative
  The ISCB Board of Directors (BoD) Representative of the Student Council serves as a first point of contact between the BoD and the Student Council. His or her duty is to convey all decisions and requests between the BoD and the Student Council promptly and properly. The BoD of Representative must attend and inform other Student Council leaders about all BoD meetings and teleconferences and update the BoD with the latest developments from the Student Council.
  The BoD representative is a full member of the ISCB Board of Directors and is expected to make every effort to attend the annual BoD meeting at ISMB.