Two important seminars on role of universities in Sweden

Anders Hagfeldt, Vice-Chancellor of Uppsala University, is inviting the public to attend two highly topical seminars during Almedalen Week. They are open to all who wish to participate and those who are not in Almedalen can follow the discussions online.

The seminar “Good, better, Sweden: how we can become world research leaders” will examine how Sweden can become a world-leading research nation. Is Swedish research good enough? If not – what is required from higher education institutions, politicians and the business community for us to become world-leading?

The panel discussion will include Anders Hagfeldt, Vice-Chancellor of Uppsala University, Erik Renström, Vice-Chancellor of Lund University, and Bertil Andersson, former Vice-Chancellor of Linköping University and Nanyang Technological University. Other participants include politicians Gunilla Svantorp and Marie-Louise Hänel Sandström, and Katarina Bjelke, Director General of the Swedish Research Council.

Student activism on university campuses

The seminar “Demonstrations or seminars? On student activism and democracy at Swedish universities” looks at the recent pro-Palestine student protests at higher education institutions in Sweden. Universities should be open spaces for democratic debates, but where do the limits lie for debate? How should we view student activism and political stances on university campuses?

“This question is important for understanding what is happening on our university campuses right now, both here in Sweden and in many other places, and why it is so difficult to agree on what is right and wrong. Rather than passing judgement, we need to raise awareness of the foundations and principles of democratic debate and the role that universities and higher education have, and can have, in such debates. This is important for the development of higher education and its ability to encourage and benefit from students’ engagement and knowledge,” says Linda Wedlin, Professor of Business Studies och director of the research programme Democracy and Higher Education at Uppsala University.

She will take part in the panel discussion alongside Anders Hagfeldt, Vice-Chancellor of Uppsala University, and Jimmie Kristensson, Pro Vice-Chancellor of Lund University. Ylva Bergström, Senior Lecturer in the Sociology of Education at Uppsala University, and Klara Dryselius, Vice-Chair of the Swedish National Union of Students, will also take part in the discussion. The moderator will be Johannes Hylander.

Annica Hulth