Jane Reichel: An encouraging week

The first week of March marked the CIVIS Staff Week at Stockholm University, during which we were visited by a delegation from African and European universities and our CIVIS partners. Some thirty university presidents, academics, doctoral students and administrative staff attended from six African universities: Université Hassan II Casablanca in Morocco, Université de Sfax in Tunisia, Cheikh Anta Diop University in Senegal, Makerere University in Uganda, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane in Mozambique and University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa.

The theme of the week was Becoming better together: widening and deepening the CIVIS European – African cooperation. During the final three days, administrative staff from seven European CIVIS universities joined SU and also took part. With individuals from all six African CIVIS universities and from eight out of eleven European CIVIS universities present and interacting, the conditions were good to move forward. It was a very good week, with many meetings and constructive dialogues held, ideas exchanged, and quite a few contacts made. A reception and guided tour of Stockholm City Hall, attended by our President, was a particular highlight.

Outside the CIVIS week, turbulent international developments were taking place, with many remarkable and polarising initiatives and developments in the political arena. Rarely has the role of universities in society and in the world felt more relevant! One item discussed in the CIVIS programme was the new CIVIS-wide Master’s Programme in Transdisciplinary Studies of Climate, Environment and Energy, which is offered by eleven CIVIS universities and coordinated from the Department of Environmental Science at Stockholm University.

It is encouraging that students, teachers and researchers will soon be engaged in education across borders, both national and academic, to help solve the challenges of our time. Academic cooperation, student exchange, mobility and networking are all things we need to foster, especially in turbulent times.

This text is written by Jane Reichel, Dean, Faculty of Law. It appears in the section “Words from the University’s senior management team”, where the management take turns to write about topical issues. The section appears in News for staff.