Now the jackdaws are gathering in Uppsala
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Vice-Rector Mats Larhed is looking forward to working with staff and students during the autumn. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt.
This time of year, the city’s jackdaws start to gather on roofs and treetops. Every morning, outside my office, they line up on the buildings in neat rows and in good order before suddenly taking off in a swirling cloud, filled with energy, along with colleagues from nearby rooftops. I have also noticed that they seem to have an inclusive culture, and both rooks, crows and the occasional pigeon are allowed to join the gang.
The summer has come to an end and at the University, we are also gathering again to start the new academic year. For the University’s management, the start of the autumn term is an intense period when new projects are started, proposals are prepared and decisions are implemented.
The proposals based on the 2022 Resource Allocation Inquiry
At the Disciplinary Domain of Medicine and Pharmacy, the Disciplinary Domain Board’s Executive Committee will prepare proposals based on the completed inquiry of our resource distribution model and opinions received from the organisation regarding the ’inquiry’s proposals. For several of the proposals put forward by the investigation, there is a large consensus at the Disciplinary Domain, for example, the proposed life cycle for multidisciplinary centres, organisation of the innovation system, financing models for premises and prioritisation of research infrastructures. Some proposals will be more difficult to work on due to other ongoing processes, such as the national investigation of the ALF agreement with Bertil Lindahl as an investigator.
Quality and Renewal 2024 (KoF24) will be implemented next year
During the autumn, the planning of the KoF evaluation will also continue. New for KoF24 is that the project will be implemented in two parts: partly a university-wide evaluation and partly scientific field-driven evaluations of research and research environments. The university-wide evaluation includes two themes: a) research infrastructure and b) interdisciplinarity and multidisciplinarity.
During the spring and summer, the Disciplinary Domain carried out a pilot project where we developed a proposal for how we should design and implement our part of KoF24. The proposal will now be submitted to the Disciplinary Domain Board for decision. The conditions have been that no new funds will be added from the Vice-Chancellor and that the evaluation must involve international examiners. I hope that the domain-specific part of KoF24, despite a limited budget, will help us identify promising areas of development and creative environments where different types of support can have a great positive impact on research.
The goal is that both Vision:Medfarm and KoF24 will support the development of the Disciplinary Domain’s outstanding research to achieve scientific breakthroughs and better health. Together we can achieve this goal.
Now, all the jackdaws have landed again and organised themselves on the rooftops. Also, at the Disciplinary Domain, every morning, lecture halls, laboratories, receptions, meeting rooms and workplaces are filled with staff and students, ready for the work of the autumn term. I look forward to working with you!
Mats Larhed, Vice-Rector of the Disciplinary Domain of Medicine and Pharmacy