I lead CEA's University Groups team. We often post updates on the Forum about what we're up to, and are always happy to answer questions!
I helped start & ran Positive Impact Society Erasmus (PISE) in 2020-2022, and was co-lead for EAGxRotterdam 2022. I'm happy to answer any questions about those experiences!
Hi Weronika, thank you for sharing your story and reflections so openly! I basically think you are right in there probably being organizers for whom the stipends are the difference between organizing their EA group and not doing so, and I really want to make sure we take this point into account as my team dives into considerations around part-time stipends in the new year. As @satpathyakash notes, I think an imporant question here is the scale, and I hope to make some progress on this point!
I also wanted to flag explicitly that we are tracking the diversity concern you note.
I expect that as part of our research in the new year, we'll set up various ways of asking stakeholders, including current, former, and potential organizers, for input. I would be keen to include you in this process, if you're happy to keep sharing your thoughts! And as always: thanks for organizing your group :)
Hi @peterhartree, I'm getting an error when trying to open the voting form:
"You need permission - This form can only be viewed by users in the owner's organization."
Hey, I’m Joris and I currently run CEA’s University Groups Team. I just wanted to share some more personal thoughts on this topic. My thoughts do not represent CEA’s official position and are also a bit messy, but I wanted to share them to be transparent and maybe provide some insight into how I am thinking about things.
In general, I often notice myself thinking that I feel sad to live in a world where a small fraction of the population has such outsized opportunities to shape the world. But people in certain positions do have outsized resources to impact the world, and if we get a chance to inspire these
people with EA ideas and motivate them to act on them, we should. I’m excited to find someone who can work with us on making the most of this large opportunity for impact, and hope people apply for the role!
Many semesters are about to kick off in the next ~month, meaning the busiest and most important time of the year is coming up for many EA university group organizers.
I'm very grateful for the work of university group organizers around the world. University groups have been a place where so many people learned about EA ideas and met others who are equally motivated to do good in an impartial and scope-sensitive way. Many of the people who got involved with EA through university groups are now making progress on fighting very difficult problems in the world. Thank you to everyone who was and is making that possible by helping run a university group!
If you know a university group organizer, please consider sending them a message to wish them all the best with promoting EA ideas this month and beyond!
Hey Gergo, just wanted to say I've seen this and hope to get back to you soon!