Annual Report, 2002

Shobita Parthasarathy (4S Student Rep 2000-2002)

Robert Doubleday (4S Student Rep 2001-2003)

28 October 2002

During this year, the student section of 4S began to build the infrastructure
to sustain a growing network of junior scholars. We have written a charter
for the student section and expanded activities at the 4S meeting to
include an issues forum, a business meeting, and a social event.

The email listserv has grown in membership and we have also begun to
develop links with students in EASST. The 4S student section also has
plans for growth in the coming years, with additional meeting activities
and plans for more contacts among students.

ACTIVITIES THIS YEAR:

4S Meeting, 2002.

At this year's 4S meeting there will be three events planned for students.
First, there will be a round table discussion ( Thursday lunchtime) on
post-doc opportunities in STS. It is part of the student section plan
to increase the number of events specifically for students at 4S meetings.
These events will focus on career and research development rather than
substantive topics relating to research, as students already participate
fully in presenting papers at 4S.

There will also be a student section business meeting (Friday lunchtime)
at which plans for the coming year will be discussed and elections will
take place for a student representative and members of the student section
committee. Announcements of current jobs in STS will also be distributed
at this meeting.

Finally, on Saturday night, after the 4S Banquet, the student section
has organised an informal party a short distance away from the conference
venue.

Listserv.

The listserv. has continued to meet the demand for sharing notices of
jobs and post-docs in STS, conferences, and opportunities for publication.
In addition, the size of the network has continued to grow, with the
listserv expanding to over 350 members. There have been proposals from
time to time to start a discussion based internet forum. We have not
yet developed this forum, but plan to do so in the future.

Charter.

Consistent with the aim of institutionalizing the student section within
4S, we have drafted a charter for approval by the student business meeting
at this year's 4S meeting. The charter sets out the aim of the student
section:

The student section exists within 4S to facilitate interactions among
students and junior scholars of social aspects of science and technology,
and to promote the interests of students within the 4S organisation.

The charter also sets out how student representatives and members of
the student section committee will be elected.

Links with EASST.

We have helped to promote the inclusion of a student in the EASST Council.
At this year's EASST conference in York we helped organise a session
on 'how to' publish in STS journals. We hope to continue these links,
which can be further cemented at the next joint 4S/EASST meeting.

PLANS FOR NEXT YEAR:

In addition to maintaining the momentum that the student section has
developed over the last two years, there are two areas in which we want
to expand our activities. These concern the development of links among
4S student members beyond the annual meeting.

Website/database.

The establishment of a website is a priority for the student section.
This website will serve as a notice board for student activities, and
provide links to the listserv.

Mentoring program.

At this year's 4S meeting we will launch a mentoring program that will
connect new students with more experienced students and junior scholars
from other institutions who are working in related areas. This will run
for a trial period of a year, after which we will review the program.

NEXT STEPS?

We believe that it is vitally important for 4S to pay greater attention
to the services it offeres its student members. Not only do student members
provide for the continuing success of the society itself, but the extent
to which 4S plays a broader role in the development of the 'social studies
of science' depends in part on the promotion of training and development
of students in this field.

We hope that by encouraging links among students, the student section
can help 4S meet these challenges. Thus, it might be useful at this juncture
to consider how the student section can work together with 4S as a whole,
particularly in the light of Section 8 of the 'visions' document on career
development. We would also like to develop more formal ways to promote
jobs and other opportunities for 4S students.

Finally, as the activities of the student section grow, some thought
should be given to the funding of their administration. We propose that
a small annual budget be agreed at 4S Council meeting to run for one
year and be reviewed in 2003.

We hope that this annual report helps to keep the rest of 4S up to date
with the student section.