Author: Vice-Chancellor’s Blog (Page 23 of 24)

Welcome to the open hearing and panel discussion on higher-education foundations on Monday, 7 October at the University Hall, room IX, from 14.30 to 16.30. Participants will include, among others, the Secretary of State at the Ministry of Education, Peter Honeth. More information will follow on www.uu.se.

During the coming week, a PEACE project meeting will be held here in Uppsala. PEACE stands for Project for European Latin American Cooperation and Exchange, and is an Erasmus Mundus project. Within the PEACE project, scholarships for study or research are offered, These scholarships are open to applicants from Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Uruguay. During the meeting the discussions will evolve around experiences so far, the Bologna process in Latin America, and future activities.

Yesterday we thanked employees who have retired during the past year with a tribute dinner. The tribute dinner is a way for us to show our appreciation for all the work, all the dedication and care that the employees have devoted our university, in many cases for several decades. All have in various ways helped create the university we have today through contributions to research, education, administration, and professional service. Thank you!

Today the alumni lecture with Christina Jutterström was crowded. Christina Jutterström is former editor of the newspapers Dagens Nyheter and Expressen, and CEO of Sveriges Television. She talked about her life and leadership experiences in a captivating manner under the headline “About the desire to be a part of building our society”. She told us about how she pushed herself, and others, as a media leader for nearly 40 years.

At the end of the lecture, the Alumnus of the year 2013 was announced – Petra Einarsson, CEO of the business unit Sandvik Materials Technology at Sandvik. She received the award for demonstrating a strong commitment to issues related to diversity and inclusive leadership, and she is a good role model for current and future students.

Last week, we received a visit from the principal of Edinburgh University, Professor Sir Timothy O’Shea. He gave a talk entitled “In 2020 Online Delivery will Dominate Higher Education”. The following discussions about MOOCs and the future of education were very lively. Those of you who read the blog regularly know that the Vice-Chancellor’s Management Council visited Edinburgh University last spring. Our universities have a lot in common and we intend to both broaden and deepen our cooperation.

We have also met our counterpart at SLU (the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences). We do this on a regular basis to review our existing partnerships, but also to see in which new areas we can expand our collaboration. Uppsala University and SLU received a large donation from the Beijer Foundation last week. The donation was at just over SEK 30 million, spread over five years, and we are very grateful for this generous contribution.

Another interesting visit was from representatives of TICA. TICA (Thailand International Development Cooperation Agency) corresponds to SIDA (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency) in Sweden and finances the Thailand Research Fund whose Royal Golden Jubilee PhD Programme manages thousands of Thai students that are studying abroad, for example at the University of Uppsala.

Last week I received an email from the Department of History, who had received a visit from a former exchange student , Craig Kelly, and his father Graeme Kelly. They are doing something they call the “Journey for Jane”, a journey to honour their sister/daughter who died under tragic circumstances in the autumn of 2011. The purpose of the trip is to support an organization that uses art and artistic activities as rehabilitation for families who have experienced the same type of traumatic events that the family goes through. The history department has made a private collection for the purpose, and will also start a blog. Learn more about a Jouney for Jane and their project here.

Recently we have been reading in our local newspaper UNT about some farmers’ discontent with the management of our land donations and Akademiförvaltningen. In the interview I promised to bring the matter to the board, which I did this week . First I want to say that the board takes the criticism very seriously – even if everything has been conducted under proper circumstances and there is no question of any violations of the regulations. That there is criticism and dissatisfaction is reason enough for the board to review these cases thoroughly . This was made at the meeting. We did a thorough review of the work of Akademiförvaltningen, and have come up with constructive solutions. Also, the strategy of our agricultural management was discussed.

It was interesting and illuminating to hear about the University’s agricultural management from the 1950’s and onwards. The land area has increased only marginally within Uppsala county, but the area is more coherent. It is a picture of the rationalization that has occurred generally in agriculture in Sweden with fewer but larger farms. The focus is more on crop production, which requires more land in order for the farmers to be able to support themselves. The total agricultural area is basically the same today as it was in the 1950’s (14,900 hectares in 1954, compared to 14,299 hectares in 2013). Within Uppsala county we hold 7,786 hectares today, compared to 6,454 hectares in 1954.

Uppsala University has a responsibility towards our donors. As Vice-Chancellor of Uppsala University, I am anxious that funds are managed as well as possible according to donor’s wishes. The mission of Akademiförvaltningen is to do just that, within the context of all applicable regulations. This is also a way to spread the risks between finance, real estate, agriculture and forestry. The board will continue to follow up and keep us informed about these issues going forward.

Today the Board of Uppsala University had its first meeting for the autumn. For some members this was their premier, and we want to extend them a special welcome.  The Board plays an important role at the University and in moving it forward. Its members are a mixture of external members from various societal sectors, students, doctoral students, teachers, and union representatives. The Board is chaired by Carola Lemne.

Eva always starts out with the report from the Vice-Chancellor – a review of what has happened since we last met. Formulating thoughts provides an opportunity to reflect on everything that has happened, and we are always equally impressed that so much has actually happened between two Board meetings at Uppsala University.

Today’s agenda didn’t include many items requiring decisions, but several informational items instead.  We heard good presentations about the half-year report, the admissions situation, work with internal governance and monitoring, the request for comments on the higher education foundation proposal, and work to revise goals and strategies. Today the Board had time for discussions, and we were able to listen to important viewpoints from members that will be useful in our everyday work and will provide platforms for the coming decisions we need to make.

Our work with our comment on “Higher Education Foundations: A New Operational Form for Greater Freedom” sparked a lively discussion even at this early juncture – and it will continue, not only at Board meetings, among colleagues, students at departments, within the University but also elsewhere. It’s going to be an exciting autumn.

Yesterday we vice-chancellors for the country’s higher education institutions gathered to discuss the budget bill with Minister of Education and Research Jan Björklund. The introductory remarks by Björklund made it clear that the “News value was limited” – and I have to agree. There was no news and no discussion of the budget bill being presented on 18 September. But Björklund wanted to take the opportunity to elucidate some matters that are pressing. They included higher education foundations, fee-paying students, teacher education, employment of doctoral students, fraud in research, and forecasts for how many people can enter higher education (including professional schools). There was time to ask questions, and I asked about the comments solicited regarding higher education foundations, Erasmus Mundus, and how the forecast had been arrived at. As mentioned, not much was new, but it was gratifying that work is underway regarding migration issues and the possibility of students being granted residency permits upon graduation from a higher education institution in Sweden – even though progress is slow.

Yesterday Eva and Deputy -Vice Chancellor Ulf Danielsson met Miroslav Lajcák, the foreign minister of Slovakia, who was visiting Sweden on 9-10 September. It was an interesting meeting, bringing exciting discussions about the development of higher education in Slovakia. The minister described his country against the background of its 20th-century history. He also presented his ambition to raise the level of universities to parity with the strong growth Slovakia is experiencing in other areas.

These types of meetings often provide unique insights into areas that lie somewhat outside our daily activities, helping to forge contacts and entry points for future collaboration.

Last week, we welcomed our new students here in Uppsala with welcome receptions in the auditorium, and today a welcome reception is held in Visby for our students at Campus Gotland.

We hope you will feel at home both at the university and in your new hometown. And now, it is time for the semester to start!

You can see signs that a new semester is starting here in Uppsala. More and more students are returning from summer break. Some “old” students are taking make-up exams and preparing for the semester. Other “entirely new” ones are here to get to know their new hometown, find their nation, and get their bearings. For many of our new students, their first period at Uppsala will unfortunately be marked by a housing shortage.

To resolve the acute situation for our students, we all need to help out to make them feel at home, both in the town itself and with their studies, as soon as possible. Even a temporary place to stay for a one or a few weeks can be of great help in giving our new students a good start with their Uppsala experience. Check out the Uppsala Student Union website .

It has long been known that there is a housing shortage in Uppsala, especially at the beginning of a semester. It is therefore gratifying to see that new construction is underway; in Artillerigatan you can see more than 200 new student flats being created. We have excellent collaboration with the city of Uppsala and other actors in this matter, but it is obvious that both the rate of construction and the supply of housing need to increase. Until this can be achieved, we all have to help out in resolving the acute housing situation.  We appeal to all of you who have an extra room or some other form of housing to rent it to a student.

UNT has written about the student housing situation, and last spring we wrote an article, together with the Vice-Chancellor of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and the Chair of the Uppsala City Executive Board, to spark a debate about the housing situation as a key to the growth of Uppsala.

During the week we have been able to see that the University is back in full swing.  Weekly routines with the Vice-Chancellor’s Management Council and the Vice-Chancellor’s Executive Meeting are starting to fill the calendar. We have had an intensive and inspiring retreat with the Vice-Chancellor’s Management Council. To start with, the Management Council had the opportunity to meet the new Chair of the University Board, Carola Lemne, who told them, among other things, how she views the role of the University, especially stressing collaboration: within the University, between universities, with business and the wider community, nationally and internationally. Collaboration and cross-disciplinary cooperation became something of a theme, setting the table for much of the ensuing discussion.  We received a report about ongoing work with goals and strategies from the working group’s chair, Göran Magnusson, and deputy chair, Coco Norén. We discussed the workflow within the University and how we can work together more efficiently. Our discussions also addressed what challenges the University is facing and how we should tackle them. The management retreat provided both inspiration and guidance for the coming year.

Some of you are returning now in August to the workplace you have had for decades; others are freshmen and are about to start your first semester as Uppsala students. Regardless of which you are – you are all cordially welcome to Uppsala University for a new autumn semester.

We hope you have had a fine summer and that you’re eager to get started. It might be a bit sluggish the first week, and you may not remember your password for logging in.  Don’t let that bother you; in fact, that’s a sign that you’ve had good holidays and managed to relax during the break.  At this time of year we recognize your expectations – a new semester, a new academic year, new opportunities. It’s fun and exciting to get going again!

Eva has just returned from Istanbul, where she participated in committee meetings and a conference and where she visited Boğaziçi University in order to deepen our collaboration. Anders has been back on the job for about a week, holding the fort.  Quite a lot has happened since we wrote the blog about Almedal Week and the inauguration of Campus Gotland.

SUMMER EVENTS

Several requests for the University to comment on various matters have arrived. One has to do with practice-teaching schools for future teachers, another with separate admissions for fee-paying students. Both of these arrived in July with deadlines for comments in August. We are not pleased with this modus operandi – enough said about that.

In July we reported out interest in educating police officers, as you may have seen in the news during the summer. Today police officers are trained at the National Police Academy in Solna (300 candidates admitted per year) and at Umeå University and Linnaeus University in Växjö (150 each). Now the Swedish Police Service wants to shut down the training in Solna and instead move it to some higher-education institution in the Mälardalen area. We have said that we are interested, that we have both specialist and broad competence regarding the theoretical subject areas in the programme (law and behavioural sciences, etc.); we have a great deal of experience in providing professional programmes, and we can establish a structure for all aspects of police education. If we are granted this programme, it will involve the equivalent of a total of 600 full-year students, who would undergo this training in the form of contract education. During the autumn we will find out if Uppsala University or some other institution will be providing this programme.

We just submitted our financial report for part of the year to the Ministry of Education and Research. This report shows outcomes for the first six months and provides a prognosis indicating that the University’s turnover, on a full-year basis, will increase by SEK 400 million, ca. SEK 100 million of which Campus Gotland will account for during the autumn semester of 2013. The rest of the increase in income is above all on the research side. In other words, the University’s rapid growth continues: a billion crowns in increased turnover and ca. 1,000 new employees in just three years.

Our operational growth shows that we are putting our new income to work – which is good – but our capital as a government authority is not decreasing as planned. Nor does our educational volume seem to be declining as planned, which means that we will be “over-producing” in relation to our “commission” from the government.  That may sound good – that more students than planned will have the opportunity to study here – but at the same time it means that the quality reinforcement that was planned and budgeted, primarily in the humanities and social sciences, will not have an impact. Something else that has us wondering is that our admissions of third-cycle (research-level) students seem to have dropped during the spring.

The number of extra-European students is rising, but not at the pace we would like to see. We need to work even more with this in future, and it’s a priority area for the Internationalisation Council. On the positive side, we are participating in several Erasmus Mundus programmes this year as well; six partner projects were approved during the summer. But we are somewhat disappointed that our application to coordinate HELIX (South Africa) wound up on the reserve list, though we’re keeping our fingers crossed that it will be granted.

HAPPENING THIS AUTUMN

This week the Management Council will be on retreat; we will spend an entire day discussing overarching strategic priorities for the coming year. At last year’s retreat, the four strategies were chiselled in stone: internationalisation, quality work, career and in-service training, and infrastructure. Pernilla Björk will be leading a discussion about the University Main Building. University Director Ann Fust will be launching an analysis of our work modes.  Project leaders Göran Magnusson and Coco Norén will be soliciting input for their work with proposing revisions to our Goals and Strategies. The retreat will be a good kick-off for management work.

The government’s budget bill is coming in September. The dimensioning issue continues to be important to us. The application pressure on some of our study programmes is growing with each passing semester, at the same time as we are being directed to reduce the number of student places. We have repeatedly debated this matter in various fora – in newspaper articles, in budget platforms, and in this blog.

In June the Ministry of Education and Research presented its – long awaited – proposal for a possible new legal form for universities and university colleges: the higher-education foundation proposal . According to the Ministry, the proposal would enhance the freedom of action of higher-education institutions and provide them with “prerequisites to deal with today’s and tomorrow’s changes in the surrounding world in a more flexible manner”. Although the window for submitting comments on the proposal is somewhat wider than for the other proposals circulated for comment this summer – here it’s October – we feel that this is far too little time for such an important and fundamental question. We, like other higher-education institutions through SUHF (Swedish Association of Higher Education), have asked to have the response window extended to December.

We are to state our opinion about the form and regulation of the new foundation form, not about whether Uppsala University would like to become a higher-education foundation. At the same time, it’s obvious that the latter question will be “looming in the background” during our work with our response. Uppsala University has previously supported increased institutional autonomy in various contexts, so it is natural for us to study this proposal with interest, though not to commit ourselves to one side or the other at present.

Our visits to departments will continue, and most of these are already booked for the autumn. We will hold a meeting for heads of departments this autumn, extending the practice we initiated last spring. We are also planning meetings with and reviews of all of our strategic research areas, the research commitments that came to Uppsala following the last research bill in 2008. Meetings and dialogues are important, both for us in management and in terms of bringing together this broad University. We are eager to develop arenas for dialogue within the University and with the wider community. Uppsala Views, which we run together with the newspaper UNT, was a success last spring, and we will keep it going.

As is only to be expected, Uppsala University will be welcoming many prominent guest this autumn. Don’t miss Kofi Annan and Jan Eliasson on 2 September and Margot Wallström a week later.

Once again, we wish you a heartfelt welcome to a new autumn semester in which we will all continue to move Uppsala University forward and to help make this world a better place.

Signing of memorandum of understanding

We have received a visit from Dr. Sun-Uk Kim, president of Ewha Women University, South Korea. During the meeting possible collaborations were discussed and we signed our new partnerships, a memorandum of understanding and a student exchange agreement.

Conversation with Professor Lena Marcusson

We are amazed at how quickly this spring semester has gone by. It is not long since we celebrated the New Year, and now it’s soon midsummer. For many of you it is almost time for the holidays and some well-deserved rest after a busy spring semester. We would like to take this opportunity to look back at the past six months. It has been an eventful semester in which we have experienced Uppsala University both in day-to-day life and on special occasions.

We have had two conferment ceremonies during the semester and several visits by ambassadors and representatives of other universities and networks. For example, a delegation from Fudan University in Shanghai visited us, as well as Kurt Deketelaere, Secretary General of LERU (League of European Research Universities) and Christopher Higgins, Vice-Chancellor of Durham University and chairman of the Matariki Network. There have also been a few trips and seminars during the semester. The university management has visited Aarhus University, Oxford, Cambridge and Edinburgh University. We have also participated in Coimbra seminars in Venice and Galway, among others. We have also had several well-attended public lectures at our university, including Tarja Halonen’s interesting Dag Hammarskjöld Lecture and Stefan Swartling Petersons Alumni Lecture. During the semester, we have also acquired a new chairman of the University board, as well as several new board members. We would like to once again thank our former chairman Hans Dalborg for his work, and welcome our new chairman Carola Lemne, and other new members.

Strategic priorities for the highest quality
Uppsala University is a broad, full-scale research university of high international standing. Our mission is to conduct research and education of the highest quality, and in different ways interact with the community in order to contribute to a better world. We have in collaboration with various groups identified four strategic priorities that we have written about previously here on the blog. The four areas are: quality, internationalization, skills and career, and infrastructure.

Quality and evaluations
The KrUUt project has been completed. The project began in 2010 and focused on stimulating the implementation of the educational programme. Last semester, an international panel visited us and reviewed our work on educational development. The panel’s findings, conclusions and recommendations are presented in the final report that comes from the printers soon. In the report some areas of development are underlined where we have reason to particularly consider the international panel’s comments:
• Perhaps we as a research university sometimes take the link between education and research for granted and forget that it is about much more than just having teachers that generally are postgraduates.
• The existing examples of active student participation in education are good, but these forms could be used on a larger scale and more systematically.
• With regard to the implementation of tools for e-learning as an integral part of our education there is much to do.
• Generally, greater leadership commitment at all levels of education development are demanded.
• We have a tendency to rely too much on external evaluations in terms of education. We should have some form of self-initiated systematic analysis of education from a holistic perspective.

In terms of research quality, a report from the Royal Swedish Academy of Science has attracted attention. The report found that Sweden has lost ground against countries such as Denmark, the Netherlands and Switzerland, and created a great debate last winter. Otherwise, there is curiosity in the sector regarding how the state’s new model for quality and performance-based research funding of the universities will turn out. The government has asked the Swedish Research Council to propose a model based on peer review – much like a national KoF evaluation. In addition, Vinnova has received a parallel mission to “develop methods and criteria for evaluation of performance and quality in higher education institutions’ interactions with society – in terms of relevance and utilization of research-based knowledge.”

The results from the Swedish Higher Education Authority have led to both criticism and praise for our education. According to the results published so far, one of four educational programmes in Sweden received the mark “poor quality”. We doubt that this is true, although there is certainly some legitimate criticism and space for improvement. There are questions regarding the evaluations and the methods used. We see risks that innovative programmes which are more cross-border and applied do not fit the template. We also have a great concern that the methods, which so unilaterally uses degree projects, will be difficult to apply to vocational training such as medical school. For Uppsala University’s part, the outcome of the evaluations has nevertheless proven to be relatively good. 60 per cent of the programmes evaluated have been said to be of “high quality”. 21 per cent have received the rating “very high quality”, while 19 per cent are considered to have “poor quality”. Overall, 80 of our educational programmes have been evaluated as of 3 June 2013.

Internationalization
This spring, a new adviser to the Vice-Chancellor for International Affairs has been appointed, Leif Kirsebom. Also, a council for internationalization with representatives from different disciplines, students and the administration has been created. An important task for the council is to revise the programme for internationalization, and to develop a new action plan for 2014 and beyond.

The development has already begun to give the work a flying start. The process is divided into three parts, and together, these actions are to strengthen our collective work on these important issues. We have received positive feedback when we clearly highlight the internationalization of Uppsala University. Internationalization is an integral part of our business and a concern for the entire university. That it would only concern mobility and in- and outbound students is an outdated view. International cooperation is a means and a strategy for achieving improved quality in both research and education.

Skills and careers
Last semester, we completed the work with qualifying positions and a routine for calling of professors, and during the spring the department of Science and Technology launched a high profile recruitment campaign where ten open teaching position are to be filled. We have adopted new guidelines on re-employment after the age of 67, and recently the Swedish Research Council announced a new grant with the aim to provide Swedish universities with further possibilities to attract leading international researchers.

Infrastructure
The need and ability to finance infrastructure investments change over time, and greater coordination nationally and internationally will be needed. Joseph Nordgren has this spring been commissioned to survey the existing research infrastructure, and develop proposals for long-term coordination. The contract also includes analyzing future needs and propose changes and processes for initiating and managing new infrastructure, both locally, nationally and internationally.

Another issue that remains relevant is the need for student housing. Production of more student housing must be facilitated to avoid housing becoming a bottleneck for Uppsala’s development. The University administration’s plans for new facilities on the “Plantskolan” block are progressing. The local council’s decision on the local plan is expected in the summer.

Another issue related to infrastructure is SciLifeLab, which as of the government’s investment in the Research and Innovation Bill 2012 has become a national research institute. Göran Sandberg has been appointed new chairman of SciLifeLab, and the board held its first meeting in mid-May.

Revising Goals and Strategies
Uppsala University’s Goals and Strategies will give us a vision for the future, and at the same time be a living document that reflects our daily operations. During 2013, the Goals and Strategies will be revised. We need to look at the issues of the future from all possible angles and think about the university we are today, and how we want to evolve and operate in the future. Göran Magnusson and Coco Norén have been appointed to lead a task force to develop a proposal that can be established by summer 2014. This is a unique opportunity to discuss the University’s issues for the future. We hope you want to contribute to the discussion with your views and experiences so we can make further progress in our joint efforts to contribute to a better world.

Resources
The resource allocation model and operational planning for 2014 took less time this year, but is by no means less important. It is good that we have a clear model since last year, which clearly indicates how resources are allocated for both research and education. Now the laborious work of the disciplines and faculties continues, to retain the necessary priorities – while keeping a strategic focus. A major challenge for the future is to regain the sizing of our courses that is needed at our university. But we must also work for continued strengthening of resources. Many faculties and departments have seen their allocations gradually eroded.

We have mentioned many times the fact that we are growing fast. From 2011 to 2012 over 200 new employees were hired, and over the past four years we have grown by roughly 1,000 employees. Still, faculties and departments have unspent funds, but with the current rate of expansion on the research side we believe these will be utilized in the near future.

For the University as a whole, the applications numbers are looking good. With contributions from Gotland, we note that the number of applications for Uppsala University increased by 40 per cent for the autumn semester 2013. And the number of applicants for autumn courses on Gotland has increased sharply, by 64 per cent. Last spring we were delighted to see more international applicants, but this year’s figures show only a marginal increase in the number of overseas students for the autumn. We had hoped for more positive news, but it is clear that it will take further action if we are to maintain and develop our global classroom.

The merger with Gotland University
For us, it’s not quite time for summer vacation yet as a few weeks of work remain. On 1 July this year Gotland University will join Uppsala University and become Uppsala University – Campus Gotland. The purpose of the merger is to create a unique profile within our university and long-term, competitive activities on Gotland. The merger is a historic event and we are confident that the activities at Campus Gotland will enrich Uppsala University’s continued development.

Looking ahead
When we come back in the autumn, we, together with the Management Council, will go away to discuss general strategies for the short and long term. We will identify what issues we should focus on, and agree on how we should work with them for the University’s best. We have both research and education of the highest quality, but it is important that we do not rest on our laurels. We will constantly face new challenges, and there is no indication that there will be less to do looking ahead. The world is changing and competition is getting tougher all the time. With safe anchorage in our fundamental values ​​and belief in our mission, we are equipped to take on future challenges.

If we are to consolidate our position as one of the world’s leading universities, we must become even better at utilizing the broad university. We must find ways to combine the disciplinary specialization that is our hallmark with broad and multi-disciplinary research efforts. The social challenges the world and Sweden face know no subject or faculty boundaries. We must also continue to insist that Sweden needs to educate more, not fewer, students and that Uppsala University is among the institutions that has the most to offer in terms of both breadth and quality.

But that’s not until the autumn. Now we would like to thank all staff, students, partners and friends of Uppsala University for the past semester and wish you all a great summer!

Eva Åkesson and Anders Malmberg