Science Election 2025: This is how students and employees decide!

Science Election 2025: This is how students and employees decide!

On July 7, 2025, the university election forms became available at the University of Würzburg. This election takes place at the end of the winter semester and includes several committees that are elected by students and employees. The most important committees include the student parliament, the senate and the faculty councils. The election management is led by the chancellor or a delegate, while the election committee acts as a second body to ensure a fair election. uni-wuerzburg.de reports that the election committee is responsible, among other things, for examining and approving election proposals and designing the election documents.

The legal basis for these elections is the version of the election regulations most recently published in the Bavarian Law and Ordinance Gazette. The University Senate is made up of various members, including six representatives of full-time university lecturers, one representative of academic staff and doctoral students and two students. In addition, the university's women's representative is part of the Senate. This committee has the task of deciding on university statutes and appointment proposals for professors. polyas.de states that the self-administration of universities is anchored in the Basic Law and state laws.

Composition of the committees

The Student Parliament, formerly known as the Student Convention, is a central body with a total of 42 members. Of these, 20 members are appointed by student representatives, while the remaining 20 are elected directly by the students. In addition, two student senators are represented in parliament. The tasks of the student parliament include representing the social, economic and professional interests of students as well as electing the members of the speakers' council.

The faculty councils are composed of various actors, including the dean, vice dean and dean of studies, who are ex officio members. In addition, representatives of university teachers, academic staff and students are elected. The faculty councils are responsible for decisions regarding study programs, examination regulations and professorships. uni-regensburg.de emphasizes that the student councils represent the interests of students at faculty level and help them organize their studies.

Important tasks and responsibilities

The election regulations and the associated tasks are clearly regulated. The election committee is responsible for checking the validity of votes in cases of doubt and deciding on election challenges. The Senate is also responsible for adopting university statutes and establishing new study programs. In this context, the elected members of the Senate also become part of the University Council, which strengthens the governance structures at the universities.

In summary, it can be said that university elections have an essential function for self-government and co-determination at universities. The clear regulation of the committees and their tasks is intended to ensure that the interests of students and employees are effectively represented.