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Society of Doctoral Candidates at NMBU (SoDoC)

Society of Doctoral Candidates at NMBU (SoDoC) is a free and non-political interest organization for PhD candidates and postdocs at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences.

  • About SoDoC

    SoDoC was established on 1 February 2016. The purpose of SoDoC is to secure the interests of PhD candidates as well as postdoctoral researchers at NMBU. The organization handles issues of common interest to these groups.

  • SoDoC primarily focuses on
    • Improving the working conditions and well-being of our members
    • Supporting the career development of our members
    • Organizing social events to foster a sense of belonging
    • Rights, duties and ethics at the University 

  • SoDoC Board Members Roles

    All registered Ph.D. candidates and postdocs at NMBU may become members of SoDoC. Members are free to join relevant trade unions and promote doctoral issues through these forums as well.

    SoDoC has a board consisting of a leader, a social leader, an academic leader, a treasurer, a secretary, and a webmaster. The board is elected every year at the annual annual meeting.

    Functions:

    Leader: The leader is responsible to plan and coordinate the board activities. The leader makes sure that the entire board works towards the welfare of PhD candidates and early-stage researchers at NMBU.

    Academic Committee: The function of the academic committee is to organize academic events for PhD and Postdoc students at NMBU. This includes larger events with invited speakers on topics relevant to your academic career, but also smaller and informal gatherings among the PhD students.

    Social Committee: The social committee organizes annual events like BBQs, Ski trips and Parties.

    Secretary: The key tasks of the secretary include; writing minutes at the meetings, editing annual report, and keeping these documents for future references. The Secretary is also tasked with learning the constitution and bylaws of SoDoC, and ensuring that all activities of SoDoC (especially the AGM) comply with its decisions, rules and regulations

    Treasurer: The treasurer manages and supervises how SoDoc is using its money, keeps checks and balances, and distributes yearly compensations to board members.

    Webmaster: The webmaster is responsible for the SoDoC Webpage as well as the SoDoC Facebook page.

    NOVA: Representatives for the Nordic Forestry, Veterinary and Agricultural University Network  – NOVA. NOVA is a university cooperation aimed at supporting the understanding of major global challenges in a Nordic context. Together we provide high quality PhD-level courses in subjects related to agricultural, forestry and veterinary sciences, and support PhD- and post-graduate veterinarian specialisation students and NOVA’s scientists in building international scientific networks.

    Ethics committee representative: The Ethics committee provide advice on ethics issues at NMBU, while considering the long-term implications of ethical stands. The specifics of the issues are confidential. What might be said in general, is that some issues may be mitigated by maintaining a good quality of communication throughout processes and resolving issues locally, however some issues require further consideration.

    SiN representative: Representatives of SoDoC in the Stipendiatorganisasjonene i Norge (SiN)

    Equality and Inclusiveness Committee: The committee for Equality, Diversity & Inclusion seeks to initiate and inspire progress within equality and diversity for employees and students at NMBU. The committee wishes to contribute to a university environment for all regardless of gender, ethnicity, national origin, language, views on life, political views, sexual orientation, and functional ability. 

    Specific issues of the committee are how to improve the gender balance at the higher academic ranks (such as professorship), how to balance the priorities of language learning with communication in the workplace and encourage an inclusive environment, where we as individuals can grow by gaining awareness of issues.

  • Rules and regulations

    SoDoC is an independent, nonpolitical, nonreligious, volunteer, nonprofit, democratic interest organization for Ph.D. candidates at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU).

    Constitution of SoDoC:

    SoDoC Constitution 2025Download

    § 1. Name
    The name of the organization is “Society of Doctoral Candidates”, abbreviated as “SoDoC” and hereinafter referred to as “SoDoC”. SoDoC was established on 1st February 2016 by a merger of Forum for Doctoral students at UMB (FODOS) and Doktorgradskandidatenes interesseorganisasjon i veterinærmiljøene (DIOV).


    § 2. Principles
    SoDoC is an independent, nonpolitical, nonreligious, volunteer, nonprofit, democratic interest organisation for Ph.D. candidates, postdoctoral researchers and other temporary researchers at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU).


    § 3. Objectives
    The purpose of SoDoC is to secure the common interests of doctoral candidates at NMBU, such as:

    • Study conditions
    • Professional interests
    • Economic interests
    • Social benefits
    • Rights and duties at NMBU
    • Research ethics
    • Issues regarding science and society
    • Social events

    § 4. Governance
    The General Assembly (GA) is the supreme decision-making body of SoDoC and consists of all participating members at the Annual General Meeting (AGM).
    The AGM is held once a year and is open to all members. All members should be informed about the meeting no less than 14 days in advance.
    The SoDoC board is the supreme administrative body of SoDoC.
    In special circumstances, the SoDoC board can summon extraordinary sessions of the GA to be known as an “Extraordinary General Meeting” (EGM) if requested by its members or the board itself. A written notice of the EGM has to be circulated to all members not less than 7 days prior to it. The decisions of the special session shall be limited to matters stated in the request for such a session.


    § 5. Membership
    All registered Ph.D. candidates, postdoctoral researchers and other temporary researchers at NMBU are de facto members of SoDoC. There are no membership fees.
    All members have the right to:
    a. Participate in the activities of SoDoC
    b. Attend and speak at the AGM and EGM
    c. Vote in the AGM and EGM


    § 6. Composition of the Board
    All members of SoDoC are eligible for the SoDoC Board. The members of the Board should, as far as possible, represent the diversity of the Ph.D. candidates at NMBU. The Board organizes its work freely and shall call for meetings as needed.
    The Board is elected for one year by the GA during the AGM according to the rules described in the By-laws.
    The Board of SoDoC shall consist of a leader and at least five members.

    Minimal composition of the Board:
    a. Leader
    b. Treasurer
    c. Secretary
    d. Head of Academic committee
    e. Head of Social committee
    f. Webmaster
    Other roles that are deemed critical to the functioning of SoDoC are set out in the by-laws.


    § 7. Amendments to the Constitution
    The Constitution may be amended by the GA during the AGM.
    A written notice of the amendment must be circulated to all members no less than 30 days prior to the AGM.
    Amendment of the Constitution may be agreed only by the GA with at least a three-quarters (3/4) majority of those present and voting.


    § 8. By-laws
    To regulate matters not described in this Constitution, SoDoC has By-laws. The By-laws have to comply with this Constitution. In case of divergence, the Constitution shall override the By-laws.
    By-laws may be introduced and/or amended by a three-quarters majority of those present and voting Board members at a regular Board meeting.
    a. A written notice of a new By-law or amendment must be circulated to all Board members no less than 14 days prior to the Board meeting.
    b. By-laws may also be amended without prior notice, provided that at least half of the Board is present and agrees unanimously on the new By-law or amendment.

    Bylaws of SoDoC:

    Board
    The six Board members defined in the Constitution form the "Core Board". Additional Board members can be elected by the GA and form the "Extended Board".
    The Core Board positions shall be occupied by a minimum of six distinct individuals at the beginning of the mandate. They shall receive compensation for their work defined in the document "Guidelines for Board Compensation". The leader of the Board has two votes whenever there is equality of votes. More than one individual can occupy each of the Core Board positions; in that case, the compensation is shared by the members occupying the same position.
    The Core Board members have a duty to attend all the Board meetings and to notify another member in the event of a prolonged absence. If a member is absent and unreachable for a longer period than 1 month, the rest of the Core Board may decide to exclude the absent member and to redistribute his/her task and compensation among other Board members, or to summon an EGM to elect a new member.
    The Extended Board positions can be cumulated with any other Board position. The Extended Board members receive no compensation. Their participation in Board meetings and notification of absence is encouraged.


    Duties of the Board

    • Prepare an annual report (containing a financial report from the past year and an account of the past year's activity) for approval by the GA during the AGM. The report should be made available to all members no less than 14 days prior to the AGM.
    • Suggest a plan and budget for future activities and present it at the AGM.
    • Call for AGMs.
    • Establish committees as necessary.
    • Leave enough financial information to the next treasurer and leader (e.g. bank statements, Excel sheets, …)
    • Provide sufficient financial information to enable the next Board to verify expenditures and maintain accurate, continuous accounting using the designated systems.


    General Assembly Procedures
    A chairperson and a secretary shall be appointed by the Board at the beginning of the meeting. All decisions of the GA shall be reached by a simple majority vote of those present and voting unless stated otherwise in the Constitution or By-laws.
    Duties of the GA during the AGM:

    • Approve the annual report from the Board.
    • Elect a new Board
    • Elect representatives and deputies to external councils and committees as necessary
      Minutes from the AGM should be sent to all members.


    Elections

    • A minimum of one vote counter shall be appointed by the chairperson. They are responsible
      for collecting and counting the votes. They will also announce the results. The vote counter(s) can freely decide the voting method (on paper, digitally, …).
    • Election for any given position will be decided by relative majority.
    • Candidates can be proposed during the meeting.
    • If there is more than one candidate for a position, the elections should be undertaken with a written procedure.
    • The candidates have the right to be present and vote during the elections.


    Compensation
    Members working for SoDoC could have the right to compensation, and should keep track of their working hours and report them to the treasurer before the AGM. The compensation will be distributed by the treasurer proportionally depending on the number of hours worked.

Other doctoral organizations in Norway: