PRO-DEAN ELECTION. Cooperation is a key to the significant financial challenges faced by the Faculty. This is the clear message from Magnus Simrén, who has been proposed by the Drafting Committee as Sahlgrenska Academy’s next Pro-Dean.
The advisory vice-dean election will be held on 1–10 November. It will take place electronically, in the same way as the dean election. The proposals for Dean and Pro-Dean have been unanimously prepared by the Drafting Committee, in consultation with the Vice-Chancellor. Vice-Chancellor Malin Broberg will make the formal decision in both cases. More information about the election process can be found in the article “Answers to frequently asked questions about the ongoing dean election” in Akademiliv.
An exciting assignment
During his six years as a member of the Faculty Board, Professor Simrén has gained an insight into issues that are important to the Faculty, and that he himself finds interesting. So when he was asked if he would consider serving as Vice-Dean, he did not need to think about his answer for long:
Photo: Johan Wingborg.
“Working for Sahlgrenska Academy during the coming years will be exciting, and I look forward to the assignment.”
In Sahlgrenska Academy’s recently completed dean election, 85% of voters backed Jenny Nyström (50% turnout). Professor Simrén says that he has not had much contact with Professor Nyström so far, but that he spoke with her before agreeing to accept the nomination for the position of Pro-Dean:
“We are both very much cooperation-oriented, and we will share the work between us. I get the impression that we think quite similarly about how things should be done, and I feel that we complement each other very well. I imagine that it would be natural for me to deal with issues relating to the national medical training and research system, for example, given my clinical experience. But we are waiting to discuss our roles and what the Pro-Dean assignment includes until the decision has been made.”
He notes that the medical training and research system is well managed within our region, and that many initiatives have produced good results. However, he adds that it is important to keep developing the conditions together with Region Västra Götaland so that we can maintain a leading position within Swedish clinical research in the future.
Cooperation benefits everyone
I meet with Professor Simrén in his office in the Wallenberg Laboratory at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, where he combines clinical research with education. At the hospital, he also sees patients in his role as a consultant – something he wants to keep doing a few days a week, even if he is appointed Pro-Dean of the Faculty. He realizes that he will not be able to continue with his teaching commitments and certain research responsibilities, but is happy that he has competent colleagues who can take over.
The Wallenberg Laboratory – and the gastrointestinal lab where his more clinically oriented research is carried out – is an integrated environment, with hardly any boundaries between academic and clinical work. Here, he leads a large research team that looks for new answers relating to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Their research ranges from epidemiological studies in large population databases and patient-centered clinical and person-centered research, to studies of mechanisms at tissue and cellular levels.
The group cooperates with – or has cooperated with – other researchers from almost all of Sahlgrenska Academy’s six institutes.
“In my experience, the most successful projects have been those where I have worked together with others, and I believe that everyone benefits from cooperation. As tough times approach, cooperation between our institutes will be essential for our success. We won’t get far with protectionism, where we defend our own units. Instead, each individual part benefits from working together to create a stronger joint faculty. I will strive to identify all needs, including those of the smaller institutes, so that everyone can be part of the family.”
Significant issues during the mandate period
The challenging economic conditions faced by both our own faculty and the wider world will affect us significantly in the coming years.
“A tough economic period lies ahead, and much of the management work will focus on ensuring we come through it as well as possible. This also applies to our important collaborative partner Sahlgrenska University Hospital, which is currently struggling to balance its finances. We have a responsibility to ensure that education and research do not come into conflict with the needs that healthcare has to meet. Research, education, and care are equally important elements of a university hospital.”
But despite this financial caution, the Faculty also needs to look ahead. Sahlgrenska Life therefore remains high on the agenda, ha states.
“It is very important for the entire Academy that the work with Sahlgrenska Life is effective, and I know that it is particularly important for a number of our operations. Here, of course, we must be careful not to deplete our research teams, and we must ensure that our finances are sustainable.”
“We have to make sure that we work smarter together and identify good common solutions. Although there may be different views about the Sahlgrenska Life initiative within the Faculty, we must ensure that it turns out as well as possible.”
More students must graduate
Another major issue – and one that is clearly linked to the Faculty’s finances – is the throughput issues that many of our education programs are battling. Professor Simrén describes this as a complex issue with no simple solution, but more supportive measures are probably needed to help those students who have the right conditions for completing their education, but who risk dropping out. Of course, lowering the demands placed on students is not part of the solution. After graduating, these students must be able to take responsibility for other people’s lives and health.
Another area for development relates to the opportunities to apply for and obtain international research funding. Professor Simrén notes that our researchers are very successful when it comes to winning research funding in national competition, but that there is potential for improvement in terms of international funding – especially from the EU.
BY: ELIN LINDSTRÖM
