• Our Mission:
To bring together students and alumni of the NOVA Masters under an umbrella social organization offering a variety of clubs, services and extra-curricular projects that, while embracing the opportunity to constantly innovate, represent a continuous improvement in students’ lives and promote the creation of a long lasting link between individuals sharing these programs.
• Our Vision:
To encourage an inclusive campus environment that is culturally active and responsive to our community of students, celebrates diversity and aims to provide a well-rounded school life. We believe that this will be a strong value addition to all Masters Programs as well as to the brand of the School itself.
• Our Means:
In order to improve student life, our role is to guide students in their initiative and motivation. Our structure has risen naturally through the creation of Clubs. These are groups of students with a common passion and this is the way it shall remain, and also the way our union must be driven. Therefore, our role must be to promote and guide these clubs in their activity, building among them a community, a network and a life that goes beyond the walls of the classrooms.
• Our Structure:
Consists of 3 Social Network Student Representatives, a main coordinator and two associates, respectively for IT and Finance departments. Besides, there are also 3 Student Representatives for the areas of CMO and Academic. Finally, the Alumni, namely the ones previously acutely engaged in the MSN, will form a Pool Board that will have a saying on matters of core importance related with long-term horizons – both in terms of projects and financing. Our organizational structure is described in detail in the attachment provided with this Statement.
• Our Responsibility and duties:
These people defined above are responsible for making sure that the MSN website provided information is correct and up to date, and that it reflects the best interest of all Master’s students. They also have the duty of embracing, supporting and advertising every initiative suggested or promoted by Masters’ students, whether or not through a club. MSN must never reject to help a student on some idea he might have in order to improve extracurricular or even academic life. One final goal of this entity is to organize the Graduation Ceremony together with the clubs that may be helpful in developing successfully that event.
• Our election – legitimacy and representativeness1) When - Every academic year the Representatives for each of the three fields must be elected. This election must be ran not later than three weeks after classes start, and the period until then is reserved for students to present their proposals.
2) Who – Every student has the right to present his candidature to the MCO until the day before the elections, specifying the field he is interested in. These enrollments are subject to the Master’s staff approval, with no justification due in case of refusal. On the other hand, every student enrolled in any Master’s program has the right to vote, regardless of the state in which the development of his program is at (i.e. – years of permanence, thesis or not, number of credits, part-time worker, etc). Note: Research Master’s students are also endowed of voting power, for electing representatives of the Academic area in which their program focuses (Economics or Finance.) and can be candidates themselves.
3) How - On the day of elections, every student receives three bulletins, where he can vote for a Representative for each field – from his Master’s program. Afterwards, the social representatives have to choose within another week, with the approval of Professor Daniel Traça, the three Organizational Associates, based on their demonstrated pro-activeness and by phases, i.e. they first choose the main Coordinator who will then help them pick the IT and Finance experts.
4) Why – Voting is not only a right, but a duty of every Master’s student. Although it is assured by our structure and principles that no power ambitions, conflicts or any other forms that may distort the elected students from their mission will arise, these are important roles that require individuals that are up to the job. It is the responsibility of all students to consensually decide who they believe are the best representatives of their interests, and the best potential pursuers of the vision.
