President’s blog 29 September, 2024. Last week was busy. It included, among other things, three days in Brussels where I participated in Nordic University Days, which takes place every two years. In addition to meetings between Nordic university presidents they also include meetings with EU parliamentarians and representatives of the European Commission. This was followed by a meeting arranged by Stockholm Trio’s Brussels office, where we, met several representatives of the various directorates as well as representatives of Swedish functions in Brussels, from the Swedish representation to research financiers and business.
131 applications were submitted in the second call for PhD and postdoc projects within WISE (The Wallenberg Initiative Materials Science for Sustainability). Among these, 54 projects have been awarded a total of SEK 166 million in funding from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (KAW).
Stockholm University is ranked number 191 in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2025, which lists the best universities in the world.
It is possible to create value based on carbon dioxide emissions by, for example, producing methanol as a cleaner-burning alternative fuel for marine transportation. Liane Rossi, holder of King Carl XVI Gustaf’s professorship in Environmental Science 2023–2024, presented her research to King Carl XVI Gustaf and invited research colleagues on September 30.
The EU-project “STAGES – Sustainable Theatre Alliance for a Green Environmental Shift” has brought together a number of theatres in Europe in order to focus on making the performing arts more sustainable through common knowledge-building. It entails transdisciplinary collaboration where theatres and institutions work with universities to learn from each other. Dramaten collaborates with Stockholm University to carry out activities based on the theatre's needs for increased sustainability, including internal workshops and public openlabs on three different themes. One theme includes a residency where a performance is created based on the new knowledge. “The two openlabs that Dramaten is organising with Stockholm University discuss chemical hazards in masks and wigs, and the circular nature of plastic as a material - in the context of stage, technology and workshops," says Natasja Börjeson, researcher in regulatory toxicology and postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Environmental Science at Stockholm University. In practical terms, the collaboration means mutual learning. For example, Dramaten's mask department gains increased knowledge about how to reduce exposure to hazardous chemicals, while the researchers gain insight into the specific knowledge needed by maskers and actors. “In addition, we learn how our knowledge can be applied practically in the theatre. Dramaten’s sustainability work is thus based on a scientific foundation and as researchers we get an insight into how the issues we are studying are dealt with in practice," says Natasja Börjeson. PFAS can hide behind collective name Wigs are washed with gasoline and acetone, plastic is a common material and many makeup products may contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Frida Ottosson and Thea Holmberg work with mask and design at Dramaten and they think it’s a challenge to navigate the labyrinth of ingredients and product variations to be found on the market. “Quite often, ingredients are exchanged and collective names occur in lists of contents. This makes choosing sustainable products very difficult and time-consuming" says Frida Ottosson. “Many of us at the theatre are very engaged in the environment, but it’s hard to find reliable knowledge on your own. Those of us who work with masks and wigs have our play to consider and we are responsible for choosing the right makeup which suits the play as well as the actors” says Thea Holmberg. She continues: “For example, it’s more difficult to use foundations without silicones because they dry faster and tend to become patchy if we work for a long time on a face. Meanwhile, we don’t know exactly how these silicone products are being produced and how they affect the skin.” Natasja Börjeson emphasizes the importance of building a solid base of knowledge to make the theatre better at making well-informed decisions in the future. “Cosmetics and certain chemical products are the work tools in the mask and wig department, so it’s important to have good alternatives at your disposal. Environmental science is about solving complicated problems, and from a collaboration perspective it is essential that research benefits society.” STAGES FORUM with workshops, openlabs and seminars will be arranged at Dramaten on 7-8 October. Read more about it here. Facts STAGES STAGES (Stages Sustainable Theatre Alliance for a Green Environmental Shift) is a European collaboration project where participating theatres carry out a number of development projects in collaboration with researchers, universities and the public in order to work more sustainably. Since 2018, there is a collaboration agreement between Dramaten and Stockholm University. Research, education and innovation from Stockholm University is used to develop the activities at Dramaten in alignment with the government’s guidelines.
The four Swedish reference glaciers continue to shrink. The results of the annual measurements of the glaciers' mass balance show that Storglaciären, Rabots Glacier, Rivgojiehhki, and Moarhmmáglaciären have shrinked significantly. These are the largest losses since systematic measurements began.
The Stockholm City Hall was filled to the brim when Stockholm University’s new doctors, professors, jubilee doctors and honorary doctors were celebrated at the end of September. The Inauguration and conferment ceremony is a joyful academic tradition and this year it gathered around a thousand guests.
We want to welcome Casey Wall who will join us as Assistant professor on November 1st. Casey has recently received an ERC starting grant to study aerosols, tropical convective clouds, and climate.
The University is changing its printing solution for Printomat. Don't buy more printouts than you will need. Stockholm University will change its printing solution during the autumn of 2024. New printers will be delivered during the month of October. Until the new solution is in place, we ask all students not to buy more printouts than necessary on su.se/myprintouts . More information on how you can connect your university card to the new solution will be published here soon.
Stockholm University Vice President Clas Hättestrand’s term of office expires on 30 June 2025. The University Board has therefore decided to begin an open recruitment process to appoint a new Vice President to take up office from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2031.
This autumn Stockholms Akademiska Forum launches a pilot project called Stockholm Student Academy. The aim is to improve international students’ chances of staying in Sweden after their studies. 250 international master's students, among them many from Stockholm University, will be provided with knowledge about Sweden’s history, mentality, social system and labour market, in order to increase their understanding of Swedish society and improve their chances of launching a career in Sweden. This is something that a lot of international students say is most lacking during their time here in Stockholm. You can read more about this pilot project on Stockholms Akademiska Forum's website. Stockholm Student Academy
