Week of science

President’s blog 14 December, 2024

The Nobel Week is over, this extraordinary celebration of science and culture. Most of the laureates travelled home today and tomorrow is the last day of the Nobel Week Lights exhibition that has lit up Stockholm the whole week.

It was probably no coincidence that the Government chose this week to present its research policy bill, on the theme of excellence, internationalisation and innovation. The proposal to amend the Higher Education Act to facilitate joint employment is very welcome. Increased basic funding for research is also welcome – but the increased exposure to competition, however commendable it may be in terms of promoting quality, also risks leading to a certain ‘tackishness’ and lack of a long-term approach. New indicators are to be introduced – this is interesting but needs to be monitored over time to evaluate effectiveness. It is good that new funds for strategic research areas are being provided – while the old ones, which have already been evaluated and according to the original proposal would then have been provided to the HEIs as permanent funds, will now instead be re-evaluated. In addition, there is a completely new programme with new research funding for groundbreaking research, with unrestricted research funding for centres of excellence – it remains to be seen how this will turn out. Likewise, it is written in the stars what the call for mergers may bring.

The fact that academic freedom is emphasised throughout the bill is entirely positive, as is the fact that the Association of Swedish Higher Education Institutions’ proposals on the need for a new form of association for the sector have been heeded. Responsible internationalisation is another basic principle that is highlighted, but without specific, concrete proposals. Incentives for participation in the EU’s framework programme already exist, in that funds from this constitute a new indicator, but it is of course welcome that resources are also being provided to strengthen the competitiveness of Swedish higher education institutions, particularly within ERC and MSCA.

Most welcome from the perspective of the HEIs, however, are the substantial investments in research infrastructure, to mention just a few of the initiatives that we have argued for such a long time: MAX IV, SciLifeLab, biobanks, national research infrastructure, the Arctic/Oden, and investments in digital infrastructure, including NAISS and EuroHPC, but also Nordita, for which Stockholm University, with the support of several other universities, has requested funding. It is very gratifying that the Government has chosen to listen to the unanimous voices of industry, research funders and higher education institutions that have identified the need for strong new investments in this area, even if the investments in MAX IV and national research infrastructure are probably rather scanty. In addition, there is also a career support initiative at the Swedish Research Council (VR) and a strengthening of innovation support. Finally, VR’s scientific council for natural and engineering sciences is now also being split into two, one for natural sciences and one for technology.

It will be necessary to thoroughly analyse several of the changes now being proposed, what they may mean for the university and the best way for SU to act if they become reality through a parliamentary decision. Regardless of such more tactical considerations, however, it must be said that the bill overall shows that the Swedish government takes research policy seriously.

Astrid Söderbergh Widding
President

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