Candidates for elections to the faculty board at SU - Kunnskapsbasen
Candidates for elections to the faculty board at SU
Elections 2026
These are the candidates, and their self-presentations, for the election of temporary academic staff to the Faculty Board at SU. The election will be held from May 11 to May 13, 2026.
Norsk: Kandidater til valg til fakultetsstyret ved SU | Elections at SU
Amanda Nicole Fayant
PhD Candidate, Department of Education and Lifelong Learning (IPL)
I am a PhD candidate in Education and Lifelong Learning at NTNU, in the Department of Education and Lifelong Learning. I moved to Norway in 2004 and am originally from Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Alongside my academic work, I am an artist, poet, and writer with an interdisciplinary practice grounded in Indigenous methodologies, feminist perspectives, and research on visual and digital culture. My doctoral research explores how young people engage with digital visual culture—such as memes and short-form video—as sites of meaning-making, interpretation, and social belonging.
I have broad teaching experience in higher education, including lecturing and teaching assistance in areas such as digital culture, media literacy, youth media practices, visual culture, and Indigenous studies. Teaching places me in close contact with students and colleagues and provides insight into the everyday responsibilities and contributions of temporary academic staff.
I am running as a representative for temporary academic staff because I believe it is important that these everyday experiences are clearly represented in dialogue with faculty leadership. Temporary employees play a central role in teaching, research, and institutional life, yet often have limited influence on decisions that shape working conditions and future opportunities. I am motivated to support open communication, promote constructive and respectful practices, and contribute to solutions that benefit both employees and the faculty as a whole. I also see this role as an opportunity to learn more about faculty governance and share this knowledge with other temporary staff interested in engagement and representation.
Rebekka Louisa Drude Andersen
PhD Candidate, Department of Social Work (ISA)
I would like to work to ensure that temporary employees have a good working environment, opportunities for competence development that can provide strong career prospects, and the possibility to participate in interdisciplinary collaboration across the university. Above all, I want to be a representative whom people can contact and talk to, if there are issues, they would like brought to the leaders of the faculty.
It is my impression that not all departments have implemented the transition from mandatory duties (pliktarbeid) to career-promoting activities, and as a result, many PhD candidates miss the opportunities that this change was intended to create. I want to help ensure that PhD candidates know their rights and opportunities and feel confident in using them. I see NTNU’s interdisciplinary strategy as a major strength, and I would like to help ensure that temporary employees receive useful information about their opportunities to participate in interdisciplinary research relevant to their field, and that it becomes clearer when, and to what extent, this can be considered part of career-promoting activities.
I have experience from several other universities, including the University of Copenhagen, the University of Southern Denmark, Northeastern University, USA, University of Surrey and Oxford University, UK. My experiences from these universities have given me a nuanced perspective on what is happening at NTNU. In addition, I have previously served as a representative on the PhD Program at the SU Faculty, and as a deputy representative for PhD candidates at my department. I therefore have insight into several levels of governance at NTNU.
Amanda Veronica Hausken
PhD Candidate, Department of Geography and Social Anthropology (IGS)
As temporary academic staff we are a vital, yet often vulnerable group. I am running to ensure that our voices, needs, and perspectives are clearly represented on the faculty board. Our contributions are not just temporary - we actively shape NTNU’s academic environment and knowledge base, both now and in the future. In questions regarding resource prioritization, my vote will always be for the solution that supports us temporaries and the community as a whole, best. I am furthermore concerned with ensuring that the knowledge values we create as social- and multidisciplinary scientists create are appreciated by society – technology alone cannot solve everything.
I am a PhD student in Geography, with a background in entrepreneurship within coastal tourism, and previous board experience in business as well as on a volunteer basis at NTNUI. Today, my research focuses on the environmental impacts of plastic pollution in coastal areas, because I believe that we need more knowledge to take better care of our nature. My interdisciplinary approach has shown me that meaningful solutions emerge through collaboration across fields and perspectives.
As a representative, I will work to improve predictability and security for temporary staff, while strengthening awareness of our role within the academic community. With both Norwegian and international experience, I am also committed to inclusion and fair working conditions for all.
“Knowledge for a better society” is created together - and I will work to ensure we have a strong and clear voice in that process.
Eskil Gaasø Indrestrand
PhD Candidate, Department of Sociology and Political Science (ISS)
I am running because the funds available to us temporaies need to be increased. The funds allocated to both PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers have remained unchanged for twenty years. At the same time, inflation and exchange-rate fluctuations have significantly reduced what that funding can actually cover.
This ground money are essential if we are to purchase necessary equipment and academic literature, attend conferences and courses, and cover various fees. When the funding is not adjusted, we are left with fewer opportunities for development, exchange of experience, and necessary purchases.
SU sets the framework for how much funding we are allocated, which is why this issue must be addressed in the faculty board. I believe our funding needs to be raised and then adjusted in line with inflation going forward.
Contact
If you have questions, the Election Board SU will be pleased to answer: valg@su.ntnu.no
