The LUNA ball will take place on January 21st.

Note it down in your calendars make sure to rehearse your best waltz moves.

Interested in studying abroad? At the Faculty of Science you are able to study parts of you education at another university, in another part of the world.

The deadline for applying is November 1st.

Information about exchange studies and the application can be found here and here. If interested in the University of California, take a look here.

If you have any questions, contact Kristina Miolin at 046-222 30 01 or kristina.miolin@science.lu.se.

Lund University has a lot of students, that is something we are all aware of. But do we all fit in, physically?

The student unions of Lund University under the umbrella organisation LUS carried out an investigation surveying the unmber of study places available for students. The results were less than optimal.

Did you know the Faculty of Science only offer 0.17 study places per student?

October 17th a manifestation event where tents were put up in Lundagård and at TLTH campus was performed. This was to draw attention to the release of the LUS Study Place Report and to illustrate its content by offering seats in the tents as study places.

This along with a press release caught the attention of media. Tune in at Sveriges radio P4 and check out SVT‘s article to learn more.

Applying for courses vt17

This Monday, October 17th, is the very last day to apply for spring term courses 2017. It is very important that you remember to apply and go for courses within your program if you are to continue your studies.

Last Friday the LUNA party committee (sv:sexmästeri) arranged a sitting at Hallands nation. The theme was prehistoric and many  creative costumes came to show.

Great thank you to all participants.

The Gender equality and equal treatment committee of LUNA (JoL) has created an event together with TLTH and MF, inviting the Swedish artist and activist Navid Modiri to talk about diversity, integration and what is reasonable to say to people from other countries. This is highly recommended for anyone, not only people who are interested in these kinds of questions. The event will be held in Swedish, and it costs 50:-. Make sure to reserve your seat before 23/9 by stepping by the union and get your ticket. Remember that CASH is king!

When: October 3rd at 17:30
Where: Kårhusets aula
Read more at Facebook.

Feature on student opinions by the president of LUNA.

How many times have you not heard someone complain over lunch? It might be about your last exam not being handed back out on time, or that Ladok result that is still missing. Maybe there are never any vacant group rooms available or simply too few practical elements in you education. Whatever it may be about, those complains too often stay in the lunch room and remain just being sulky comments.

That is not the way it has to be, neither the way it should be.

Last Friday (2016-09-02) LUNA, together with the other student unions at Lund University, attended the Welcome Expo ‘Hälsningsgillet’ to inform new university students about our work. Different games and informative activities followed each other. What to me stood out the most was the Åsiktsfotografering, roughly translated the ‘opinion photo shoot’.

What we did was simply trying to strike a conversation with passing students at the fair, asking them if they had any opinions on their experience at university. Maybe not the easiest question to answer as a novisch, but the crowd also provided some familiar faces with a tad bit more experience.

The Åsiktsfotografering allowed students to write down their thoughts in a little speech bubble and be photographed with it. What this did was draw attention to the matter of student opinions. What may be perceived as whining can be a widespread notion. It is not always the solution to ‘suck it up’,  justified opinions are the basis of organised student operation.

Student opinions matter more than many students ever realize. The student unions work with improving the situation for all students they represent, be that education-wise or concerning social life. What dictates what work we do, is what our students think. It is quite saddening knowing that much of the basis of our work never surfaces.

Student influence can be found on all different levels: Want to make sure the courses are the way they should be? We review course plans and evaluations at department level. Is there something wrong with the rules of admission? We can bring that up at centrally at the university. How are the resources for higher education actually distributed? We can have a say in that on a national level.

This activity was eye-opening for many people I believe. Some had never realized the great extent of the influence student unions have in Sweden and others had no idea what difference they as students are actually able to make. I myself was inspired by how much enthusiasm and ambition I met when discussing these matters.

So next time you find yourself complaining in the lunch room, remember that your opinion can make a difference. It just has to be heard.

The new students have arrived, a warm welcome to all of you!

Today was the introduction day, and so the start of the novisch period we have all been waiting for. Hundreds of nervous novisches got to meet their new classmates, as well as their mentors. This year’s theme of the period is “The Treasure Quest”, and info about the period can be found either in the novisch booklet or on the Facebook page. We suggest that you like the Facebook page, as it will be updated during the period.

During this two and a half week period, the four teams (BÖÖL, GLuFS, LEMUR and SNYS) will compete for a giant treasure chest in various competitions, so good luck to all of you! Also, if you were not able to attend today’s events, you are more than welcome to show up on the other activities. The schedule can be found in the links above.

A warm welcome to all of you new students at the Faculty of science. Congratulations for being accepted to Lund university.

This is LUNA, the science student union. We are here to help you with whatever you may need during your time here in Lund. As a student union we monitor your education, voice your opinions towards the university, and arrange social activities throughout the year.

Here on our webpage www.lundsnaturvetarkar.se you find lots of useful information. You can reach us on Facebook as “Lunds Naturvetarkår – LUNA” or e-mail luna@luna.lu.se. Follow us on Instagram @naturvetarkaren. Our office is located in the Astronomy Building.

Remember to accept you offer to study on www.antagning.se no later than July 29^th.

If you are looking for housing we recommend you register to AF Bostäder at www.afbostader.se straightaway for student accommodation hosted by the Academic society or at www.bopoolen.nu for second hand housing.

Another useful thing to obtain is a membership in Studentlund. This will allow you to become a member of the union and join a nation, more information on that is found at www.studentlund.se.

Of course we want our students to be introduced to the university in the best way possible, therefore we arrange a novisch period for you as first time student. This will be a time filled with fun activities, opportunities to make new friends, and to learn about your upcoming university studies. Be sure to like “Treasure Quest LUNA Novisch 2016” on Facebook and check the webpage under the “Novisch – new in Lund” tag for more information.

Do not hesitate to contact us or stop by for a cup of coffee.

At the faculty’s graduation ceremony in the university building on June 5th the Science Student Union awarded Åke Lindström with the pedagogical prize and Ricardo Guillén with the honorary prize. See the motivations below. Congratulations!

Åke Lindström, Professor in Biodiversity, Dept. of Biology

For being an extraordinary and inspiring lecturer as well as the course coordinator for the Nature Conservation course at the department of Biology, the Pedagogical prize of 2016 is awarded to professor Åke Lindström. The Nature Conservation course is said to be one of the most beloved courses at the Department of Biology, and much of it can be attributed to Åke who with great passion and enthusiasm coordinates the course. Åke has been a great source of inspiration to many students throughout their education by encouraging them to get interested and aware of the surrounding environment.

Åke also sees the value in discussions and the effects it haves on the student’s learning. He always have an interesting question in his back pocket, ready to start reflections and promote a student based learning climate. All students should be able to take part of the pedagogical qualities that Åke personify, and therefore he is well worthy the Pedagogical prize.

Ricardo Guillén, IT technician at the Dept. of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science

Ricardo consistently provides IT support to all students and staff. He usually responds to emails and personally comes to assist you within an hour. Many students have not noticed that he actually works only three days a week at the department because his responses are so timely.

Ricardo has been particularly supportive of the work of SNG (Studierådet för naturgeografer och geologer). For example he has assisted with the development of the department student guide and its distribution over the webpages. Furthermore he helped promote the SNG alumni pages and the development of a mailing list of work and phd opportunities for students. Through his work he has contributed to reducing the gap between studying and industry placement. Ricardo is always friendly and very approachable. Staff depends on him to advertise news in the department on the webpage and department facebook page. The facebook page is especially important for increasing student awareness of department activities. Moreover, Ricardo has helped and promoted SNG by giving SNG its own computer account with free printing for posters and other documents.

Ricardo is essential for the smooth running of the department of Physical Geography and ecosystem analysis.