Hans Adolfsson: An autumn with elections and inquiries

I would like to begin by warmly welcoming all staff and students back after the summer break. In particular, I would like to extend a warm welcome to our new students starting their studies at Stockholm University this autumn semester. Now that it is time to embark on a new academic year, I hope everyone had a chance to enjoy the summer and perhaps indulge in something completely different from their everyday routine. Personally, I dabbled in a bit of DIY with my own little construction project – the sort of thing I don't normally have time for during the academic term.

So what can we expect from the coming academic year? To begin with, elections are coming up soon for the Riksdag, regional councils and local councils. In all likelihood, the results of these will have some sort of impact on operations not only at our own institution but at all of the country’s universities and colleges. As it approaches the end of this term of office, the current government has been busy launching a large number of inquiries whose focus directly concerns the operations of the country’s higher education institutions. I have previously written about the two inquiries concerning academic freedom (Dir. 2025:42) and the organisational structure of higher education institutions (Dir. 2026:5), with the findings of the former to be presented on 11 September, while the latter is expected to submit its report in spring 2027. Both of these inquiries are important to ensure that we, as a university, can carry out our research, education and collaboration remit independently, without allowing ourselves to be influenced or controlled by ideological, religious or economic forces. Universities and colleges have a particular responsibility to fulfil here: a social contract under which we must be able to independently champion the advancement of knowledge for the benefit of society, and ensure the supply of skills to all sectors of society. To be able to fulfil this responsibility fully, universities and colleges must have the autonomy to decide how best to achieve this. Here, politicians and those in positions of power in society need to show trust in the academic profession, recognising that we know how best to carry out these duties without being micromanaged.

In contrast to the two inquiries I just mentioned is the inquiry decided upon and commissioned this summer concerning the dimensioning and governance of the courses and study programmes offered by higher education institutions, “Ett utbildningsutbud av hög kvalitet som är relevant för arbetsmarknadens och samhällets behov” [High-quality course offerings relevant to the needs of the labour market and society] (Dir. 2026:82). During this term of office, the Ministry of Education and Research has clearly emphasised the need for academic freedom and autonomy at higher education institutions. However, with this inquiry, we can undoubtedly expect proposals that will increase state control over our activities. We must hope that the recipient of the inquiry report understands how to strike a balance between the need for direct control and the degree of freedom – a balancing act that can be difficult to maintain when strong voices from, for example, certain parts of society argue that we are not educating students who can immediately step in and fill the roles that are currently needed. As I mentioned above, we have a responsibility for ensuring the supply of skilled labour, but that responsibility must be based on mutual respect and a clear division of roles between us in academia, politics, the business community and the public sector, where, through dialogue, we can find ways to accomplish this task.

Other items on the agenda this autumn include the ongoing work to develop Stockholm University’s strategy for the 2027–2030 period. The forthcoming strategy document builds on the core values that characterise Stockholm University – knowledge, enlightenment and the pursuit of truth – within a strong collegial context, and focuses on how we can further strengthen the university’s research, education and collaboration with other actors. We will revisit the strategy document later this autumn once it has also been adopted by the University Board.

It feels good to be back after the summer break and to look ahead to everything the coming academic year has to offer. I look forward to all the upcoming meetings with you, our staff and students, across our various campuses. Welcome back!

This text is written by President Hans Adolfsson. It appears in the section “Words from the Management”, in which members of the university’s management team take turns to write about topical issues. The section appears in News for staff which is distributed to the entirety of the University staff.