Uppsala University, Sweden

Category: Uncategorized (Page 3 of 34)

Semester begins with serious, happy and coronavirus business

The semester has started and activities are underway, with students on campus and many people very responsibly keeping their distance to prevent the spread of COVID-19. We have distancing hosts on campus to remind anyone who forgets. We had our first cases of infection in a couple of student groups this week, and the situation was dealt with quickly and responsibly by course coordinators and faculties. With so many thousand students, it would be strange not to have a single case, so this was not unexpected. However, we would like to take the opportunity to remind everyone to keep going, stay strong and comply with the restrictions so that we can avoid a return to remote education other than briefly in small groups while contact tracing is in progress. Both in Uppsala and in Visby, we are maintaining close contact and collaborating well with the health services’ contact tracing operations.

Keep up to date via the web (for employees, and for students) and follow the instructions about what to do if you personally have tested positive or have an infected student or member of staff. In Sweden we have great individual responsibility under the Contagious Diseases Act, which makes it an offence to fail to provide prompt information about infection.

As usual, the week contained many meetings. The Deputy Vice-Chancellor met the groups preparing for the Swedish Higher Education Authority’s review of our quality assurance procedures. Many people have been involved in the preparations and we will be following the work with interest. This week we learned that the government is making a legislative change and has appointed Peter Honeth to assist the responsible authority, the Swedish Council for Higher Education, so that the scholastic aptitude test can be carried out this autumn. There have been many twists and turns in this issue and we now await news of what this will mean for Uppsala. The week also offered a time for celebration when the Ångström Laboratory’s new Building 9 was inaugurated at 9 o’clock on 9/9.

On Tuesday, I (Eva) had a productive meeting with some 40 young researchers from the organisation Junior Faculty. I received many questions related to the ongoing pandemic and I would like to try here to summarise some of the discussions we had on stalled research projects, isolation, our take on masks and long-term impacts of the pandemic, and in which channels to seek information about the coronavirus/COVID-19.

It is not yet possible to take in all the consequences of the pandemic for research or to see how to deal with these impacts. The situation of doctoral students has been discussed and will be assessed in connection with their individual study plans to identify any needs for extensions. Along with other university leaders in Sweden, I am drawing attention to the need to extend funding periods and other measures. The impact of the pandemic has varied. While some have been able to use this period to focus on their writing with fewer distractions, others have been delayed by not being able to travel or being unable to collect the data they need.

The pandemic has caused anxiety and uncertainty about what to do, which can be difficult to manage. This is something we all need to bear in mind. I sometimes say that academia is an environment where praise is in short supply, and I think at this time it is more important than ever to be generous and show appreciation for one another. Get in touch with those who cannot be here physically and ask how they’re getting on. When working at home a lot, it is important to sit comfortably and correctly, and to make sure to move around. We’re eager to become incredibly efficient in Zoom, but it’s important not to forget those other things. A bit of light-hearted chat about inessential things has a place in Zoom too.

Whether or not masks should be worn is a question that many people feel strongly about. We do not require people to wear masks at the University, but naturally anyone who wants to wear a mask can do so. It is important that masks are not used as an excuse for not keeping your distance or following the recommendations of the Public Health Agency of Sweden. Personally, I use a mask when I travel by train or fly. We have picked up signals from the regional health authority that they regard public transport as a major risk. We therefore call on everyone to walk or cycle as far as possible.

When we look back on this time, we will surely see that we have changed the way we do things – what is important is that we maintain our focus on quality. One positive effect we can already note is that our entire organisation at all levels has become sharper at using digital tools in our work. This will move the University forward. Some of our digital solutions are here to stay – many people attest that Zoom meetings have worked better than physical meetings and want to keep them. Having said that, we have also realised how much physical meetings mean and how much we miss them.

I was asked about the long-term consequences for international mobility. This is one point I feel certain about. International mobility is important and must continue. Knowledge knows no borders. International experience is good not only for the career, it also brings intercultural competence that increases understanding between people. In this way, the Erasmus Programmes, for example, are also a peace project. On the other hand, our travel patterns are likely to change: there will be fewer short trips to conferences and meetings that can be held digitally. This will have benefits for both health and the environment. But keep going on postdocs, field studies, exchanges!

With regard to which information from the University about COVID-19 to follow, such a large university as Uppsala needs multiple channels. General information for everyone is gathered together in the Staff Portal and for students on uu.se, but the conditions vary so much across our broad university that local information is also needed at various levels. On the Vice-Chancellor’s Blog we try now and then to explain the management’s view of the situation and how to interpret the general decision by the Vice-Chancellor from this summer which is still in effect.

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Focus on career paths

One of the most essential issues for a university is to succeed in recruiting and retaining the very best researchers and teachers. This is the key to continued success, new discoveries and satisfied students. If we are to be an attractive research and education environment that will interest the best people, not just nationally but internationally, we have to develop the career paths we can offer at the University. Consequently, several projects are now in progress dealing precisely with the University’s talent recruitment, development and retention.

Inquiry authors Ann Fust and Magnus Ödman

Today a digital hearing was organised with Ann Fust and Magnus Ödman, whose inquiry has resulted in a proposal on new Appointment Regulations, which is now being circulated for comment. It was pleasing to see so many participants in the Zoom meeting – close to 100 people – and to receive so many good, constructive comments. Many individuals have contributed ideas and opinions in the course of the inquiry, and I would now like to encourage everyone to contribute to the consultation responses too so that we can further hone the proposals. The subject involves taking a position on many difficult questions, and great commitment and boldness are needed to create the career paths that will be most advantageous for our University’s development. Many thanks to Ann and Magnus, the commentators and other participants in the seminar! To be continued.

Johan Elf, Sanna Koskiniemi and Mattias Martinson commented on Ann Fust’s inquiry. Moderator: Pernilla Björk.
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International and local collaboration spur University’s development

This week, when we made our final preparations for the start of the semester and welcomed our new students with a digital talk show, has reminded us of the importance of collaboration with partners at all levels. Together with the region, the municipality and the students, we have tried to do everything we can to avoid any spread of infection now as the autumn begins. Everyone is doing their best and everyone has been determined to cooperate well. Now we will all play our part and encourage one another to comply with the restrictions. I sent out an appeal to our new students about this in an open letter this week.

My various meetings this week included a session on leadership development. It owed its origins to another kind of collaboration, arising out of last year’s visit to South Africa to take part in an interdisciplinary conference on the theme of sustainability under the aegis of the Swedish–South African project SASUF. That week, I was invited to the Central University of Technology, Free State, to talk about my own leadership journey. This occasion resulted in more far-reaching cooperation, leading this week to the first joint meeting via Zoom as part of their ambitious venture Next Generation Women Leadership Programme. It was planned to take place in Uppsala in May, in conjunction with SASUF’s final conference, but instead we now met online. The day turned out to be very instructive and interesting, and it was clear to me that even if we cannot meet physically, we can carry out our plans in other ways; mentoring meetings and job shadowing, for example, work perfectly well via Zoom.

The following day, together with other university leaders, I had a Zoom meeting with representatives of the adult education association Folkuniversitetet, a meeting that generated many exciting ideas about more far-reaching collaboration. Folkuniversitetet grew out of the universities’ associations of study circle leaders, which arranged study circles for the general public, and it enjoys active cooperation with universities and other higher education institutions to the present day. Two examples in Uppsala are the interdisciplinary lecture series Framtidsakademin – which involves the University’s Centre for Environment and Development Studies (CEMUS), Folkuniversitetet and Uppsala Public Library – and Korta vägen, a programme for newcomers in Sweden. We had a good discussion, which I hope will lead to new and deeper forms of collaboration. We share a common vision of liberal adult education, communicating research-based knowledge, and the activities conducted by Folkuniversitetet are very much in line with the University’s ambitions regarding widening participation and lifelong learning, for example. Together we can make one another better and I look forward to deeper collaboration in future.

In another development this week, the government announced that it was amending the Higher Education Ordinance to allow the Swedish Council for Higher Education to decide that the Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test, which was cancelled this spring, can be conducted for a limited number of people. It is positive that this possibility will be available next spring, but it is not realistic to believe that it can be done as early as this autumn. We still have a pandemic going on.

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A mixture of happiness and anxiety as new semester approaches

After a summer of staycations, we are nearing the start of a new semester. It is always a joy for the University management – and for the University in general – to welcome our students. However, while we are happy to be able to meet on campus again, it is more important than ever to follow all the recommendations and guidelines to reduce the risk of infection. Wash your hands, stay home if you are sick and – very important – get tested if you have any symptoms! It’s free and the health services in Uppsala and Visby have plenty of capacity.

We have all been in different places and met different people while on holiday and we know that the start of the semester tends to be accompanied by a spate of colds. Fortunately infection rates in Sweden have been low over the summer, but this could mislead us into becoming a little less careful about routines. There are plenty of examples to show that infection rates can quickly increase again locally, so now we all need to play our part to ensure that the positive situation continues. For the sake of our first-year students in particular, it is important that we avoid having to go back to doing everything remotely.


Putting up signs on campus in preparation for the new semester.

The University’s departments, faculties and support services have worked hard before and during the summer to prepare for the start of the semester. Many people have taken part in these solution-oriented preparations. Sincere thanks! We will all need to keep an eye on the way everything works in practice and take action where necessary.

Useful information, including ideas and advice, is available in the Staff Portal and for students at uu.se. Signs have been produced for display around campus. Receptions and other relatively large gatherings have been adapted to avoid the risk of infection. We learned a good deal in this area last semester, when fewer and fewer events were cancelled as time went on; instead, they moved to virtual formats. On 28 August it will be time for us to welcome our freshers, this year at a virtual event with a digital talk show in the Grand Auditorium.

Despite all our preparations, we are bound to run into challenges as the autumn proceeds. We particularly need to manage the anxiety that we know exists among students and staff alike. This is an issue the University management has felt to be a significant challenge in our communications. If we play down the situation some people may take excessive risks, while explicit warnings risk amplifying the fears of those who are already worried. We have discussed this at length and concluded that while there is good reason to take things seriously, we should all keep calm. Common sense and cooperation go a long way. Let us continue to take responsibility together.

We would also like to take this opportunity to remind everyone who is in a position to do so to offer a room to a student. Although there will be rather fewer international students to begin with this year, 3,000 more Swedish students have been admitted than last year and many are looking for somewhere to live, just like every semester.

Welcome back for a new semester!

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Positive news today: ENLIGHT consortium becomes a European University

Today the University received news that the ENLIGHT partnership is one of several pilot projects to be awarded funding from Erasmus+ to establish a European University. This is pleasing news that gives Uppsala University new opportunities in the sphere of internationalisation. In ENLIGHT, Uppsala University will collaborate with eight other European universities on the theme of sustainable cities. The other member universities, apart from Uppsala, are the universities of Göttingen (Germany), Groningen (The Netherlands), Ghent (Belgium) and Tartu (Estonia), with which Uppsala has pre-existing collaboration, together with the University of Bordeaux (France), the University of the Basque Country (Bilbao, Spain), the University of Galway (Ireland) and Comenius University (Bratislava, Slovakia).

One of the main purposes of the programme is to make it easier for students and teachers to move both virtually and physically between the universities in the network. In time, students will be able to participate freely in courses at all nine member universities so as to customise their own education. Joint virtual courses will be developed and teachers will be able both to plan and conduct courses along with colleagues in the network and to teach students from all nine universities in the same course. We can look forward to exciting endeavours at all levels of the University.

The overall objective on the part of the European Commission is to empower European students to become globally engaged citizens who tackle the great societal challenges. The programme is also intended to enhance the quality, inclusiveness and competitiveness of European higher education and contribute to sustainable economic development in the institutions’ regions. It is good for us to participate in these major initiatives; it teaches us a lot about international cooperation and it puts us in a position to influence developments and contribute by our own strengths, such as student influence in education.

The consortium has jointly identified five challenges linked to the theme of sustainable cities for the activities in the pilot project to focus on: health and well-being, the role of AI in sustainable societies, the impact of climate change on regional ecosystems, energy use and the circular economy, and equity and diversity. ENLIGHT will give students, teachers, researchers and staff new opportunities to gain international experience, and to jointly develop international cooperation linked to sustainable cities. 

This announcement means that for the next three years we will cooperate actively in areas such as challenge- and collaboration-driven interdisciplinary education, virtual cooperation and exchange, and flexible course and learning modules. ENLIGHT will work closely with local and regional communities to create ambitious, flexible network-wide curricula, rooted in current research and focusing on innovation.

ENLIGHT will initially run for a three-year period with a budget of EUR 5 million, but if the project turns out well, it will be possible to seek more extensive funding lasting until 2030 and subsequently also to 2050. 

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International contacts and scholarships more important than ever

Yesterday I approved scholarships worth SEK 2.5 million that will enable 74 of our international students to continue their studies here at Uppsala University, despite the severe financial impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on them and on the families that support them. The international environment is important for our University and for the quality of our education. Meetings between people with perspectives from different parts of the world give rise to reflection and discussion – the very lifeblood of academic dialogue. We exist in the world and the world is with us in Uppsala.

The current situation makes it more important than ever to continue to subsidise tuition fees for international students who have difficulty paying their own way. I hope many people recognise the value of this and we welcome contributions from more donors.

Studenter Foto. Mikael Wallerstedt

The coronavirus pandemic has forced the closing of borders and put obstacles in the way of exchanges. Now, more than ever, it is important to seek and maintain international contacts and relations. This requires us to take initiatives to keep up contacts and find new ways to meet. Otherwise, there is a risk that the world will turn in on itself, and that distrust and conflicts will grow. Many worrying signs were visible even before the pandemic and we are now witnessing a worsening situation with increasing violence and expressions of racism. When people are pitted against each other rather than seeking dialogue and knowledge about one another’s points of view, we are heading in the wrong direction.

As a university, we uphold fundamental values concerning the equal worth of all people, open dialogue and the right of everyone to express their views and have an influence. We reject racism and all other forms of discrimination. Our Mission, Goals and Strategies puts it clearly: we will contribute “to an open, knowledge-based public debate with freedom of expression and human rights at its heart”. Equal opportunities and open, objective, critical debate lay the foundation for new ideas and scientific and scholarly theories, leading to a better understanding of the world. On this foundation, we will help bring about a better future.

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Summer is a-coming in…

Midsummer means bright evenings and nights, nature in bloom and the prospect of holidays for most. It has been a strange semester for all of us, with completely unforeseen changes both at work and in our private lives. When we see how responsibly teachers, students and other staff at Uppsala University have responded to the situation during the pandemic, we feel proud and grateful.

Summer Closing Ceremony for Master Students

Even though we have been unable to conclude this semester as usual, with Valborg festivities and the spring conferment and graduation ceremonies, we can congratulate a great many Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD students on their degrees and wish them all the very best in the future. One thing this spring has taught us is the importance of expertise and collaboration when society encounters unforeseen challenges. Students have taken responsibility, and we have had close and constructive contacts with government agencies, politicians and colleagues at local, regional and national level. We are also proud to note the enormous responsibility shouldered by researchers, at SciLifeLab and elsewhere in the University. They have shifted their focus to the challenge of large-scale testing, initiated vital new research projects, offered the health services both protective equipment and labour, and answered questions and participated in public debate.

The semester started off – in what now feels like another era – with the reception of new students and celebration of new PhDs at the Winter Conferment Ceremony. The Management Council visited Gotland and met staff and regional politicians, who told us how Uppsala University has contributed to the island’s development. In February, the annual report summed up 2019 and confirmed that the University had enjoyed another very positive year. Uppsala University is in fine shape, in both financial and operational respects, which gives us a stable base from which to tackle difficulties arising from the pandemic in the autumn.

Alumnus of the Year Emma Frans and Vice Chancellor Eva Åkesson

One of the last major physical meetings we held was a very constructive deans’ day at the end of February. About the same time, we received a report on the libraries and submitted an EUN application. We expect a decision on this application in the next few days. Implementation of the new Mission, Goals and Strategies document is underway, allowing ample time, and coordination of the internal governance documents is progressing well. Work has started on the new environmental plan and funding can now be sought for climate measures. Before the infection situation put a stop to physical meetings, we had an important Vice-Chancellor’s seminar on freedom of speech in academia, following a high-visibility media debate. While everyone agreed that the freedom to express opinions and to question ideas is at the heart of academia, better support is needed for managing issues of harassment. The guidelines in this area have been reviewed and everyone must play their part in keeping dialogue open on the dilemmas that can arise at work. The final public event with a substantial audience was an inspiring lecture by Alumnus of the Year Emma Frans.

Since the second week in March, when the Public Health Agency of Sweden declared that community transmission of COVID-19 had established itself in Sweden and we switched to distance education overnight, many things have been different. All of us are now fully-fledged users of digital meeting tools. Many have taken this way of working further and plan to continue to take advantage of the opportunities offered by technology even when the pandemic has run its course. There have been numerous urgent decisions and new instructions from the government and public authorities. Among other consequences, we will be able to welcome more new students than planned to Uppsala University in the summer and autumn, which is pleasing. We have held beautiful and much appreciated digital Master’s ceremonies and have learned that we can carry out these events too in new ways.

The year 2020 is also a ‘super election year’. Several members of the Management Council and the University Board have completed or are reaching the end of their terms of office, including the chair of the University Board Gudmund Hernes, and two of us who are signing this message: vice-rectors Stellan Sandler and Torsten Svensson. We have welcomed the new chair of the University Board, Anne Ramberg, and other new members, who have already taken several really important decisions – the approval of the University’s operational plan for 2021 and planning frameworks for 2022 and 2023, and not least the decision to recommend Anders Hagfeldt to the government as new Vice-Chancellor for the period 2021–2026. On 1 July, we will welcome two new vice-rectors to their duties: Mats Larhed for Medicine and Pharmacy and Tora Holmberg for Humanities and Social Sciences.

Now we wish all members of staff, students, partners and friends a very enjoyable summer that gives you the opportunity to rest, spend time outside and socialise responsibly. Put your work aside while you are on holiday and enjoy the Swedish summer. We will meet again in August, revitalised and with fresh inspiration and, hopefully, a better situation in terms of the pandemic.

Have a good summer!

Eva Åkesson, Vice-Chancellor
Anders Malmberg, Deputy Vice-Chancellor
Caroline Sjöberg, University Director
Torsten Svensson, Vice Rector Humanities and Social Sciences
Stellan Sandler, Vice Rector Medcine and Pharmacy
Johan Tysk, Vice Rector Science and Technology

From left: Anders Malmberg, Torsten Svensson, Caroline Sjöberg, Eva Åkesson, Johan Tysk and Stellan Sandler. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt

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Inspiring meetings with teachers

This week, the members of the university management have visited teachers at three different campuses to hear about their experiences of teaching during the pandemic. On Wednesday we were at Uppsala University Hospital, where we were given a demonstration of medical students learning how to examine inflamed joints in practice – via Zoom. Yesterday we met teachers at Blåsenhus and today we were at the Ångström Laboratory. All in all, it was tremendously inspiring to listen to these creative and clever people who have put students first during this time.

There have been great challenges, for example the performance of practical work, assessments and overtime. However, the enforced switch to online teaching has also generated new insights and new ways of working that teachers are keen to keep. Our overall impression is that the period following the rapid transition in March has gone better than expected and that the teaching staff have tackled the new situation admirably.  Many have tested ‘flipped classrooms’ and seen that online seminars also have significant advantages. For example, it is easier to plan so as to activate everyone. Students who otherwise stay in the background have come more to the fore.

In a short time, the University has experienced a boom in online teaching and learning and has built up a substantial library of recorded lectures. In the Medicine Programme, a creative approach has produced new virtual patient cases, while at the Ångström Laboratory we saw fantastic demonstrations of virtual laboratory sessions in materials science and physics. There is good reason to persist with this educational development in the autumn, and in particular to increase experience exchanges between teachers. Keep and develop the things that experience has shown work well online and use the time on campus for what is most important. However, many people – students and teachers alike – express a longing to meet in the classroom, so the easing of restrictions in the autumn is welcome.

What we saw and heard also confirmed that the approach we adopted in our framework decisions – to entrust departments and course coordinators with great responsibility – was right. It is they who possess the skills and knowledge to solve the practical challenges that arise. There is also strong support for our decision to prioritise first-year students for physical presence on campus in the autumn.

Another lesson from our meetings is that the availability of premises is a challenge. More spacing means larger rooms are needed and most are already booked up. As one way of contributing, we intend to take a decision next week to make the lecture halls in the University Main Building available rent-free for teaching and assessments in the autumn.

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New COVID-19 decision: physically when necessary, digitally where possible

Today we have taken a new decision on the coronavirus situation that we hope will provide guidance and remain effective over the summer and into the autumn. The decision takes effect on 16 June. The basis for the decision is that on that date, the Public Health Agency of Sweden relaxes its requirement that education and examinations should be conducted remotely. This is welcome news. We look forward to being able to meet our students in Uppsala and Visby after the summer. There is nothing more energising than happy, expectant students on campus and in town.

However, everything will not be back to normal. During the autumn, most of the University’s courses will be given in the form of on-campus education, with larger or smaller digitalised elements. In future, we will try to reserve the term ‘distance’ for the courses and programmes that are formally classified as distance learning and are planned to take place with no requirement for students to attend physically.

In all the University’s activities, we must continue to follow the general recommendations in effect to reduce the spread of infection in society. This entails a great responsibility for all students, staff, visitors and others engaged in activities. To avoid crowding and to meet the distancing requirements, the University’s premises will need to be used for more of the day and more of the semester. We must continue to keep our distance, wash our hands and stay at home if we have any symptoms.

By now, we all know what is required to limit the spread of infection. We need to keep our distance and avoid too many new contacts. This applies to every part of the University and at all times, as long as the pandemic lasts. In all rooms and other spaces and outside them, and in entry and exit passages. Our approach to both teaching and other activities can be expressed in this way: we will plan for physical presence where necessary, and will use digital elements where possible, in order to achieve high quality while limiting the spread of infection.

The restrictions imposed by the Public Health Agency of Sweden on public gatherings must be followed at the University as well. Teaching sessions or meetings with more than 50 people must therefore be avoided. If the Public Health Agency changes its figures, we will automatically follow suit. Similarly, our travel restrictions are tied to those of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. If their recommendation changes, we will adjust our decision.

In the decision, we have specified the groups/tasks that will have priority for physical scheduling on campus, when this needs to be limited: first-year students, students with special needs, practical tasks and examinations, and final-year students’ exams and mandatory course components.

Bearing in mind these general priorities, departments are best placed to decide what parts of their activities they can conduct physically on campus and which components it is preferable to digitalise.

The decision gives boards, departments and teachers responsible for programmes and courses scope and responsibility to be creative and design their individual activities within given frameworks. In our education, we must give our students the best teaching we can, while avoiding the spread of infection. To ensure that the situation of doctoral students is properly addressed, our decision directs that any effects of the coronavirus and resulting measures are to be dealt with via the annual revision of individual study plans.

With increased experience of weaving digital elements into on-campus teaching, the potential for continued educational development is good. I’m sure we have all felt that so many digital meetings can be tiring and that it is not enough simply to transfer a physical meeting concept to a digital format. Shorter sessions are needed with more breaks, as well as new ways to encourage discussion and feedback.

The Public Health Agency’s new decision and today’s decision by the Vice-Chancellor clarify conditions for the autumn to some extent. Having said that, no one knows at present exactly what the pandemic situation in Sweden and the world will look like at the end of the summer. So our general message remains: keep going, stay strong, keep your distance. Whether or not the infection situation moves in the right direction depends on us all.

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University futures – here and in Europe


Much is happening right now in the European arena for research, education and innovation. Just as in Sweden, the ongoing pandemic is affecting discussions. On Tuesday the heads of universities in The Guild network held a General Assembly, where we welcomed Babeș-Bolyai University, Romania, as a new member, and discussed issues of mutual interest, including the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on our universities.

The pandemic also has an impact on budgetary planning at EU level. Last week the European Commission presented its new proposal for a long-term budget together with a seven-year post-coronavirus recovery budget. They forecast a partial economic recovery in 2021, while warning that a recession with high unemployment will have marked consequences. Negotiations are far from being finalised, and it will probably be up to Germany to wrap up the budget when they take over the presidency of the EU on 1 July.

According to the current proposal, the seven-year overall budget for research, education and innovation, Horizon Europe, will be EUR 94.4 billion, part of which will come from a post-coronavirus emergency temporary recovery instrument, Next Generation EU. The European Research Council funding for excellent research will continue, along with important instruments for mobility and infrastructure. Part of the overall budget will go to specific areas such as health, green economy and innovation. It is unclear how this money is to be used. The Guild has asked for clarification and has stressed the importance of continued mobility in Europe. This applies not least to student exchanges. At a time of travel restrictions and great uncertainty, allowing young people somehow to meet across borders becomes more important than ever for building mutual understanding.

The EU also aims to strengthen and coordinate the national systems for research and education, through the European Research Area (ERA) and the European Education Area (EEA). Efforts to determine the relationship between the UK and the EU after Brexit continue, as does work on a new vision, under the heading “Towards a 2030 vision on the future of the universities in Europe” – particularly important to watch moving forward. The document presented on progress to date gives us reason to make our voice heard in this context in the time ahead.

The Guild has already made an initial written response presenting its views on the document, and at the meeting last week that I have already mentioned, Christian Leumann from the University of Bern and I (Eva) introduced a discussion on the vision and how our experiences this spring affect our outlook on the future. Academic freedom and critical thinking are particularly important in times of change. Academic freedom is not only a prerequisite for excellence and innovative thinking; it is also a cornerstone of a democratic society. Any strategy for change must be thoroughly discussed and have the support of the universities. The Guild calls for greater understanding of the need for a long-term perspective, and of the fact that all change requires resources if research and education are not to suffer. We know, for example, that a transition to open publication (Open Access), which is basically positive, involves conflicting objectives and entails costs. We wrote about Plan S in a previous blog.

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, we perceive growing expectations from the EU of increased coordination on societal challenges and that the research community will seek common approaches and agendas across national and disciplinary borders. But where does the border lie between independence and coordination? How can we find the right balance? Being open and cooperative while maintaining integrity could be a good line to take. One example of the desire to find synergies and pool expertise is the European Universities Network project (EUN), which has been welcomed by universities and has led to many applications and projects. Its ‘bottom-up perspective’ offers universities and governments a chance to jointly investigate and eliminate barriers to coordinated development. Uppsala University is expecting a decision on our EUN application ENLIGHT, in which we partner with eight other European universities, at the beginning of July.

The EU is the third largest funder of Swedish research and an important platform for international cooperation, so it is important that we keep abreast of developments in European research, education and innovation policies. The funding bodies here in Sweden have recently been instructed by the government to propose goals and strategies for Swedish participation in the EU Framework Programme Horizon Europe. We expect the higher education institutions to be involved in this work and that many people in academia will take a great interest in it. These issues will therefore certainly come up again in the autumn when we also expect a government research bill.

We will soon have another opportunity to discuss some of these issues at the Coimbra meeting on 11–12 June, in which the Deputy Vice-Chancellor will participate. Clearly, EU issues keep going and work is in full flow in Brussels and international networks, even in these times of the coronavirus.

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