The Guild has the ‘ear of Brussels’

Karin Forsberg Nilsson, what is The Guild?
“It’s an organisation consisting of 23 European universities with strong research and it has the ‘ear of Brussels’, you might say. When these universities speak as one, they have a voice that carries weight, they are a really powerful force to be reckoned with. This is particularly important in times like these when some are questioning the value of education and research. Through The Guild, we have a presence, and an influence on research matters, within the EU.”

It is through this presence in Brussels that these universities can acquire good contacts and networks to able to reach decision-makers in the European Commission.

“The Guild gets its messages across to a number of directorates, each responsible for different policy areas within the European Commission that are relevant to research and higher education,” says Karin Forsberg Nilsson. “This is how The Guild can hopefully influence policy to invest in research funding, and in the long run promote research by doing so. This has been especially important in the run-up to the launch of the EU’s new Framework Programme for Research and Innovation.”

Today’s research is tomorrow’s healthcare

In plain language, Karin Forsberg Nilsson’s participation in The Guild is about research that sets the stage for tomorrow’s healthcare to be given good conditions. She tells us that healthcare is on the verge of a systemic shift with the introduction of precision medicine.

“Precision medicine quite simply means that diagnosis and treatment are based on the individual’s circumstances because new techniques and analyses provide more information than was previously possible,” says Karin Forsberg Nilsson. This means you can fine-tune a treatment so that it works better for that particular patient. To date, this has been most common in cancer treatment, but is just around the corner in many additional areas.”

Karin Forsberg Nilsson is part of a working group within The Guild: the Deans of Health working group. It is supported by a senior policy advisor employed by The Guild. The group’s work involves regular meetings, most of them online. One meeting per year is in person, when representatives meet in Brussels or at one of the member universities.

“We also form focus groups with expertise in a range of different areas,” says Karin Forsberg Nilsson. “For example, we have a focus group on the new European Health Data Space (EHDS). There is a new EU regulation on a common digital infrastructure for health data within the EU.”

Fun and rewarding collaboration

Karin Forsberg Nilsson does not feel that The Guild is taking up a lot of her time.

“Working in The Guild is one of many important tasks I perform as Dean,” she says.

But what does Karin Forsberg Nilsson gain from this work in her role as a researcher?
“It’s not about me as a researcher acquiring research contacts,” she says. “Uppsala University has researcher exchanges with many countries and exchanges happens in other contexts too. But it is fun and rewarding to work with others in Europe who are working with similar questions, such as precision health.”

What opportunities are there for staff at Uppsala University other than deans to participate in The Guild?
“We often bring experts into the working groups based on the question we’re looking into,” says Karin Forsberg Nilsson. This can involve deep dives, analyses and proposals that The Guild submits in commentary on various questions.”

Ulrika Hurtig