The Department of Physics PhD Council

The Department of Physics PhD Council (in Swedish "Fysikums doktorandråd") is the assembly of all enrolled PhD students at the Department of Physics at Stockholm University. Its purpose is to represent the interests of the PhD students in the different committees, boards, and councils within the department and the university.

The Council is the PhD students' democratic channel for being heard within the department.

The full Council meets twice a year: in the spring, to elect the PhD Council board (described below) and the PhD student representatives to the department's committees, and in the autumn, to nominate PhD student representatives to faculty- and university-level boards. These meetings are where representatives are chosen and important information is shared, so all PhD students are encouraged to attend.

Representatives attend committee meetings to provide a PhD student perspective and report important information to the PhD Council board.

Representative work is compensated with prolongation days (extension days). If you are employed as a PhD student, your contract is extended accordingly, so representative work does not reduce your total research time.

This page is maintained by the PhD Council board.

What does the PhD Council board do?

The PhD Council board coordinates PhD student representation at the department. This includes organising elections of representatives to the various committees at the Department of Physics, maintaining contact with all representatives, ensuring that PhD students' interests are represented, and informing all PhD students about relevant issues, such as changes in regulations and important events. The board also organises social and educational activities for PhD students.

To fulfil these tasks, the board meets once a month and can appoint smaller working groups to focus on specific issues when needed. The department board and each advisory committee have at least one PhD student representative, which gives PhD students a direct voice in both minor and major decisions at the Department of Physics.

How often does the PhD Council meet?

The complete council (i.e. all PhD students) convenes in full two times per year: once in the spring to elect new representatives in the department, and once in the fall to nominate representatives to the faculty level boards.

These meetings are an excellent opportunity to distribute critical information and should therefore be attended by as many PhD students as possible!

Mandate of PhD Representatives at Fysikum

PhD Representatives Responsibilities and Mandate pdf, 1 MB.

Contact

If you need help finding information or want to bring an issue to the council's attention, contact the board representative from your own division (or any other). Perhaps you have an idea for improving the PhD courses, or you need help with a difficult situation where the rules are unclear. We will do our best to help.

General enquiries: phdcouncil@fysik.su.se

Presidium (chair, vice-chair): presidium.phdcouncil@fysik.su.se

Board members, academic year 2026-2027:

Chair: Arun Subramani (Atomic Physics)

Vice-chair: Anton Harrer (Chemical Physics)

Treasurer: Mario Amaro (Condensed Matter and Quantum Optics; KOMKO)

Julia Salwén (Astroparticle and Elementary Particle Physics; ELPA)

Rejila Janoharan (Atomic Physics)

Nikolaos Vassardanis (Chemical Physics)

Joaquin Lopez Suarez (Condensed Matter and Quantum Optics; KOMKO)

Charalampos Nikolis (Cosmology, Particle Astrophysics and Strings; COPS)

Suryakanth Kaushik (Medical Radiation Physics; MSF)

Niklas Engelhardt Önne (NORDITA)

Last updated: 2026-10-02

Source: Department of Physics