Author: The Vice-Chancellor’s Blog (Page 6 of 6)

The Swedish Academic Collaboration Forum (SACF) is an international cooperation project between six universities, namely Uppsala University, the Royal Institute of Technology KTH, Chalmers University of Technology, Lund University, Stockholm University and Linköping University. The goal of the project is to develop and strengthen existing research cooperation between researchers in Sweden and other parts of the world, and forge connections with business and industry. The project is funded by STINT, which we are grateful for. Together we will hold six ‘Excellence Seminars’, the first of which was held this week in Hanyang University in Seoul, Korea. Welcoming words were given by Urban Ahlin, speaker of the Swedish riksdag, and by Ambassador Lars Danielsson. I (Eva) gave an introductory keynote titled ‘Innovation and research – a local perspective on global challenges’. The first SACF seminar was a success with lively sessions and dedicated researchers. Representing Uppsala University were Kristina Edström, Mats Larhed, Marie Allen, Kersti Hermansson, Peter Lindblad and Börgvin Hjörvarsson, who all gave presentations in the sessions which were themed as follows:

• Creative economy/Innovative Business and Management
• Sustainable welfare for quality of life
• Functional materials
• Health challenges in a “silver” society
•  Towards a low carbon society
• University management

All in all, this was a very successful start for the SACF and I would like to thank everyone who in different ways have contributed to the 2015 Korea – Sweden Excellence Seminar. Cooperating internationally is important and gives us much greater impact. Upcoming seminars will be held in Singapore and China in November 2015, followed by seminars in Brazil and Indonesia in 2016. The final meeting will be held in Stockholm. If you would like to know more about the SACF or take part in an upcoming seminar? Speak to Ulrica Ouline.

On Monday, some of us visited the Medical Center at Hallym University. Uppsala University has since several years back cooperated with Hallym University, on initiative of my predecessor Anders Hallberg. Among other things we organize alternating symposia together, the last one in Uppsala. The next meeting – the seventh of its kind – will be held in Korea.

In connection with the 2015 Korea–Sweden Excellence Seminar, the Swedish Institute organized a combined alumni and pre-departure meeting for the participating Swedish universities. Some twenty Uppsala alumni came to the reception to mingle and share memories of Uppsala. It is always pleasing to see how our alumni truly are our ambassadors on location all over the world and I really encourage our teachers and employees to take the time to meet our alumni when travelling abroad.

On Monday and Tuesday the Vice-Chancellor’s Management Council visited Brussels. In two days we managed to fit in a dozen or so meetings, and on top of those an alumni reception.

In quick succession we met representatives of different EU bodies, as well as a number of the many organisations who aim to influence and monitor specific EU issues. Vinnova’s offices in Brussels generously provided us with venues for many of our meetings, and Dan Andrée and Sandra Oliviera gave us a valuable introduction to Vinnova’s own activities.

We were given an insight into the work with European Research Areas including the initiative to establish a European pensions fund to facilitate researcher movement. We also met Thomas Jorgensen of the European University Association, Christina Miller from the UK Research Office, Kurt Deketelaere from the League of European Research Universities and John Westensee who works with researcher support at Århus University. We also managed to fit in a visit to the European Parliament, the European Research Council and the Swedish EU representatives.

On Monday evening we hosted an alumni reception at Hotel Leopold. Some 50 people – former students, a few honorary doctors, and other friends of the university – gathered for a pleasant and relaxed event.

The trip gave us a concentrated insight into European research politics. The current discussion revolves not least around worries of the recently appointed Juncker administration’s relative disinterest in research issues and the controversial suggestion to finance the new European investment plan – The European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) – to a significant degree by reducing the previously determined framework for Horizon 2020 by €2,7 billion.

We would like to thank all who so generously shared their time and knowledge, not least our own EU administrator Anders Jonsson who arranged the brilliant programme for our visit.

The second part of our trip to Australia focused on Sydney. An exciting city with several interesting universities and strong ties to Uppsala. Together with my colleagues Catharina Svensson, Kerstin Rydbeck, Erika Dabhilkar and Kay Svensson I visited the University of Sydney, Macquire University and the University of New South Wales. Our visit coincided with Orientation Week. It felt like in Uppsala in August–September – a great mixture of expectations, ambitions and curiosity. The difference however was in the number of international students. Here more than 25 per cent of the first-year students come from abroad!

On the Thursday evening we invited alumni, friends and exchange students to a reception like the one we had in Melbourne. And just like our first event it was a great success. Here too there was a large group of exchange students who had just arrived in Sydney. They have a whole year ahead of them in this fascinating environment. We wish them all the best of luck and hope they make the most of this opportunity. They seemed to be well on their way.

At Macquire we met an old friend from the Matariki Network, Jim Lee. He was recruited as Deputy Vice-Chancellor of international issues from Queens University in Canada, just over a year ago. We also got the chance to meet Folke Tersman from Uppsala. He has a research period at the University of Sydney and gave us an opportunity for deeper reflection on Australian education and research.

In medicine, Catharina Svensson discussed several interesting projects. Among other things we visited the Hearing Hub at Macquire University – a unique collaboration between health care, research, patient organisations and industry that can offer interesting possibilities in several areas. Kerstin Rydbeck (and the whole group) also got to see their newly built library which is fully automated. An interesting future scenario.

We also had time for an inspiring look at an ambitious project called PACE that works with internships, society and field work at Macquire University. It whet our appetite and was interesting input to our own thoughts about internships and volunteer work among our students.

During our visits we received greeting to Fred Nyberg and Peter Wallensteen from colleagues we met. We now head back home to Sweden with both bags and heads full of new impressions. There is much to learn from and be inspired of in Australia. And that feeling is mutual, there is a lot of interest in Uppsala. One result of this is the fact that Macquire University will be visiting Uppsala this month. A big thank you to Erika Dabhilkar who organised nearly all parts of this trip!

2014 has been a very successful year for Uppsala University.

During the year Uppsala University climbed up the rankings and is now, according to all three leading global lists, among the 100 most distinguished universities worldwide. Uppsala is the higher education institution (HEI) in Sweden that receives the largest total sum in grants awarded by the Swedish Research Council, and we rank in the top for grants from the Wallenberg Foundation and the European Research Council as well.

In December the European Institute of Technology announced the winners of its 2014 Call for Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) Proposals. Uppsala is part of both the two selected pan-European KIC consortia. One is InnoLife (which aims ‘to promote entrepreneurship and develop innovations in healthy living and active ageing’) and the other is RawMatTERS (where ‘TERS’ stands for ‘Tackling European Raw Materials Sustainability’).

Since the summer, Uppsala has also been coordinating two new Erasmus Mundus programmes, focusing on South Africa and Asia. Overall, application pressure to enrol on our study programmes is at a record high and the number of international students is steadily growing.

Major events

The year has meant welcoming numerous visitors to Uppsala. The first meeting of the Uppsala Health Summit was held in June. In September, Magna Charta Observatory held its annual conference in Uppsala, for the first time ever outside Bologna. And it has been a while since so many Nobel Prize laureates chose to come and lecture in Uppsala in December.

The new hub for SciLifeLab Uppsala, Navet, opened up in April. In October, the construction of the new Segerstedt Building, which will house university administration and student services, began. New agreements have been prepared for funding the next phase of the FREIA Hall (Facility for Research Instrumentation and Accelerator Development), where we are developing technology for the European Spallation Source (ESS) initiative.

We have embarked on development projects on e-learning, active student participation, and cultural heritage as an educational resource. We have also initiated a follow-up of the Quality and Renewal (KoF) 2007 and 2011, to obtain a point of departure for discussions of a possible forthcoming research evaluation in 2016.

Simultaneously, unrest in the national political leadership has affected us during the autumn. The abrupt disappearance of the special merger funding for Campus Gotland in the government budget proposals in October was surprising and disturbing. After successful political mobilisation, we were given guarantees that this mistake would be corrected, but the Government’s budget eventually failed to get parliamentary support. At the time of writing, we are therefore back where we started. The original merger funds will remain in 2015 and, it is hoped, 2016 as well. One positive side-effect of this budget chaos is the highly favourable publicity Campus Gotland has gained during the autumn. All those involved and concerned – the Ministry, the region and the sector – have commended the merger and underlined its beneficial effects to date.

Challenges

We are now preparing for 2015, and there is much to which we can look forward. A new national quality system for education is in the making. The investigator Harriet Wallberg, who is also Sweden’s University Chancellor, has proposed henceforth placing the HEIs in charge of shaping their own systems of educational evaluation. This change will be in line with what we have long wished for. It does not mean that the evaluation will be less stringent. On the contrary, establishing locally adapted systems that both control and develop the quality of our multifaceted range of study programmes will call for major efforts.

Other key issues that will occupy the leadership of the University and our faculties when we get together again after the holidays are:

• further planning for Ångström Phase IV
• conclusion of negotiations for a new regional Agreement concerning Cooperation on Medical Education and Research (‘ALF-avtalet’)
• monitoring and influencing the plans for a new national evaluation and resource distribution model for research
• paving the way for the continued development of our ‘strategic research areas’.

Implementation of the University’s new mission statement, ‘Goals and Strategies’, is another vital task. The key strategic discussions on the future challenges to our education research are being held – and will be held – in collegial forums in the various parts of the University. The goals and strategies simultaneously remind us that Uppsala University, in all its breadth and diversity, is one university with shared basic values and joint overall objectives.

This university’s successes are founded in excellent inputs on the part of all our highly competent and committed employees and students. Together with the broader university management team, prepared for the upcoming holidays in the picture below, we wish you all a joyful and refreshing break from work over Christmas and the New Year!

Eva Åkess​on
Vice-Chancellor

Anders Malmberg
Deputy Vice-Chancellor

On 14 November, 25 new professors were installed in office. We had a solemn ceremony in the Grand Auditorium of the University Main Building, followed by a fine banquet at Uppsala Castle. All the professors gave brief lectures in the course of three days, attended as usual by many people who were eager to hear what they had to say.

In conjunction with the Inauguration, we paid tribute to this year’s recipients of the Distinguished Teaching Awards for 2014 and also the winner of the innovation prize known as Hjärnäpplet (‘the Brain Apple’).

Once again, congratulations to all the professors and prize-winners — we are impressed!

We have also had the 2014 Anders Wall Lecture in the Grand Auditorium, on 19 November. This was attended by students and business leaders, along with others who were curious and wanted to experience inspiring lectures, musical entertainment and the award of Student of the Year, which went to Vanja Eriksson: congratulations!

The University arranges the Anders Wall Lectures jointly with the Anders Wall Professor of Entrepreneurship Foundation and the Entrepreneurs Academy, a student organisation. This annual lecture in entrepreneurship has become Sweden’s biggest meeting between students and the Swedish business sector. This year marks the 11th anniversary of the Anders Wall Lecture, and Fredrik Lindström moderated the event.

Yesterday we welcomed new students from across the world to Uppsala University, in the University Main Building. Student nations (that’s what we call our student clubs), student unions and other organisations presented themselves, and the newly arrived students were given a taste of all that Uppsala has to offer.

More and more international students choose to come here, partly thanks to the scholarships we have to offer through generous donations by Anders Wall, the President’s Club of Uppsala University, Rotary and other foundations. Students are also granted scholarships through IPK and Erasmus Mundus. But more scholarships are needed going forward.

This week I will be welcoming new students to Uppsala University. This is one of the Vice-Chancellor’s most inspiring tasks, and perhaps one of the most important.

This morning I welcomed students in science and technology. When talking to them, I was reminded again that many are having real difficulties finding somewhere to live, and for some the situation has become desperate.

So, I would like to ask everyone who works at the University to rent out a room, if at all possible.

Last year I had a student living with me for two months and I can strongly recommend it. It was fun, and I also got to hear how a student experiences their first few weeks in Uppsala.

Get in touch with studentboet.se if you have a room to spare. If you have any questions, send them to bostad@us.uu.se. Studentboet.se is a collaborative effort between Uppsala University, Uppsala Student Union, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and the city of Uppsala.

At Uppsala University – Campus Gotland there is a housing guarantee at the beginning of the semester, but here too there is a need for more student housing. Anyone who has a home to rent out in Visby can contact the local student union Rindi, tel. 0498-10 84 90 or e-mail boende@rindi.com.

On Wednesday we will be welcoming international students in the University Main Building. On Friday we have the Welcome Reception for Swedish students, and on Monday there’s the welcome reception at Campus Gotland.

We’re very happy to see so many students wanting to come to Uppsala University and contribute to a living and lively university. Many researchers, both from within Sweden and from abroad, are also joining us. This makes it all the more satisfying to be able to officially open the new housing for guest researchers at Lagerkransen in the coming days. It is the old department building for limnology at Norbyvägen 20 that has been remade into 46 brand-new flats. A great location at the heart of the university area, close to the Evolutionary Biology Centre, Blåsenhus and the Botanical Garden.

Let’s all do our best to welcome our new arrivals – both students and researchers. Both in Uppsala and on Gotland.