Category: Uncategorized (Page 31 of 34)

Yesterday SciLifeLab’s new building “Navet” (i.e. “the Hub”) was inaugurated at Uppsala University. The project was initiated in May 2012, and now the new premises are ready for SciLifeLab’s operations at BMC, Uppsala Biomedical Center. The idea is that the new building should be a creative venue that will inspire and facilitate exchanges between researchers in different disciplines. Several research groups and staff at SciLifeLab have moved their operations to Navet, and there is plenty of space for visiting scholars from other universities.

At the well-attended opening ceremony the Minister of Education Jan Björklund was among the speakers, as well as the Co-director of SciLifeLab, Kerstin Lindblad-Toh. The opening ceremony ended with a tying of two green strings together to symbolize the coming together and creating bonds, which is at the core of SciLifeLab.

 

It is time for the weekend again and we have put another week behind us. Spring had to step back for a while, but will soon be back. This week we have had a meeting with the Management Council, where the issue of infrastructure took a large part of the meeting. We will take a greater responsibility in this matter going forward. Each higher education institution is to identify research infrastructure that can be considered of national interest from their own areas of strength. Suggested research infrastructure may be existing, under construction or planned. Joseph Nordgren has been instructed by the Vice-Chancellor to work with the infrastructure issues at Uppsala University in the past year, and he will lead the process of developing our priorities in consultation with the departments.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Education and Research has been in contact with the Swedish higher education institutions regarding increased student capacity for 2015. This will primarily lead to more places on the degree programmes for teachers, specialist nurses and midwives. We expect to receive further information on this subject early next week.

Our meetings and conversations continue, both individually and in groups. We met about 50 of our department heads last Wednesday, and the next scheduled department head meeting is on 15 October . Next week we have among other things a visit to the Department of Physics and Astronomy on the agenda.

Now we wish you all a great weekend!

There are always a number of ongoing meetings of all sorts at our university. Today we had the EU Commissioner László Andor on a flying visit, invited by Joakim Palme at the Department of Political Science. Commissioner Andor, responsible for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, has in the past year gone on the offensive against the growing social imbalances within the EU that followed the global financial crisis. He has launched a strategy for action that in different ways could strengthen the social dimension of the European Union.

His visit to Uppsala University began with a breakfast meeting with the Deputy Vice-Chancellor and a dozen researchers and students with an interest in EU affairs. After a brief tour of the Museum Gustanavium, Andor held a speech entitled ‘The Social Dimension of the Internal Market’.

Yesterday we had a visit from the President of the Moldovan Parliament, Igor Corman. He was here with a delegation of Members of Parliament at the invitation of the Speaker of the Swedish Parliament, Per Westerberg, and visited the Ångström Laboratory and Uppsala Innovation Center.

At Ångström, professor Kristina Edström presented our center for battery research, and showed our visitors the current research on lithium batteries and fuel cells. Professor Peter Lindblad presented the section of Biomimetics, and talked about our research on renewable energy.

 

This week it became known that three prominent researchers at Uppsala University were awarded grants through the Research Council’s new program ‘Grants for Distinguished Professors’. Materials physicist Olle Eriksson, the genome researcher Kerstin Lindblad-Toh and the evolutionary biologist Hans Ellegren are to receive grants of approximately 5 million euros per year for a ten year period. The purpose of this initiative is to give the best researchers in Sweden the possibilities to concentrate on their research. They should be given opportunities to plan ahead and take risks – and to achieve innovative research. It is very gratifying to see that researchers at Uppsala University received as much as three of the nine appropriations in this special initiative.

We have also greeted another eminent scientist at Uppsala University this week, namely Robert Cardiff who gave this year’s Göran Gustafsson Lecture. It was a well-attended lecture under the theme “Redesigning the Foundation for Clinical Research”.

Last Thursday we were also informed about the government’s new initiative for higher education. Higher education in Sweden will expand its student capacity by 10,000 places, where most of the new places will be added in various types of teacher education programmes. The expansion will take place gradually, and the government will come back with further information regarding how the places will be distributed. It is a positive sign that the expansion of higher education is back on the agenda, but it would have been even better if the institutions themselves had control over the distribution of the new places.

The beginning of the week has been marked by meetings with representatives from the Matariki Network. The network consists of seven universities in Dartmouth, Durham, Queen’s, Otago, Tubingen, Western Australia and Uppsala. The motto is “Partnering for a better world” , and the work involves exchanges of students, researchers, staff and faculty , benchmarking, social responsibility activities in culture and sport , joint training , and more.

One purpose of Matariki is to act as a “critical friend” . For example, we have been using experts from the network for the evaluations of the KrUUt Project (Creative Education Development at the University of Uppsala). In the network we are also developing so-called “best practicies” and share experiences on various issues. In Australia and New Zealand they have substantial experience in student recruitment in Asia, where we have much to learn. We on the other hand have knowledge of how to work in Africa through our SANORD-cooperation, which we can share .

Another important area of collaboration is the promotion of research and innovation. Each member is responsible for a research theme, with a focus on interaction and collaboration. Uppsala University’s research theme is Peace and Conflict Research, and as part of the theme a workshop was organized here in Uppsala last year. The other research themes are Cybersecurity (Dartmouth), Disaster Resilience (Durham), Energy , Resource and Environment (Queen’s), Brain and Mind (Otago), Quantum Sciences (Tubingen) , Medieval and Early Modern Thought and Effect , Digital Support for the social Sciences and Humanities (University of Western Australia) .

The meeting in Uppsala was led by Chairman Chris Higgins from Durham University, and we have, among other things, discussed the possibilities of Horizon 2020 and Erasmus +. Horizon 2020 is the EU’s new framework program for research and innovation, which will run from 2014-2020 with a total budget of around € 80 billion. Erasmus + is the new EU program for education, youth and sport, which also starts this year.

At the meeting, Uppsala University announced the new program Matariki Fellows. The aim of the program is to create opportunities for senior researchers to receive funds for research stays at another Matariki University. The ultimate goal is to expand the number of research contacts and international collaborations. Learn more and apply at the link which opens this week.

We also had fruitful discussions about increased cooperation on alumni activities. It has been an interesting meeting which I hope will lead to several concrete projects. Active network is a critical component of our work for greater internationalization, and we have much to learn from each other.

Last week I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Peter Waiswa from Makerere University School of Public Health. During the meeting I presented Uppsala University’s gift of SEK 50 000 to be used for equipment and training in a neonatal unit in Kampala, Uganda. The goal is to save lives and improve the health of both children and their mothers. This gift was given in the name of HM the Queen Silvia, on the occasion of the Queen’s 70th birthday on December 23, 2013.

It is important for us to create more and deeper partnerships with various partners on the African continent. I visited Makerere University last November together with, among others, Professor Stefan Swartling Peterson. He has worked at Makerere University himself, and has many ideas about what we can develop together.

 

Last Friday it was time for the degree conferment celebration for those who have received their PhDs and honorary doctor degrees during the year.

The day began as early as six o’clock in the morning with the traditional porridge breakfast with the students, and ended with a banquet in the Hall of State at Uppsala Castle.

It was, in other words a long festive day lined with celebrations. The ceremony in the university building’s auditorium started at 12 o’clock, and prizes and medals for great efforts that were awarded to 13 laureates.

The Conferment Ceremony is one of the highlights for us in the academia. We want to thank all of you who in various ways helped make this a memorable day for our new PhDs, honorary doctors and awardees.

Today we welcomed our new students to Uppsala University with a traditional reception in the university hall. For me as the Vice-Chancellor this is one of the highlights of the semester. I still remember the feeling when I was a new student at the university, the excitement mixed with some uncertainty about how it would be. You have a great time ahead of you!

Hosting today’s reception was meteorologist and climate lecturer Pär Holmgren, a former student and now honorary doctor at Uppsala University. In addition to musical entertainment, the president of Uppsala Student Union, Fredrik Pettersson, and Curator curatorum, Kristina Melin, among others, also welcomed our new students.

The reception was broadcast online, and is available here.

As 2013 winds down, we summarise the year that was and look ahead to 2014.

When we look back, certain events stand out, such as the inauguration of Campus Gotland during Almedal Week. The autonomy discussion prompted by the government’s proposal regarding higher-education foundations being circulated for comment is also one of the year’s key events. We have had many interesting debates; one might say that we freely discussed what is right.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rewarding recurrent events include the welcoming of new students at the start of each semester and our issuing of mild warnings ahead of the Frosh Banquet, as well as congratulating those being awarded their doctorates, new professors, and prize-winners at conferment ceremonies and installation festivities. Nor will Walpurgis Eve, with the Running of the Rapids, soon be forgotten!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We can also observe that there is always something to celebrate at our University. The choir Allmänna sången is marking a jubilee, the inspectorate and the Department of Riding are commemorating 350 years, and medical training 400 years. During the year we have also thanked the retiring chair of the University Board, Hans Dalborg, and welcomed Carola Lemne as his successor.

Many prominent guests have visited Uppsala University, which is always stimulating and rewarding. We especially recall the start of the autumn semester with Kofi Annan and Jan Eliasson. The following week our students had the opportunity to hear Margot Wallström deliver the Dag Hammarsköld Lecture. And the visit from the Nobel laureates always brightens up December. It is gratifying to be able to offer activities like these, both to our students and to the general public.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our daily work here at home often consists of meetings, seminars, and conferences with participants from all over the world, but we have also been abroad and gleaned impressions from other seats of learning and corners of the world. During the year the Vice-Chancellor’s Management Council has visited universities in the UK (Edinburgh, Oxford, Cambridge) and Finland (University of Helsinki and Aalto University) – trips that were both educational and inspiring.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An important portion of the University’s activities are carried out at our museums and in the Botanical Garden, which are often venues for meetings and seminars, but also for concerts and spectacular sports events. Uppsala University is an open institution that is pleased to share its operations and its cultural milieus with others. Much of this is made possible by donations that are managed by Uppsala Akademiförvaltning (Academy Management) for the benefit of future generations. In this context the foundation Friends of Uppsala University also plays a key role. The purpose of the foundation is to actively work to ensure that urgent University projects can be realized.

Other forms of donations that make a difference are for instance the Oncolytic Virus Fund. During the year small donations from thousands of individuals, albeit in combination with one major donation, have enabled Professor Magnus Essand and his research team to begin work with the world’s first clinical studies of a virus treatment that specifically targets neuroendocrine tumours.

We have also continued our work with the four strategic focus areas for excellence in teaching and research: quality, infrastructure, internationalisation, and competence and career.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our quality work is constantly moving forward. This autumn’s retreat with the deans took up quality control and quality development. SUHF (the Association of Swedish Higher Education) has proposed a future model in which higher-education institutions themselves could take the responsibility for creating their own quality systems for external assessment, which, following approval by the Swedish Higher Education Authority, could replace the current national system. On the research side we have thus far arranged our own major evaluation projects (Q&R07 and Q&R11). Now the Swedish Research Council is investigating the establishment of a national peer-review-based system. The Meeting of the Deans in November, just like the University Board when the issue was discussed there in December, asserted that Uppsala University must take a major responsibility for our own quality matters.

Concerning infrastructure, during the year Joseph Nordgren has been tasked with taking inventory of our needs, an assignment that is expected to be completed in February.

In the focus area of internationalisation, Leif Kirsebom began work as adviser to the Vice-Chancellor for internationalisation last spring. A pan-University group has also been created to address these issues. Internationalisation is an area where we can make further improvements.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Being an attractive employer is critical to our success, and our work in the area of competence and career continues unabated. For example, we have initiated work to map our limited-term appointments, and we have welcomed hundreds of new co-workers during the year.

To back up strategic work and to provide efficient operational support, University Director Ann Fust initiated quality work within the administration during the autumn. The project aims to facilitate research, education, and collaboration, enhancing quality, reducing costs, and freeing up researches to increase our freedom to act.  The work is being pursued in project form and is starting with human resources, finance, and administration of studies. The first focus is on salary administration, where a decision will soon be made to move in the direction of central salary administration. The work mode is to be characterised by broad participation in the organisation. The main reason for working with workflows is the University’s own driving force to work efficiently and with quality in mind. There is also external pressure following the creation of the State Service Centre, as ratios are now available for comparison regarding certain services in the areas of finance and human resources.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the end of the year approaching, it is time to look forward. We will continue to grow in research – but the way today’s policy looks we will probably be shrinking when it comes to education. Though this will be a challenge for us, it is above all a problem for the young and highly motivated students who will not have the opportunity to create their own future by getting a university education.

One way of looking ahead is to review our Goals and Strategies, a task being led by Göran Magnusson and Coco Norén. Following a period of broad consultations, this work is now entering the drafting phase. The proposal will be circulated for comment in the spring.

The autonomy process is thought to be continuing into 2014. It is important for us to continue the discussion and achieve a broad consensus on what we want our future to look like, in terms of both the University’s relation to the state and our internal modes of operation and governance.

The development of Uppsala University is driven by committed and dedicated associates and students. We want to thank you all for the year gone by and for your fine contributions.

We wish you a truly enjoyable Christmas and a Happy New Year!

 

Today, the Nobel laureates in medicine and chemistry visited Uppsala University. The medicine laureates, Thomas Sudhof, Randy Schekman and James Rothman, held well-attended lectures at the Biomedical Centre (BMC), while two of the chemistry laureates, Arieh Warshel and Michael Levitt, lectured in the university auditorium, dressed in red university ties which they received during their previous visit (see picture below). Lars Peter Hansen, one of the receivers of the prize in economic science, was sadly forced to cancel due to illness.

The laureates met Eva before the lectures, and they also had time for a lunch at Uppsala Castle before it was time to go back to Stockholm for the rest of the Nobel programme.

This year’s winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, the organization OPCW, was represented by Attila Zimonyi, head of strategy at the OPCW. He is on a visit to Uppsala due to the Conference Henri Lafontaine, a conference which is organized by Uppsala University and Wallonia Brussels International.
There is a long-standing tradition of inviting Nobel laureates to Uppsala in connection with the Nobel festivities in Stockholm, and it is gratifying that they are able to come here and both meet and inspire our students and researchers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Watch the Nobel Lectures on UU Play.