About GRASS
In January 2021, Uppsala University established a new multidisciplinary graduate school in sustainable development. The main mission of the graduate school is to conduct research based on key social challenges. The research will include subjects such as changed energy systems, sustainable consumption, destinations development.
Uppsala University - Campus Gotland, where the graduate school is based, is an important hub in the university’s work towards a sustainable society. Here, the graduate school will be rooted in ongoing interdisciplinary collaborations in research and education, conducted in an international environment.
Focus on multidisciplinarity and sustainability
Eight departments from the university are collaborating on five unique research projects. Twelve doctoral students are working together with their supervisors, international partners, guest researchers and local actors, with a focus on knowledge development to cope with the changes needed to live well during climate change.
The research environment is characterised by:
1. Local relevance and international excellence
The location will be central to the graduate school. The research projects within the graduate school are all based on local key challenges. The graduate school will, at the same time, be rooted in the existing research environment and network to secure international excellence.
2. Multidisciplinarity and cutting edge
The transformation needed to live in a world with sustainability challenges requires that we within academia move beyond traditional boundaries. We need to be curious, bold and work together on the most urgent issues. Through the questions we raise, the activities we perform and the research we conduct, we aim within the graduate school to work with transdisciplinary approaches.
3. Sustainability now and in the future
At the same time as the graduate school aims for long-term transformation, we are attentive towards’ how we act here and now. This means that we critically analyse how our academic environment contributes to sustainability. We do not take traditional ways of acting for given. Our ambition is to continuously learn how we can act more sustainably within the graduate school, right now as well as in the future.
Numbers, Steering Committee and Director
The Graduate School in numbers
- 8 departments in collaboration
- 5 unique research projects
- 12 doctoral studies
- 24 supervisors
Steering Committee
Susanne Stenbacka Professor, Department of Social and Economic Geography (chair)
Patrik Rönnbäck Professor, Department of Earth Sciences
Paula Henrikson Professor, Professor at Department of Literature
Sebastian Sobek Professor, Department of Ecology and Genetics
Director
Anna Karlström, Director of GRASS as well as Senior Lecturer at the Department of Archaeology, Ancient History and Conservation.
Anna Karlström
GRASS is looking for ten new PhD students
In the autumn, a second round of the graduate school will start, where ten doctoral students at five University departments collaborate in five unique research projects. Read about the projects and the PhD students we are looking for.
GRASS Fellow - an artistic visiting fellow programme
The Graduate School in Sustainability Studies (GRASS) and Baltic Art Center (BAC) have jointly launched Sweden's first artistic visiting fellow programme - GRASS Fellow.