Author: Vice-Chancellor’s Blog (Page 14 of 24)

(Original Swedish post published 21 February.)

A few times a year, we as a university (and public authority) communicate formally with the government. One of these occasions is the annual report, when we report on how we have responded to the tasks given us in our appropriation directions, another is the budget documentation in which we present a forecast for the coming years along with the University’s considerations and budget requests. Both these documents are adopted by the University Board at its February meeting, which was held today.

The annual report summarises the past year in nearly 100 pages of text, tables and figures. A few samples of the contents:

Last year the University had 42,549 students. We admitted the first students to the preschool teacher education programme at Campus Gotland. A total of 5,391 students took degrees and are now moving on to jobs or further studies and research. More than 800 students came to Uppsala from non-EU countries and paid tuition fees. The new system of quality evaluations for educational programmes got off the ground, with ten of the University’s programmes conducting pilot evaluations.

Last year we also carried out Quality and Renewal 2017 (Q&R17) – a major review of all our research environments. The results are now being digested and acted on at all levels of the University. The University’s researchers published more than 6,000 articles and books. Uppsala University secured EUR 18 million from the EU’s research programme Horizon 2020. Since 2014, 57 of the University’s researchers have received prestigious grants from the European Research Council (ERC), and several researchers have won similarly prestigious Wallenberg Academy Fellows awards.

The rapid expansion of recent years continued, though at a more moderate pace. Turnover is approaching SEK 7 billion (an increase of SEK 800 million over the past five years), and the number of staff is approaching 7,000. However, in some areas developments are slower than we would like. The proportion of professors who are women is creeping up but is still too low, at 29 per cent.

In the budget documentation we look ahead. Some of the issues the University particularly highlights are the need for increased basic appropriations for research and higher (restored) compensation per student in educational programmes; the difficulties of finding enough practice placement opportunities in certain programmes; the need for a national scholarship fund for third country students; and of course the issue of guaranteeing universities’ autonomy and freedom of action, and the freedom of research and education.

(Original Swedish post published 4 February.)

Early on Thursday morning the Management Council defied the snow and set off for Brussels to combine this semester’s overnight conference with a study visit. A change of perspective provides inspiration for strategic discussions.

We had a packed programme, starting with an introduction to the Swedish government’s work in Brussels. At the Permanent Representation of Sweden to the European Union we met Ambassador Åsa Webber and Daniel Sjöberg, who works with Swedish MEP Cecilia Wikström (who was unfortunately unable to attend) at the European Parliament. Åsa, Daniel and Cecilia all happen to be Uppsala alumni.

Åsa Webber

The European Commission led by Jean-Claude Juncker is coming to the end of its period in office. They are trying to follow up and highlight the issues the EU has been working on. Right now, the big issues for the future are Brexit, the negotiations ahead of the EU’s multiannual budget and the run-up to the elections to the European Parliament in May 2019.

Naturally, we wanted to focus on developments in the area of research and education. Negotiations are now in progress on the next framework programme, the seven-year research programme that will replace Horizon 2020 and is provisionally referred to as FP9 (Framework Programme 9), and on the future of Erasmus+. In many ways, Brussels is one great negotiating machine, which is now firing on all cylinders. Johannes Jarlebring, Uppsala University’s EU strategist, gave us a thorough briefing on how decisions are made in Brussels, and how we can get involved, provide input and influence decisions.

As you probably know, Uppsala University is a member of The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities. In the afternoon we went on to the Guild Office. This is a kind of home office for us when in Brussels, so it’s both convenient and relaxing to be able to hold meetings there.

The Management Council meeting at the Guild Office

On Thursday afternoon we met Secretary-General Jan Palmowski, who talked about the most important issues on The Guild’s agenda. After that, Thomas Midtgaard, expert at the European Commission, talked about the Commission’s work on FP9 and President Macron’s call for European Universities. Dan Andree from Vinnova and Ana Beramendi from the Swedish Research Council told us about their work. Vinnova and the Swedish Research Council have a joint office in Brussels these days.

A busy day ended with further discussions over an enjoyable dinner.

On Friday morning we continued with a programme that had a greater focus on education issues, beginning with a talk by Thomas Jørgensen, policy officer at the European University Association (EUA), another network of which we are a member. What will happen to the Bologna Process in future? How will Erasmus+ develop?

Thomas Jørgensen, EUA

We also learned more about the European Research Council (ERC), one of the most successful and prestigious parts of the EU framework programme for research. Anna Lönnroth told us more about how it works and about plans for the future. The final guests in our programme were representatives of the Commission working with the European Institute of Innovation and Technology’s Knowledge Innovation Communities. Uppsala University is involved in three of them: InnoEnergy, Health and Raw Materials. They also talked about plans ahead of the new framework programme FP9.

We concluded with a regular Management Council meeting which also gave us a chance to sum up our impressions. How can we equip ourselves and prepare for the new research programme? What do we need to work on more at home? Can we benefit from experiences from the projects in which we have been involved? How do we conduct and use analyses? Should we draw up an EU strategy? Uppsala University is a member of several European networks: The Guild, EUA, Coimbra and U4. It’s important for us to be aware of how we can best use each of these networks.

(Original Swedish post published 24 January.)

The annual meeting between Minister for Higher Education and Research Helene Hellmark Knutsson and university vice-chancellors, organised by the Swedish Higher Education Authority, has just ended. As usual, it took place at Steningevik. Obviously we are heading for an election, and the Minister’s speech was clearly influenced by this. She looked back on what it had been like the first time she stood before this group of vice-chancellors and gave the impression that this was the last time in this context.

What issues will be important in the election campaign? The issues the voters care most about, we were told, are health care, refugees, and law and order – not university issues. The Minister went on to talk about the security issues affecting the sector, such as the threat against Malmö University and the shooting in Uppsala. Then she took up the research bill and the investments made by the government during this electoral period. She particularly emphasised that the 25,000 additional places are permanent, unlike the temporary measures taken by the previous government. In general, she praised the sector and stressed that Sweden as a whole has a fantastic higher education landscape. And then came the “whole country – lifelong – worldwide” line as the setting for policy.

I noted that a government bill on higher education admissions will be presented in March, with a government decision due in June, taking effect in the autumn semester 2022, to allow time for those just entering upper secondary school to complete their programme. Otherwise there was little that was new, many issues were postponed for future attention, for the most part assigned to ongoing government inquiries on internationalisation and on governance and resources. But research infrastructure is so important and complex that it will be tackled by a separate inquiry, the Minister said, though not before the election. And the inquiry on internationalisation will probably deliver its interim report during the spring. Good to know in advance so we can plan and be prepared. As usual, it was worthwhile to meet colleagues and exchange experiences, and to get some idea of what’s coming up. The fact that it’s an election year was obvious.

(Original Swedish post published 21 January.)

The spring semester has kicked off and we have welcomed old and new students to our University. On Friday, we will hold our Winter Conferment Ceremony, at which our nine faculties honour new PhDs and honorary doctors. The people of Uppsala notice the day because cannon salutes are fired as early as seven in the morning and during the actual ceremony. Along with the doctoral degrees, the University gives out some of its most prestigious prizes and awards. Most of the honorary doctors give lectures or seminars during the week – have a look on the University’s events page.

Last week we visited Malmö, where Sweden’s latest university celebrated its establishment. The theme of the day was “Knowledge in collaboration: a seminar on inclusive and sustainable societies”. Minister for Higher Education and Research Helene Hellmark Knutsson started proceedings by talking about the government’s research bill, which was presented just over a year ago. Nothing new, in other words, but it was interesting to hear what she emphasised and highlighted.

Last week ended with a state visit, when Uppsala welcomed the President of Iceland, Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson, accompanied by his wife Eliza Jean Reid and a delegation, together with the King and Queen of Sweden. The programme at Uppsala University began at Ångström Laboratory, with presentations by researchers on sustainable energy and natural disasters. After that the delegation was received at the University Main Building, where researchers gave a short introduction to the links between Uppsala and Iceland’s cultural heritage. The visit to the University concluded at the library, with a showing of Icelandic manuscripts including the Uppsala Edda. The visit to Uppsala ended with lunch at the castle, hosted by County Governor Göran Enander.

In between all the ceremonies and state visits, we’re hard at work on the University’s annual report for 2017 and the budget documentation we have to send to the Ministry ahead of the round of annual dialogues between the Ministry and its subordinate agencies, including universities. Eva will take part in the traditional meeting between the Minister and vice-chancellors at Steningevik, we’ll have to see what the Minister takes up then. Anders is off to Davos to take part in a side event at the World Economic Forum, where Maria Strömme will speak on the incredible possibilities opened up by new materials. Being vice-chancellor and deputy vice-chancellor is full of variation and never boring. We hope you had a chance to enjoy the glorious winter weather at the weekend.

(Original Swedish post published 7 January.)

We hope you have enjoyed the holidays. Now we’re back and it’s time to get set for a new semester at our University. Many of you are already busy with research, exams, teaching, services and support so that everything goes as well as possible.

Our Monday starts with a meeting of the Management Council at which we will discuss strategic issues, priorities and projects for the years to come. Together with the vice-rectors and the students, we will decide on the way ahead. Though we have already put in a lot of work on many of the issues – research infrastructure, internationalisation and career paths, for example – they still demand planning and priority setting.

• How can we best follow up on Q&R17 and how can we take the results of educational evaluations forward?
• How can we adapt our services and administration to give the most appropriate support in an increasingly international research and study environment?
• How can we keep our programmes fresh and forward looking to equip Uppsala students for an increasingly unpredictable future?
• How can we become an even better employer and create more attractive workplaces?

The #MeToo discussion has reminded us how important it is that we always treat one another with respect and responsibility, irrespective of our role and position. How can we become better at this? And what should we in the university management be doing to prevent misconduct and promote good research practice?

As you see, we have many important issues that we are eager to get to grips with on Monday. We hope you are all happy to be back and look forward to a new semester with you!

With Christmas and the New Year upon us, it is time to sum up and assess a busy year, and to look ahead.

For those of us in the management – and for many members of staff – Quality and Renewal 2017 featured prominently in the year’s work. Together, we have reviewed and analysed all of our research environments. The external review performed by more than 130 critical friends has given us constructive feedback on what works well and what needs development. During the year, we have also started on our educational evaluations. We are steadily gathering the knowledge we need to be able to move our University forward.

Exercising responsibility for quality is a core university activity and is essential if we are to attract well-qualified students, staff, teachers and researchers. It is pleasing to note that our programmes continue to attract high numbers of applicants. In fact, we have more applications than any other university in Sweden. We also perform well in the annual rankings and obtain a large share of the resources distributed by research funding bodies. However, success does not entitle us to rest on our laurels. We continue to forge ahead. Boundary-crossing research initiatives are a good example. Some of those launched this year are Circus (the Centre for Integrated Research on Culture and Society), the research school UAC (Uppsala Antibiotic Centre), Upptech and UUSI (Uppsala University Sustainability Initiatives).

International scholarship recipients.
Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt

‘Boundary-crossing’ is also an apt description of our student body. Our students are a source of inspiration and new perspectives that make us better. We are happy about our growing number of international students, our workplace is multicultural and we have taken major steps this year towards greater internationalisation. Parallel language use is one such step, and we are also endeavouring to take a broader approach to staff recruitment.

International students learning to play Bandy with Uppsala club Sirius.
Foto: Mikael Wallerstedt

The year has also involved a number of inaugurations and new investments in our physical infrastructure. The Segerstedt Building, the Humanities Theatre, the Rudbeck Laboratory, Carolina Rediviva and Ångström are major building projects that have been completed, begun or approved this year. It is exciting to see the expansion and to note how well the new buildings have turned out.

Official opening of the Humanities Theatre. Photo: David Naylor

Official opening of the Segerstedt Building.

But all is not well. We live in a troubled world. We have seen terror create chaos and political decisions cause uncertainty. An authority who was a guiding light – Hans Rosling – left us far too soon. In his absence, we must continue to fight against fact resistance and for a more equitable world.

When the world around us is shaking, it is even more important that we stand firm in our convictions and principles. We do so by continuing to promote a more open society. Networks and cooperation are important routes in the right direction and this has been a year of many meetings and many journeys. The Management Council visited partners in the United States, the Guild network gives us a stronger voice in Brussels, the Southern African–Nordic Centre (SANORD) has celebrated its tenth anniversary, the Matariki network is steaming ahead and here in Sweden we have established Lärosäten Öst (Higher Education Institutions East). The year has also been notable for the much-needed discussions on power structures and sexual harassment, on how we behave towards one another and how we protect the vulnerable. The National Centre for Knowledge on Men’s Violence Against Women and its telephone helpline have existed for 10 years and sadly are needed more than ever. The #MeToo campaign affects us all and discussions on how to move forward are in full flow.

2017 års SANORD-konferens i Zimbabwe.

At the welcome reception for new students at Campus Gotland.

At the University, 2017 has been a ‘super election year’. The University Board has a new chair and several new members. Deans and vice-rectors have been newly elected or re-elected for new terms, as have the Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor. After all the election and consultation processes, we have an experienced management team that looks forward to the years ahead. One of the things we look forward to in 2018 is celebrating that Gotland has been part of our University for five years. The cooperation is thriving and we have a new programme pointing the way ahead.

Now we would like to conclude by expressing our thanks to our staff and students for the year that has passed, for work well done and for all the enthusiasm and dedication we have encountered during conferences with heads of department and deans, Management Council meetings, visits to departments and students’ unions, student collaboration meetings, staff meetings, meetings with the unions, and more.

We are also grateful for your trust, look forward to seeing you in the New Year and hope that you all enjoy a wonderful ending to 2017.

Eva Åkesson, Vice-Chancellor
Anders Malmberg, Deputy Vice-Chancellor
Katarina Bjelke, University Director
Stellan Sandler, Vice-Rector for Medicine and Pharmacy
Torsten Svensson, Vice-Rector for Humanities and Social Sciences
Johan Tysk, Vice-Rector for Science and Technology

(Original Swedish post published 12 December.)

On Tuesday morning, Eva Åkesson had the pleasure of starting the day by deciding which of our researchers and students would receive scholarships worth a total of more than SEK 17 million. These scholarships are made possible by donations to Uppsala University from individuals who wish to support young people, education and research. The money makes a great difference, both to individual people and to the University. In addition to these scholarships, students at Uppsala can also benefit from the plethora of scholarships available from the student nations.

Later in the morning, Uppsala Student Union presented a report on students’ psychosocial health. Mental ill health is a serious problem in society – particularly among young people. This is an important report which provides a good basis for continued work on these issues, which we think are best addressed jointly by students, the Student Health Service and the University as a whole.

Tuesday continued with the last University Board meeting of the semester. The members had braved the weather and made their way to Uppsala from near and far. The agenda consisted mostly of information and discussion items. We had a preliminary discussion on the budget figures that the University has to send to the government in February, and we talked about doctoral education.

The University Board decided to appoint Anders Malmberg Deputy Vice-Chancellor for the next three years. That completes the university management team starting in 2018, the deans, vice-rectors and Vice-Chancellor having been appointed earlier this year.

University management has increasingly become a matter of teamwork. We are ready and eager, as Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, to continue working together with undiminished vigour for another three years to create conditions for quality and renewal in our research, education and external collaboration.

First of all, though, we must make sure to give the best possible reception to the many Nobel laureates and other guests visiting Uppsala University on Lucia Day. The shadows may brood over our sun-deprived world at this time of year, but tomorrow it will be bright and warm in our well-filled lecture halls.

(Original Swedish post)

Today an important new tradition was launched in the Ihresalen lecture hall at the English Park Campus. Uppsala University held its first annual conference on educational evaluation, with more than 200 participants. The conference will be an annual feature of Uppsala’s new quality assurance system for education.

In Uppsala University’s model of educational evaluation, the responsibility for the design, implementation and follow-up of educational evaluation rests with the disciplinary domain/faculty boards. The model has two components: annual systematic follow-up of education, and educational evaluations by an external reviewer every sixth year. The annual follow-up is part of the domains’ responsibility for the quality of their educational programmes and forms an integral part of the model. The more comprehensive external evaluations are intended to assure and enhance the quality of educational programmes, with the overarching purpose being to achieve the University’s general goal of offering educational programmes of the highest national and international standard. Read the guidelines for the system here (in Swedish).

In February 2018 the faculties will present their plans for the evaluation of all their programmes over a six-year period. Ten pilot evaluations have been carried out in 2017. Experience and results from these pilot evaluations were presented at the conference. Experiences differ in detail but one thing almost all had in common was that the local educational environments had felt strong ownership and felt that the process of working on educational evaluation in itself enhanced quality. The enthusiasm was palpable.

It’s pleasing and promising that a University-wide conference on educational evaluation attracts so many enthusiastic participants. It’s a joy to see teachers, students, directors of studies, degree programme coordinators, senior faculty administrators, deans and others from every part of our broad University working together and exchanging experiences on how we can make our educational programmes even better!

(Original Swedish post published 5 December.)

The Swedish National Audit Office has undertaken a survey and analysis of the agency capital held by higher education institutions. Its report is entitled: “Why are higher education institutions building up capital?” The report was published last week and was presented on Monday during the Higher Education Forum in Linköping. The report gives an instructive account of agency capital and how it comes into being. Overall, it gives a reliable and balanced picture of how the agency capital held by higher education institutions (HEIs) has built up, above all over the past decade, along with some reasonable recommendations to both HEIs and the government.

Agency capital consists of accumulated resources saved by HEIs, deriving from unused government allocations for education and research in past years. Agency capital does not include external funding that has not yet been used. The total agency capital accumulated by the HEIs comes to around SEK 12 billion, which corresponds to 19 per cent of the sector’s annual turnover. In absolute terms, research allocations contribute most to agency capital, but in relative terms, a larger share of education allocations are saved. Agency capital increased most in 2009–2011, when the HEIs were given significant (temporary) additional educational responsibilities, which coincided with major new research funding being made available after the 2008 Research Bill. Since then growth has been more moderate, but has remained at a high level.

The build-up of agency capital is often considered incompatible with efficient use of central government resources. Large accumulations of agency capital mean that central government resources are held unused by HEIs instead of being employed in the sector or used for other state budget priorities. Having said that, it is not unreasonable for HEIs to have a certain buffer for dealing with the uncertainties of complex activities like education and research, and to give them scope to make strategic investments.

Furthermore, the fact that agency capital remains at a high level for several years does not mean that new money remains unused. The example of Uppsala University can serve to clarify this. Between 2012 and 2016, the University’s budget rose from SEK 5.5 billion to SEK 6.6 billion. This means the volume of activities – research and education – increased by an average of SEK 275 million per year during this four-year period. During the same period, the University’s agency capital increased by an average of SEK 56 million per year, from SEK 1.153 billion to SEK 1.378 billion in total. SEK 56 million is less than one per cent of Uppsala University’s total budget. We can therefore conclude that during these four years – a period of rapid expansion, historically speaking – the University managed to use 99 per cent of the research and education appropriations it received each year. It may take a while from a decision to allocate new funding until students are admitted and teachers and researchers employed, but it is wrong to say that resources are being hoarded.

Nevertheless, it is important that universities themselves have control over their agency capital and a strategy for how best to use it, just as it is important that the government has control over and sends clear signals about how HEIs are managing the situation. The National Audit Office report makes some recommendations, which are reasonable on the whole.

The government should ensure clear, strategic and transparent management and follow-up of agency capital at HEIs by developing criteria to assess the size of agency capital based on the needs and situation of individual HEIs.

HEIs should establish a more favourable environment for using agency capital, and should provide more adequate information to the government by ensuring the existence of documentation showing the breakdown of agency capital into reserved and unreserved funds.

The line between these two categories can be quite tricky to draw. Otherwise the National Audit Office’s recommendations are reasonable.

Uppsala University sees its agency capital as a resource to be included in operational planning and budgeting just like other resources. It is reasonable that the University has a certain amount of agency capital so that it can maintain a preparedness for new initiatives, unforeseen events and changes in government instructions. Like the National Audit Office, we consider it important to have a certain buffer, though the University must limit the size of its agency capital.

During the past year, Uppsala University has clarified and tightened up its internal limit values for agency capital. The target for the University’s agency capital is 5–15 per cent of turnover (measured in costs) in research and doctoral programmes and 5–10 per cent in undergraduate and Master’s programmes. The difference is explained by the fact that more than half of research funding comes from fixed-term external funding, while education is largely funded by more predictable government appropriations. The existence of agency capital in different parts of the University should also be taken more clearly into account when assessing proposals for new strategic initiatives.

In each disciplinary domain, the target for agency capital is 0–15 per cent of turnover in research and doctoral programmes, and 0–10 per cent in undergraduate and Master’s programmes. The disciplinary domain/faculty boards set the limits for agency capital at department level.

(Original Swedish post published 2 December.)

Right now, I (Eva) am on my way home from the very successful SANORD conference in Zimbabwe. SANORD (Southern African–Nordic Centre) is a network consisting of 46 partner universities in the Nordic region and southern Africa, which I am chairing in 2017–2018. SANORD was founded in 2007 so the organisation celebrated its 10th anniversary during this year’s conference. Ten years together – from 7 members to nearly 50, with annual conferences, joint research projects, student mobility and an increasing number of joint publications. There are many reasons to feel proud about what we have achieved together during these ten years. Our next meeting will be in Jyväskylä, Finland, in August 2018.

South Africa’s Minister of Science and Technology, Mrs Naledi Pandor

In the weeks leading up to the conference in Zimbabwe, many of us were nervously following political developments and wondering whether we would dare to make the trip or not. Following Mugabe’s resignation and the peaceful transition of power, most participants decided to travel to Zimbabwe anyway, as planned. We were given a warm welcome and our Zimbabwean colleagues very much appreciated our coming to the conference.

Professor Brian O’Connell (former Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Western Cape) and Professor Sigmund Grönmo (former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bergen), who took the initiative for SANORD and were its first two chairs, participated and reflected on the way SANORD has developed over the year and the future outlook. A total of 150 participants from the member universities were present, as well as South Africa’s Minister of Science and Technology, Mrs Naledi Pandor, and the Permanent Secretary of the Zimbabwean Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development, Professor Francis Gudyanga. Zimbabwean media (TV and newspapers) reported from the conference. During the conference, which was on the theme “The role of universities in research & knowledge transfer to improve the livelihoods in Southern Africa”, the South Africa–Sweden University Forum (the Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education project that I have written about before in this blog) met to plan its major seminar in Pretoria in May 2018.

Project meeting of the South Africa–Sweden University Forum

The delegation from Uppsala University consisted of 11 people: myself (Eva Åkesson), Professor Sten Hagberg (Forum for Africa Studies and Dept of Cultural Anthropology and Ethnology), Professor Birgitta Essén (Dept of Women’s and Children’s Health), Professor Per-Anders Edin (Dept of Economics), Dr Shepherd Urenje (Swedish International Centre of Education for Sustainable Development), Dr Peter Sundin (International Science Programme), Rebecca Andersson (International Science Programme) and Gustaf Cars, Oddny Sverrisdottir, Erika Andersson and Ulrica Ouline (all from the International Office).

For questions about SANORD, please contact Ulrica Ouline, ulrica.ouline@uadm.uu.se

For question about South Africa–Sweden University Forum, please contact Gustaf Cars, gustaf.cars@uadm.uu.se