Open Institute Rep positions

The following committees are currently looking for graduate representatives. If you are interested, please fill out this form and we will reach out to you. Nominations are made on a rolling basis and this list will be continually updated as seats are filled/available.

Committee on Student Life

  • 1 opening
  • Webpage
  • “Because successful education depends on social and affective, as well as cognitive, aspects of the student’s experience, the Committee shall be concerned with student life and the quality of the learning and living environment at MIT with specific attention to issues of community.”
  • The past year has seen this committee focus in particular on issues related to food insecurity and access to dining on campus. This is likely to be a priority for the committee in the upcoming year as well. Another current priority for the committee is bike safety, as well as centralizing resources for students at MIT.
  • You will attend 5-6 meetings per term scheduled for Mondays from 12 PM to 1:30 PM

Dining Advisory Group

  • 2-3 openings
  • Last year the Committee on Student Life (CSL) undertook a comprehensive review of campus dining, noting several areas for improvement: enhance the quality and value of food offerings; broaden healthy and affordable food options; and consider developing a “neighborhood” dining model that offers easy access to food throughout the day.
  • The Chancellor’s office is forming a Dining Advisory Group to provide input on a long-term vision for dining at MIT.
  • The group is anticipated to meet three or more times during this academic year, serve as a sounding board, and provide insights for campus planners and the MIT administration. 
  • Students who are future-focused and open to considering new possibilities for dining at MIT are encouraged to apply. You will be sharing your own unique perspective on shaping food and dining culture at MIT for years to come!

Learning Management System Advisory Committee

  • 1 opening
  • This committee oversees Canvas & related systems for use for teaching at MIT, sets policy, informs key decisions, etc.
  • Meetings are on 3rd Friday of the month from 12-1pm on zoom.
  • You are expected to attend the meetings, share your perspective & views on Canvas-related issues.
  • A good candidate is a Canvas user, ideally as both a student & TA or instructor, interested in helping improve teaching at MIT.

Institute Council on Belonging, Achievement, and Composition

  • 1 opening
  • Webpage
  • The CBAC is charged with monitoring and assessing MIT’s efforts to “create and institutionalize new policies, systems, and behaviors that promote equity, value differences of opinion and origin, and establish conditions for productive disagreement that unite all of us in service to the Institute’s mission.”
  • Expectations from the committee
    • Attend weekly zoom meetings. In the past year these were scheduled for 10 AM to 11 AM on Fridays, but this is subject to change.
    • Have an interest in collaborating with colleagues to directly support the success of the Strategic Action Plan for Belonging, Achievement, and Composition and assess the Institute’s progress in implementing the plan.

Council on Family and Work

  • 1 opening
  • Webpage
  • This council discusses issues related to family and work for all MIT community members.
  • Previous discussions have included an emphasis on childcare options for graduate students.
  • Expectations from the committee
    • Attend monthly meetings, traditionally scheduled during the afternoon of the last Thursday of each month.
    • Parental issues have been a regular discussion topic, so at least one of the GSC representatives is preferred to be a parent.

MITAC Advisory Council

  • 1 opening
  • You may be familiar with MITAC (MIT Activities Committee) which is an employee benefits program that sells tickets, often discounted, to a wide variety of events and activities, to the MIT community. In FY23, MITAC served about 3,700 unique customers with nearly 22,480 tickets sold online and at our campus and Lincoln Laboratory ticket offices.
  • MITAC Advisory Council overview and responsibilities
    • The Council was formed in September 2010, and currently includes faculty and staff from campus, Lincoln Laboratory, and affiliate organizations. Please see the MITAC Advisory Council membership listing.
    • The Council’s mission is to provide guidance to the MITAC program committee and MITAC team on Institute priorities, policies, business practices, long-range planning, and the administration of the employee benefits program.
    • Continuing projects include providing guidance about MITAC’s new inventory system and website (in development); communications and outreach to create awareness about MITAC and expand our customer base; and community-building opportunities.
    • Hybrid meetings are held quarterly.
    • The term on the Council can be 1, 2, or 3 years.

Graduate Student Professional Development Committee

  • up to 3-4 openings
  • The Graduate Student Professional Development Refinement and Implementation Committee was formed as a part of Task Force 2021 and was given the following charge:
    • RIC 3 recommends the creation of an Ad Hoc Committee on Graduate Student Professional and Personal Development that will be charged with developing a set of graduate professional and personal development requirements, that all graduate students must fulfill, constituting opportunities beyond the technical training and the degree requirements of their disciplines.
  • The Committee meets ~biweekly to work on the design and function of this requirement, including learning objectives, scope of student engagement, mechanism for oversight and awarding credit, internship structures, and more. The committee’s chairs are also conducting a socialization campaign in which they bring the concept to individual departments and groups, discuss questions, and collect input and feedback.
  • Meeting frequency is every other week for 1.5 hours.

Previous Openings

(No longer accepting applications)

Chancellor’s Innovation Fund Review Committee

  • 1 opening
  • The Chancellor’s Innovation Fund gives MIT students, staff, and faculty a chance to explore their creativity and problem-solving skills around a theme. Inspired by the MIT Values Statement’s call to “…welcome quirkiness, nerdiness, creative irreverence, and play,” this year’s theme is PLAY. MindHandHeart administers the Innovation Fund on behalf of the Chancellor’s Office. This committee’s role is to evaluate applications and their suitability to the Innovation Fund and to advise the Chancellor on funding decisions. Learn more at the website.
  • The Innovation Fund review committee will meet for one meeting each in the fall and spring terms. Fall date TBD but will be the week of 10/14; spring date TBD but projected to be the week of 3/3. This meeting will last approximately 1.5 hours.
  • Committee members will be expected read and evaluate applications in the week+ prior to the full committee meeting. We expect there will be about 20 applications to review, but if we receive a high number of viable applications, we will assign reviewers specific applications to read.
  • A good candidate should have an open mind and a good idea of what programs/projects will be popular to graduate students. They should also be able to articulate their reasons for evaluating projects.

MIT Recreation Ambassadors

  • 1-2 openings
  • Please check out this document for details.
  • Meetings:
    • 4x/year, 60 min each. 2x/semester. Oct. 8th 2pm – 3pm is the first meeting. Fall semester: 2 meetings
    • o Meeting 1: outline committee structure, charge, operations and relevant discussion topics, tour,
    • presentation, etc.
    • o Meeting 2: TBD
    • o Meeting 3: TBD
    • o Meeting 4: Last meeting of the year includes dinner and reflection/celebration and feedback for next year (equipment, hours of operation, services, etc.)
  • Expectations: Attend 4 meetings/year, use recreation services and either write a blog or post on social media/take over socials once per semester.