Ho Ho Ho, A Very Charlie Brown Christmas, New Year and Holiday Greetings to all of you!
My very own Charlie Brown, my PT, PA and PI, tells me that it is about time to leave the desk and go out into the stormy weather, enjoy the wind and then some cooking, Christmas music and Christmas stories.
Before I do I just want to say a couple of things to all of you:
Make sure that you will have time to yourself and to get some rest during the holidays – also remember all the great things that you have achieved during this year, which in many other ways has been very dark.
If you have not read it: Jeanette Wintersen’s Christmas Days is a lovely book, filled with heart-warming stories that helps us remember to be kind to each other but also a bit spooky stories, and interesting recipes.
Marie Öhman är sedan augusti i år ny prefekt på institutionen för konst, kultur och kommunikation (K3).
Hej Marie! Hur har din första tid som prefekt varit?
Det har framför allt varit roligt! Det är alltid intressant och lite hälsosamt prövande sådär att lära känna en ny organisation med allt vad det innebär av nytt innehåll, nya rutiner, roller, akronymer osv. Och jag är mycket glad över mina nya kollegor vid K3 och fakulteten! Jag är imponerad över allt engagemang och all kreativitet som finns här och det är mycket roligt att vara tillbaka i en verksamhet med tyngdpunkt på hum/sam, efter en lång period med ansvar för lärarutbildningsfrågor.
Vilka frågor är i fokus just nu på institutionen?
K3 firar 25 år i år och visst fokus de gångna veckorna har legat på planering för att fira det. I övrigt håller vi på med programutveckling inom humaniora och har precis lämnat in en programidé till Fakultetsstyrelsen. Vi ägnar också en del uppmärksamhet åt frågan hur vi ska arbeta inom våra sammanhållna kunskapsmiljöer och hur dessa förhåller sig till pågående initiativ till centrumansökningar. Lokalfrågorna är viktiga för K3 därför håller vi också på med en översyn av hur vi kan skapa de bästa förutsättningarna för våra utbildningar som förutsätter tillgång till verkstäder och ateljéer och som har en helt annat behov av fysisk tillhörighet än många andra utbildningar. Jag som är relativt ny som ansvarig för organisationen försöker också kasta en blick över befintliga mötesformer och arbetssätt för att säkerställa att de möjliggör kollegialt inflytande och systematiskt arbetsmiljöarbete.
Var är ni i arbetet med sammanhållna och gränsöverskridande kunskapsmiljöer?
K3 har en stor bredd i verksamheten och en utmaning framåt blir att hitta en bra balans för att ta tillvara den bredden och samtidigt stärka den gemensamma miljökärnan/miljöidentiteten. Den långa erfarenhet och stora kunskap som våra professorer har kommer att bli centrala i det arbetet och i nuläget pågår under deras ledning ett planeringsarbete, för att ta fram aktiviteter för nästa år som kan bidra till just detta. Vi har i verksamhetsplanen för kommande år plockat upp många av de utvecklingsmöjligheter som uttrycks i KS agenda för sammanhållna gränsöverskridande akademiska kunskapsmiljöer och skapat processer för att på kort och lång sikt ro dessa i hamn. På en övergripande strategisk nivå ser jag att vi kan systematisera den goda samverkan som finns mellan K3 och det omgivande samhället. Och jag ser att vi behöver arbeta för att på lång sikt utöka vår forskarutbildning.
Fakta:
Var bor du? Jag har min utgångspunkt i Eskilstuna och veckopendlar till Malmö. I Malmö bor jag precis bredvid Pildammsparken.
Har du familj? Jag det har jag: en man, två vuxna barn och två katter
Har du något fritidsintresse/hobby/dold talang e.d.
Jag reser en hel del och väljer gärna resmål efter berömda hotell och restauranger som jag vill besöka. Jag är bra på att laga desserter och kan recitera orimligt många repliker ur Sjöwall och Wahlöös serie Roman om ett brott.
Händer i december
Migration seminar: Kids in action promoting health equity in socially deprived areas Thursday 7 December, 14:15 – 16:00 Niagara, Nordenskiöldsgatan 1, or Zoom
Re-Imaginatorium 1: Samskapande Malmö 2040 Fredag 8 december, 09:00 – 16:00 Media Evolution, Stora Varvsgatan 6a
Human rights festival Lördagen den 9 december 2023 Lund, Stadshallen
Frukostmöte om mänskliga rättigheter Måndag 11 december, 08:30 – 10:00 Nereus, Representationsrummet, plan 3
Virtuell UNIC-konferens: Tillvägagångssätt i ‘superdiversa’ städer: religion, samhälle och kultur Måndag 11 december, 10:00 – Tisdag 12 december, 13:30
Derek Hutcheson, Vice Dean for Doctoral Education/Pro Dean
Over the last two years we have undergone an extensive review of our doctoral education, which came in three stages:
• self-evaluations of all subjects in winter 2021-22; • the external reviewers’ report in late 2022; and a separate evaluation of administrative practices by Malin Ideland, now Pro Vice Chancellor for Research and Doctoral Education. • Reflection on these findings in the first half of this year, which resulted in the Doctoral Education Action Plan passed in summer 2023.
The external review was generally extremely positive about the foundation we had built in doctoral education. But, of course, there is always room for improvement, and as the next stage of the Action Plan, a series of changes will take effect from 1 January 2024 that should set our doctoral education up for the years to come. There are three principles underlying these changes:
• Decision-making chains should be shorter, if possible. • Ultimately responsibility for decisions must be clear, and decisions should be taken as locally as possible. • In line with the general decentralisation that has taken place in doctoral education, departmental collegial structures should be given more responsibility for quality assurance.
Many of the changes relate to the decision-making processes, rather than the academic content. They should hopefully mean that decisions can be taken more quickly, and that certain aspects of the doctoral experience – such as admission, progression and preparations for defences – go more smoothly. In practice, they will mean that the heads of department will play a greater role than hitherto, and that certain committee processes are speeded up. On 21 November, the Dean formally decided on changes to the Delegation Ordinance from 1 January 2024. Between now and the end of the year, it is intended that the steering documents relating to doctoral education will be updated to reflect the new rules. But – as always – working to the highest quality remains a priority, and departments will now have even more direct responsibility for ensuring that their doctoral educations run as smoothly as possible.
Another significant step forward in our doctoral education came with the Vice Chancellor’s decision on 23 October 2023 to approve the new Organisation Studies subject. It will have its formal home in the Department of Urban Studies, but also involve a wide range of other actors across the university, building a strong new environment in that area. The November FFN approved its General Study Plan, and new doctoral positions will shortly be advertised. Also worth noting is that on 15 December, Calle Håkansson will defend his PhD – the first to be defended in Global Politics, which was hitherto the newest subject in the faculty. (Before, that, however, don’t miss Zahra Hamidi’s defence in Urban Studies on 1 December!)
This will be my last blog post in my current capacity as Vice Dean for Doctoral Education. During slightly more than four years in the role, I have been privileged to see seventeen people defend their PhDs in the faculty (not including Calle and Zahra, who will defend before the end of the year), and witnessed a significant growth in the number of doctoral students, especially externally-funded ones. Four years ago we were the only faculty that did not have doctoral students in so-called ‘graduate schools’; now, we have several in all three departments, not least due to colleagues’ growing success in attracting external funding for cross-university collaboration as well as research projects that involve doctoral students.
I will remain in the faculty management group as Pro Dean, but am delighted to be able to announce that the Dean decided last week to appoint Dr Magnus Andersson as vice dean for doctoral education from 1 January 2024. Magnus is associate professor in the Department of Urban Studies. I thank you all for your cooperation since 2019, and am sure that Magnus will benefit – as I have – from the valuable advice and support the doctoral education coordinators; the research administrators and research liaison officers; members of the faculty’s FFN committee; and not least, all the supervisors and doctoral students themselves. I look forward to watching KS doctoral education flourish in your collective hands, as it enters the next chapter of its development!
COMING UP
Seriestaden Malmö 25 år: Från digital eufori till det analogas återkomst Torsdag 30 november, 14:00 – 16:00 Malmö konsthall, C-salen
Migration seminar: Tourism in Multicultural Societies Thursday 30 November, 14:15 – 16:00 Niagara, Nordenskiöldsgatan 1, or Zoom
From urban grievance to urban struggle: On the history of urban social movements Monday 4 December, 15:15 – 17:00 Niagara, Lecture Hall Ni:A0606, Nordenskiöldsgatan 1
Docentföreläsning med Gustav Hägg Tisdag 5 december, 15:15 – 16:00 Niagara, NI:A0507, Nordenskiöldsgatan 1
Migration seminar: Kids in action promoting health equity in socially deprived areas Thursday 7 December, 14:15 – 16:00 Niagara, Nordenskiöldsgatan 1, or Zoom
Re-Imaginatorium 1: Samskapande Malmö 2040 Fredag 8 december, 09:00 – 16:00 Media Evolution, Stora Varvsgatan 6a
Frukostmöte om mänskliga rättigheter Måndag 11 december, 08:30 – 10:00 Nereus, Representationsrummet, plan 3
Virtuell UNIC-konferens: Tillvägagångssätt i ‘superdiversa’ städer: religion, samhälle och kultur Måndag 11 december, 10:00 – Tisdag 12 december, 13:30
The last couple of weeks have been filled with exciting and important events and news related to KS and what we do, as well as horrible and tragic news reaching us from different parts of the world. Our times are hard and challenging in many ways, and now more than ever it is important for us to continue the work we do and remember to respect each other.
Högtidsveckan was a really great experience in many ways. We had a fantastic KS-dag with inspiring lecture by new professors, visiting and adjungerade professor – thank you all speakers!!! And thank you Therese Hjort who organized everything – celebrations and a relaunch of Anna Lindh Academy and finally a festive årshögtid! Congratulations again to our new doctors and professors!
November 8, we had our first KS-dag focusing on our kunskapsmiljöer and with a guest lecture by Professor Eva Hemmungs-Wirtén on her way to an ERC-advanced grant, but also on her experiences of managing and finishing it successfully. Thank you for contributing and making our first day such a good day! From what I heard, many of you got new knowledge on what is going on at KS in the different miljöer, but also inspiration from your colleagues and from the talk given by Eva Hemmungs-Wirtén. (Next KS-dag is on November 6, 2024 – save the date will be in your calendar very soon!)
Writing this newsletter, I have just come back from our seminar on Humanities that KS Malmö University arranged together with HumTank, Lund University and Vetenskap & Allmänhet (Nov 15). We had the opportunity to take part of important knowledge on what the public think about humanities (most of them have either low trust in humanities and research from humanities, or have no opinion at all) and also discuss why we have this rather challenging situation and what we can do to change it. There were many good suggestions and food for thought, and since it was filmed everybody will be able to watch it, but what I want to stress is that we need to continue to make visible 1) that what we do is valuable for our societies in many ways which also means that we need to be part of many different rooms and use different languages and genres to talk about what we do – not least that we are important for the STEM strategies; 2) that it is important for us not to separate collaboration and dissemination from our research and teaching, but that we continue to see that they are all connected and part of the same process; 3) that it is not only academia that have become more “professionalized” in the last 20 years, but also all other spheres, which also means that there are not as many people who have one foot in different spheres anymore and that can function as mediators. (If you are interested in the reports made by Humtank and Vetenskap & allmänhet, just visit their websites.)
Yesterday (November 14) we had KS verksamhetsdialog with the Vice Chancellor where the focus was on planning and a sustainable economy. It was a really constructive and positive dialogue where Kerstin Tham underlined that what we are doing at KS has high quality, not only in relation to our research and education, but also when it comes to how we organize ourselves and how we use our resources. The fact that we have high quality in our program and courses, that we now have a new doctoral subject (Organisation Studies), that so many students apply to our courses and programs, that we apply for and also have been very successful in external funding (congratulations!), that we are doing research and also publish, (do not forget to register in Diva – since your publications also is important for our funding) collaborate and innovate in different forms are also related to the fact that we do these things together, that we have a clear Agenda and work strategically and systematically. So be proud of what you do!Keep up the good work and continue to recognize, respect and help each other! And do not forget to celebrate and also to take a break!
We also of course talked about the challenging times that we are part of right now and how it is even more important to think about how we use our resources, at the same time that it is also more difficult than ever to plan .The discussion related to finances continued in the afternoon yesterday, since our Chief Financial Officer at Malmö university, Ingrid Bengtsson-Rijavec, was a guest at Fakultetsstyrelsen. We were very happy to have her as a guest and hope to make this a yearly standing invitation.
Next week Malmö university is part of Förbjuden kulturvecka organized by Malmö stad. Vice Chancellor Kerstin Tham and adjungerad professor I konst Maria Lantz, K3, will be part of a panel together with Henric Höijer talking about academic freedom and artistic freedom moderated by Lars Mogensen. Most welcome! https://mau.se/kalender/forbjuden-kultur/
Author: Kerstin Sandell, Head of department at Urban Studies
Dear members of the Faculty of Culture and Society.
I am the faculty’s representative in The Advisory Board for Collaboration. I have some interesting things to share with you, mostly about learning about and practising societal impact.
The Advisory Board, with the support of the Vice Chancellor, has created a PhD course in Societal Impact. I have followed the development of the course from the side and listened to a presentation of how the first round went, and it seems very interesting and relevant. The second round of the course will start in the fall of 2024, so supervisors and PhD students keep an eye on this.
The Advisory board has initiated work on how to present and assess societal impact, some examples can be found here where among others Hanne Berthelsen at CTA presents her work. Resources on how to create an impact case can be found here.
There will be a two-step event where those of you that are interested can learn more about how to create impact cases. The ”Training on Societal Impact of Science” is organized by AESIS – Network for Advancing and Evaluating Societal Impact:
Part I: Online seminar 30 November 2023, 14:15-17:15 CET. Registration deadline: 23 November.
Part II: On-site training, workshop including individual tutoring 28 or 29 February 2024, 9-16 CET (preliminary). Registration deadline: 31 January, 2024 (limited to 15 participants per day.)
The training will be held in English and registration is required. Societal impact is becoming more and more important and will also figure in our upcoming research evaluation. This is a great opportunity to learn from experienced and knowledgeable people.
Other things that the Advisory board is involved in is supporting strategic collaborations (strategiska partnerskap), that is more longstanding collaborations with non-academic actors. We have one with Malmö stad, and more might come.
If you have questions about the seminar/training or want more information about the Advisory Board – please get in touch.
Author: Maria Wiktorsson, KS vice dean for education and interim pro dean.
We are now four weeks into the term and even though temperatures are still high, I feel autumn is definitely in the air. We are now also beginning to get more stable statistics on student numbers for the year.
As Annika wrote in the last KS Fakultetsnytt, we have seen a record number of students enrolling this autumn. And according to the current prognoses it looks like the increased numbers means that we can reach, or at least come very close to reaching, our ‘target’ student numbers for the year. This is important financially, but of course our most important priority, as always, is to maintain high quality in our educations.
Overall, our programmes have done very well in the review system with external experts that is part of the quality framework for education at Malmö university. We are now nearing the end of the first cycle of this system and many of our programmes have already been evaluated. This spring, Statsvetenskap: Politik, organisation och ledning at GPS was reviewed and awarded ‘high quality’. Now preparations are underway for the three programme reviews which are taking place during autumn 2023:
· Visuell kommunikation (K3)
· Political science: Global politics and societal change, Master’s programme (GPS)
· Stadsbyggnad, stadsutveckling och planering (US)
We are also working with a UKÄ (the Swedish Higher Education Authority) evaluation of real estate educations that includes our programme Fastighetsförmedling. As Fastighetsförmedling was also reviewed recently as part of the Malmö university review system, it will be interesting to compare the outcome of the UKÄ evaluation with the earlier evaluation.
AI and higher education is, as you are all aware, an issue that has been intensively discussed since Open AI released a free version of ChatGPT-3 at the end of last year. The generative capacity of this and many, many other AI tools (futurepedia.io) currently lists more than 5000 different ones) will make it necessary to think differently about teaching and examination. At Malmö university, the CAKL Training Camp in August was devoted to the theme ‘Learning and AI’. (The presentations are available here). The annual Malmö university conference on educational quality (Kvalitetsforum) will have the theme ‘AI and academic integrity’. (This will take place on 23 November). The Advisory Board for Education (BU) has made AI and education a prioritized issue for the coming year. Further, university guidelines are being created to support teachers in developing examinations in this new world of generative AI, and the KS board of education (UN) is discussing how to formulate examination forms in syllabi to, for instance, allow oral forms to complement written forms. So, a lot is going on in this area right now, and more will follow.
I have written before about a suggested new framework for how we organize our first- and second-cycle educations at the faculty in order to enable increased collaboration, including around elective courses. This framework aims to support the development formulated in the ‘Agenda for coherent and boundary-crossing academic environments’ at the faculty and is now being discussed in different fora in preparation for a dean decision later this term.
–A record number of students enrolling! Fantastic for us, and for the students, and also really important for our future! We of course need to continue to attract students since higher education is one of our core tasks and what we have to offer is high quality education in areas and subjects that are really important to society today. And as I said to the University Board, when I had the chance to present our faculty to them last Friday: KS has a diversified portfolio which serves us well right now when almost all universities are struggling, and we are also working hard trying to develop things further (see our Agenda för sammanhängande och gränsöverskridande kunskapsmiljöer).
– A new Öresundsnätverk, a collaboration between Lund, Köpenhamn and Malmö, CEMES (Center for Modern European Studies) kick-started with a conference at Niagara! Congratulations to all of us in this network since it makes us stronger. Seed-money for new research-groups, workshops, conferences etc. If you have any questions talk to Dino Knudsen, GPS.
CEMES Kick-off at Niagara
– A Malmö University Celebration filled with great music, tributes in pouring rain and Fråga Malmö with your own team Kuiz-Stars (we did not win the competition this time, but we had the biggest social impact) and Christian Fernandez in the panel of experts! Kuiz-Stars will have a new chance to win the title during Högtidsveckan when there will be another Fråga Malmö.
Malmö University celebrates 5 years. KS Kuiz-Stars in the picture to the left.
Hope that your summer was a bit more peaceful, so that you also can enjoy everything that is going on and that KS will offer you during this fall. More is more is what fall 23 is about:
– KS-dag during Högtidsveckan, Monday October 9. Our new professors, guest professors and adjungerade professors will present their research during the day and in the evening we will celebrate them as well as re-launch the Anna Lindh Academy! This day will truly highlight and make visible how our research, education and samverkan are intertwined and working together!
– KS-dag November 8: During this day the departments will present their/our kunskapsmiljöer and we will celebrate some of our staff who have decided to become pensionärer. Since it is important for all of us to really get to know what we are doing in order to grow stronger and support each other, this day should be in your calender.
– A day/event November 15organized together with Humtank, Vetenskap & allmänhetand Lunds universitet focusing on forskningsförmedling and samverkan. (see poster-invitation below). There will be presentations of Humtanks latest report, but also a panel. More info will follow, but let me just say that we are really proud of being able to organize this at Malmö university this year. Many thanks to Malmö University HumTank representative Christina Johansson! And also a heads-up, we will be looking for a new person to represent us in HumTank.
– An event November 21 part of Förbjuden Kulturvecka, which is organized by Malmö stad, focusing on Academic Freedom and Artistic Freedom. Our Vice Chancellor Kerstin Tham and our new adjungerade Professor Maria Lantz, K3, will be part of the panel. This event is also organized by KS together with Kultursamverkan Malmö universitet and Universitetsbiblioteket. Since we now live in times where these freedoms are contested in different ways, it is more important for us than ever to be able to manifest that we are an open university.
Also – we are in the middle of the process of recruiting a new Head of Department to US. There has been a lot of interest and many applications, which is fantastic, and we are following our plan so when we have real news you will know. Also do not miss that we also are looking for a new person to take on the role of Vicedekan för forskarutbildning. Apply yourself or nominate somebody!
And a big welcome to our new Head of Department at K3: Marie Öhman and all other new staff at KS – a special warm welcome to all of our new PhD-students!
Take care, see you out there, and remember to treat each other with respect!
Annika Olsson
Docent,Dekan/Dean Fakulteten för kultur och samhälle/Faculty of Culture and Society
Och jag sitter på Pågatåget från Simrishamn (flyttade hit från Stockholm i februari – stortrivs) och funderar på vad vi sysslat med under våren och mina första månader som dekan. Vi på KS har bland annat
Färdigställt och fastställt KS Agenda för sammanhållna och gränsöverskridande miljöer, vilket innebär att vi har både en karta över vad KS erbjuder i dag, en målbild för vad vi vill vara om några år och en färdplan för hur vi ska ta oss dit. Det är inspirerande att ta del av allt vi gör på KS. Läs och var stolt! (Agendan är lämnad till engelsk översättning och så fort vi får in den sprider vi även den engelska versionen.)
Rekryterat en ny prodekan och satt igång rekryteringsprocessen av ny prefekt för Urbana studier. Annons ska enligt plan gå ut ”runt” midsommar och deadline för att söka tjänsten blir förmodligen sista augusti. Sök och/eller uppmuntra andra att söka – sprid informationen!
Tagit fram och fastställt åtgärdsplan för uppföljning av utvärdering av forskarutbildning. Och i höst blir det också omtag kring hur vi arbetar med våra olika forskarutbildningsprocesser för att skapa ökad tydlighet och mindre frustration i beredning och hantering. Att vi har en forskarutbildning av hög kvalitet fick vi konstaterat i utvärderingen, men nu ska vi ta nästa steg i utvecklingen. Glädjande nog fick jag rapporter från doktoranderna att det gemensamma skrivinternatet för KS doktorander i veckan varit en succé – 10 av 10 poäng. Bra jobbat alla ni som ordnat!
Vår fakultet och Malmö universitet har många viktiga funktioner genom det vi utbildar i och forskar kring. Men vi ska också komma ihåg att en av våra viktigaste roller i vår apokalyptiska samtid är att visa på betydelsen av vetenskaplig kunskap och vår – och studenternas – förmåga att både självständigt och tillsammans ta oss an och utforska och hantera komplexa och svåra utmaningar systematiskt och metodiskt. När vi i höst firar att vi varit universitet i 5 år, lärosäte i 25 och odontologi i 75, kommer detta att synas i programmet bland annat på högtidsveckan och genom våra nya professorer (Stort grattis till KS nyaste professor Kristin Järvstad) och doktorer, men också på vår gemensamma KS-dag och i evenemang vi är med och arrangerar som tar sig an frågor som förbjuden kultur, yttrandefrihet, mänskliga rättigheter och akademisk frihet.
Slutligen vill jag också rikta ett stort och extra varmt tack till prodekan Magnus Nilsson som nu i höst lämnar sitt uppdrag och som bidragit stort under de år han varit verksam i sin roll. Magnus Nilsson har under sina år som prodekan varit med om att ta KS från högskola till universitet med allt vad det innebär: ευχαριστώ!
Hoppas ni alla nu får vilsamma dagar. Vi ses igen i augusti!
Mona Lilja är sedan april i år ny prefekt på institutionen för globala politiska studier.
Hej Mona! Hur har din första tid som prefekt varit?
– Det har varit spännande och intressant! Institutionen för globala politiska studier är en fascinerande mångvetenskaplig miljö med exempelvis filosofer, litteraturvetare och statsvetare som arbetar ganska tätt tillsammans. Vi har en bred spännande samhällsnyttig forskning och debatterar med varandra utifrån våra olika perspektiv, förenade i ett gemensamt intresse för globala frågor.
Jag är också imponerad av administrationen, mycket professionell och rolig att arbeta tillsammans med. Sammanfattningsvis, det är mycket på gång och folk vill mycket, det finns entusiasm. Den här inledande perioden har varit fantastiskt rolig.
Vad gjorde du innan du kom till Malmö universitet?
– Jag har tidigare varit professor vid Institutionen för Globala Studier vid Göteborgs universitet. Jag har också varit ämnesprofessor och ämnesföreträdare på Sociologen i Karlstad där jag ansvarade för utbildning och forskning. Utöver detta har jag arbetat en tid på avdelningen för genusvetenskap i Göteborg och har varit gästprofessor i Bilbao och Paris. Min forskning syftar till att kartlägga olika motståndsstrategier samt dess inverkan på sociala förändringsprocesser. Sedan många år tillbaka är jag med och leder både ett internationellt nätverk i motståndstudier och en nationell forskargrupp. Jag har skrivit flera böcker och artiklar i ämnet motståndsforskning.
Vilka frågor är i fokus just nu på institutionen?
– Det har varit mycket arbete med forskningsansökningar som ska skickas in, men nu är ansökningsperioden slut. Framöver ska vi arbeta med att stärka det interna samarbetet på institutionen. GPS är väldigt utåtriktade och har många externa samarbeten, vilket är fantastiskt. Men nu vill vi även jobba på att stärka det interna samarbetet och den fysiska arbetsmiljön. Vi har satt igång ett visionsarbete där en grupp om tio medarbetare förbereder för ett internat i augusti. Parallellt med detta ser vi över kursutbudet, samlar in information, analyserar samhällsläget och följer samhällsdebatten. Vi jämkar ihop vad vi tycker är spännande och viktigt med vad studenterna vill läsa. Detta ligger till grund för vilka kurser vi kommer att ge.
Var är ni i arbetet med sammanhållna och gränsöverskridande kunskapsmiljöer?
– Just nu arbetar vi med att göra undervisningen mer forskningsanknuten; med att sätta undervisningen i ett större sammanhang. Våra forskare och lärare arbetar hårt för att vi skall ha forskningsanknuten undervisning. Det är positivt att önskan om att arbeta med sammanhållna och gränsöverskridande kunskapsmiljöer kommer både ovanifrån och underifrån.
Vilken roll tycker du att forskning och utbildning har i geopolitiskt svåra och instabila tider?
– När samhället översvämmas med fake news spelar den akademiska kunskapsbildningen en mycket viktig roll med sina evidensbaserade forskningsresultat. Forskningen kan gå in och kritiskt granska olika (o)sanningar som cirkulerar och presentera andra, beläggbara, bilder. Vi står inför många och stora utmaningar idag såsom fattigdom och klimatförändringar. En del av dessa utmaningar är gamla, andra är nya. I det läget är forskningen viktig, att konstruktivt visa på olika alternativ och möjligheter och vara lösningsinriktad. Forskningen tjänar som en motvikt och kan presentera nya och alternativa perspektiv, skapa debatt och granska demokratins utmaningar.
Fakta om Mona
Namn: Mona Lilja
Bor: Göteborg och Varberg (har stuga i Varberg). Har fyra barn.
Fritidsintressen: Odlar mycket, till exempel melon, pumpa, kål och massor med blommor.
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Nytt nätverk Välkommen att registrera dig till Launch Seminar of the reconstituted Centre for Modern European Studies (CEMES), ett nytt nätverk som KS fakultet nu är medlem i. Seminariet arrangeras den 25 augusti här på Malmö universitet. Läs mer och ladda ner inbjudan bifogad. Har du frågor om nätverket kontakta Dino Knudsen.
Author: Johan Brännmark, Associate Professor/Senior lecturer, Department of Global Political Studies.
Summer is coming. For me personally, it means not just the end of a semester but also a move to Stockholm University, where I will start a new position on June 1st. One set of assignments that will now end all have to do with research ethics, making this a good time to reflect on this much-discussed topic.
More specifically, I have been the faculty’s representative on the University’s Advisory Board for Research Ethics and a contact person for research ethics at the faculty. But I have also worked as a reviewer for The Swedish Ethical Review Authority. Especially the last year has seen an intense debate about the system for ethical review, culminating with a call for change signed by almost 2.500 researchers, and the Swedish education minster signaling that there will be an overview of the system. Some reflections, mainly from the perspective of having worked with ethical review:
Johan Brännmark. Photo:Håkan Röjder
It is often said that the Swedish system is unique, and it is. But mainly in how centralized it is. What is otherwise more common is that ethical review is handled locally at universities. This does not necessarily mean that it is an easier process, but rather that it will vary much more depending on which university one is at. Universities can be bureaucratic too. And there can be idiosyncratic ethics board members there too. One benefit with a centralized system is also that it can make it easier to handle problems with bias and conflicts of interest – locally at a university there will always be personal ties between researchers and a variety of vested interests. This is not to say that the current Swedish system is optimal in how it functions, but it is not wholly without its advantages.
A typical meeting at one of the Authority’s boards for ethical review is at least 4 hours and covers about 25 applications, with one board member preparing the discussion for each application. A system where there was a fast-track procedure for less complicated applications would make life easier both for a lot of researchers and for the reviewers. For many types of research that involve handling limited amounts of sensitive personal data, the relevant issues are mainly about having solid data management and good consent procedures – securing this should not need complicated applications. Somewhat ironically, while applications are often quite long, they can often also be quite skimpy on the details about especially data management. Knowing your university’s data management practices goes a long way in getting an application approved without delay.
Uses of certain types of sensitive data could and probably should be exempt from review. The political opinions of politicians are an especially clear example of this (although what is often missing from the debate is that political opinions have been cause for review for twenty years; this was however just mostly ignored until stronger oversight was added to the system). The Swedish Ethical Review Act requires review for all research that handles sensitive personal data, whereas the GDPR has certain exceptions allowing for the use of sensitive personal data. One of them is when data processing relates to data which have been manifestly made public by the data subject. Some such provision could probably be included in the Ethical Review Act as well. But this could also leave researchers with a tricky gray area to navigate on their own (just when has something manifestly been made public?), so exactly how such an exemption should work needs some thought. But hopefully this will be part of the revisions to the system that are now on the horizon.
