COLUMN. The previous year has now been summarized in both the annual report and the financial report. On the whole, the reports are encouraging, both in terms of the work environment and the faculty’s finances. Dean Agneta Holmäng discusses this in her column.
I’d like to start by welcoming everyone back. A gradual return to campus is ongoing through the end of March. I believe we all eagerly await this return, and that it will be a real boost to once again be able to work face-to-face with our colleagues and students. Even with the return, we will continue to benefit from the many positive aspects of working online and developing hybrid teaching methods and flexible formats for meetings. Having more alternatives to choose among for our work also helps us reduced travel.
Our annual report show that the faculty is doing well. Admittedly, the pandemic has affected our research in various ways, not least clinical projects, but not our funding. Last year, external research funding increased. High student-completion rates in undergraduate education have had a positive financial impact, allowing us to reduce the deficit from past years. However, we continue to accumulate significant unspent funds in research at the institutes, i.e., a surplus in government funding, where the organization has not yet had time to use allocated funds. In some cases, recruitments or research have been delayed.
I would like to recognize our health and safety representatives
We have also compiled an annual report on the work environment, which will now be submitted to the Vice-Chancellor. This report shows that most of our staff are satisfied with our work. We are very happy about this, since work environment issues are crucial for our heads of department, other managers and me. Together with our local work environment committee (LAMK), we have regular discussions with the work environment groups at the institutes. At this time, I would like to recognize our health and safety representatives, who are incredibly dedicated and who are making significant and meaningful contributions. It seems to me that more and more people are now eager to take on this work. This willingness facilitates work environment efforts and makes it more interesting and enjoyable. The focus of coming efforts is on our teachers, who are experiencing an increasingly difficult work situation. Students also report this is worsening their study environment. One of the reasons seems to be a deterioration in communication between teachers and students. The pandemic has certainly contributed to this, but there are also other underlying causes.
In terms of the physical study environment, we are working to create many new sitting areas that promote study and group work. The new buildings being planned and those already under construction are also incorporating the needs of the students. In Natrium, for example, a basement floor is being considered with spaces for both Sahlgrenska Academy and Faculty of Science students and a possible gym.
Exploring options for secure storage and coordinating with the Region
We have long pointed out to University Management that our researchers need to store and share research data securely. We also want a solution that will allow us to store and share data with Region Västra Götaland, but so far this has proven difficult to resolve. Other Swedish higher education institutions face similar issues. To address this, Sahlgrenska Academy has appointed a new workgroup that is exploring options for secure storage and coordinating with the Region. We may create a temporary solution to bide us over until a final shared and secure research database is in place.
High voter participation helps the Vice-Chancellor make an informed decision
Henrik Hagberg has accepted the nomination to be re-appointed as pro-dean. Our faculty will soon hold a vote on his re-appointment. This non-binding vote is an important part of our collegial tradition of consultation, and high voter participation helps the Vice-Chancellor make an informed decision. For this reason, however you choose to vote, I urge you to exercise your right to express your opinion through voting. On Monday February 21, you received the email with your link to vote, and voting is open until March 4.
Enjoy the spring and the longer days ahead!
Agneta Holmäng
