Debate on higher education and research policy with the parliamentary parties

Date: 1 September 2026, 15:00–17:00
Location: Universitetshuset, Sal IX
Type: Seminar
Organiser: Rektor
Contact person: Ann-Charlotte Hellzén-Wallin

Election day is fast approaching, and the parties in the Riksdag have made numerous promises for the coming parliamentary term. Everyone seems to agree that Sweden should be a prominent and world-leading nation with strong innovation. But what do the parties want to prioritise, and how can Sweden develop as a knowledge-based nation? Uppsala University is bringing together representatives of the Riksdag parties for an open debate on the future of academia. Our parliamentary parties will present and debate their proposals for the university and higher education sector, after which the debate will be commented on by a couple of our own researchers specialising in higher education and research policy.

The debate will be held in Swedish.

The parties are pitted against one another on issues such as:

Academic freedom and protection against political interference
The institutional autonomy and organisational structure of higher education institutions
The balance between core funding and targeted research funding
The impact of AI on research and education
Views on the governance of both the content and scale of individual degree programmes
The conditions for recruiting and retaining the researchers of the future – including international talent
What higher education institutions should prioritise more – and what they might be better off discontinuing

The debate is open to staff and students at Uppsala University and SLU, as well as other organisations active in or with a strong interest in the academic world.

Coffee from 15:00; the seminar begins at 15:15

No pre-registration required. Welcome!

Zoom link to the seminar

Programme

Moderator: Johannes Hylander

Anders Hagfeldt, Vice-Chancellor of Uppsala University, opens the event

Confirmed panellists:

Josefin Malmqvist (M)
Anders Ådahl (C)
Lina Nordquist (L)
Camilla Hansén (MP)
Patrik Reslow (SD)
Tobias Smedberg (V)

Analysis of the parties’ differences

Anders Hagfeldt, Vice-Chancellor of Uppsala University, will conclude