Jane Reichel: Meetings and discussions between higher education institutions – vice presidents’ meetings in Uppsala, Falun and Helsinki

Stockholm University is engaged in an ongoing dialogue with higher education institutions in Sweden, the Nordic region, Europe and the rest of the world. President Hans Adolfsson chairs the Association of Swedish Higher Education Institutions (SUHF), and SU is a member of CIVIS (Europe’s Civic University Alliance), which includes six African partner universities, to name just two key contexts. As Vice President, I am taking part in three different vice presidents’ meetings: one with what are known as the SLUG universities (Stockholm University, Lund University, Uppsala University and the University of Gothenburg); one national vice presidents’ meeting for Swedish universities and colleges; and one with Vice Rector Hanna Snellman and her colleagues at the University of Helsinki, which is one of our closer partner universities. By chance, meetings in all three forums are taking place this March.

The vice presidents’ meeting with the SLUG universities was held in Uppsala during the first week of March, when Vice President Coco Norén and her colleagues hosted a meeting in Segerstedtshuset. One topic was the upcoming institutional reviews that all four universities are due to undergo over the next two years, with SU being the first university next year, i.e. in 2027. Other topics discussed included various EU initiatives in the field of education, as well as how our universities work with both culture and teaching and learning in higher education. We also had the opportunity to discuss the situation for universities in the USA with Dag Blanck, Professor of North American Studies at Uppsala, as they are currently experiencing an unprecedented decline in academic freedom.

The other two meetings will take place later in March, and here too the discussion is likely to focus on developments at our respective higher education institutions in Sweden, Europe and the world. The national vice presidents’ meeting will be held in Falun and Borlänge, hosted by Dalarna University. In Helsinki, our various areas of collaboration will be on the agenda, including our joint Center for Coastal Ecosystem and Climate Change Research (CoastClim). The centre comprises the Baltic Sea Centre with the Askö Laboratory and the Bolin Centre for Climate Research at SU, as well as the Tvärminne Zoological Station (TZS) and the Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research (INAR) at the University of Helsinki.

These meetings and contacts with other higher education institutions are very important to us at SU. They enable us to gain insight into and draw inspiration from the activities at other institutions, while at the same time sharing and receiving feedback on our own activities. Together, we can analyse what is happening in the world, how it affects us and how we respond to these developments. When the wider world challenges our core academic values in many ways – values such as international openness, collegiality, the free pursuit of truth and the dissemination of knowledge – it is important to maintain close contact with like-minded colleagues in the academic community.

 This text is written by Jane Reichel, Vice President. 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.