SCAS – celebrating 40 years of promoting research
Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt, Uppsala University.
This autumn, the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study (SCAS) is celebrating its 40th anniversary. Four decades of interdisciplinary collaborations and dynamic relationships with universities are now pointing the way to the future, in the immediate future through A Week on Academic Freedom, an event to be held this October.
Inspired by other institutes for advanced study (IAS) abroad, the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study in the Social Sciences (SCASSS) was founded in September 1985.
The then Forskningsrådsnämnden (research council board) and Humanistisk-samhällsvetenskapliga forskningsrådet (humanities and social sciences research council) – which have since merged to become the Swedish Research Council (VR) – supported the establishment of SCASSS as a Swedish institute of advanced study, and the Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation (RJ) was willing to process applications for research funding from the new institute. Uppsala University was appointed its host organisation, but the institute always had a clear national mission.
Christina Garsten. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt, Uppsala University.
“The original purpose of the institute was to promote research in the social sciences and improve their international standing and theoretical contributions. Later, and in pace with the institute’s expansion to embrace the humanities and also the natural sciences – and in particular its emphasis on being open to interdisciplinary collaborations – its name was shortened to the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study or SCAS,” says Professor Christina Garsten, Director of SCAS.
To be able to carry out its mission in the best possible way, a degree of independence has always been important to the institute. But its independence is also seen as an essential aspect of maintaining the dynamism in the institute’s relationships with Swedish universities.
“SCAS is fundamentally multidisciplinary in nature, which gives it exceptionally good conditions for strengthening interdisciplinary research – basic research as well as research that takes aim at global challenges,” she explains.
Anniversary celebrated with an international symposium
Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt, Uppsala University.
SCAS held a Jubilee Symposium on 18–19 September in Linneanum, with participants including leaders of institutes for advanced study from a large number of countries around the world. Among the participants were also representatives of Swedish and foreign universities and research funding bodies, as well as visiting research fellows and alumni.
“The Jubilee Symposium was more than just a celebration of SCAS’ four decades of existence. The symposium’s open discussion on future trends in academia in general, and how different institutes of advanced study can best contribute to promoting research, to strengthening the position of research and to helping uphold academic freedom and integrity, was therefore all the more important. Furthermore, a clear message that pervaded all the panel discussions was the importance of IAS in promoting and deepening interdisciplinary connections and collaborations,” says Professor Garsten.
An especially important discussion concerned how researcher mobility can be maintained in a world where barriers to mobility are increasing.
Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt, Uppsala University.
By supporting flexibility in exchanges and visiting researcher fellowships, SCAS and other institutes for advanced study can contribute to this mobility through their various programmes.
“Opportunities also exist to strengthen collaboration with universities, for example, by establishing sabbatical programmes at different IAS. SCAS has introduced opportunities for shorter visiting research fellow stays and we are working on developing a sabbatical programme for researchers at Swedish higher education institutions,” she adds.
Engagement and enthusiasm
A panel discussion on opportunities and challenges for younger researchers, with participants from different parts of the world, demonstrated strong engagement and a wealth of ideas that inspired all participants according to Christina Garsten.
Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt, Uppsala University.
“SCAS would like to see mobility programmes for younger researchers with shorter residencies at other higher education institutions and institutes of advanced study. The institutes provide opportunities for deepening as well as broadening for the researchers, expanding their international experience, networks and opportunities for collaboration”, she says.
How research relates to the wider public was also a central issue during the symposium. Institutes for advanced study can serve as an arena for disseminating research findings to a wider audience.
“SCAS already has a special channel for this through its Critically Urgent Societal Problems (CUSP) events, but we have taken to heart a lot that emerged in the symposium about developing the potential of that work,” says Garsten.
A Week on Academic Freedom
A Week on Academic Freedom, which will take place place in Uppsala on 20–23 October, is a joint initiative of the Democracy and Higher Education research programme, the Higher Education and Research as Objects of Study (HERO) centre, and SCAS. The conference aims to shed light on the current situation for academic freedom, threats to academic freedom, and opportunities for strengthening academic freedom in a multidimensional and global context.
“We are very much looking forward to a whole week dealing with an issue that concerns us all – not just institutes and universities, but society’s organisations as a whole and all people. With more collaboration, we can strengthen the academic infrastructure, be better equipped to handle future threats, and better able to embrace future opportunities,” says Professor Garsten.
A brief look ahead
In October, SCAS will also host a conference on the theme Beyond Crisis: Emerging Temporalities in a Warming World. This conference will bring together researchers with an interest in the relationship between climate change and temporality.
Visiting research fellows present their current research at SCAS’ Tuesday seminars. These seminars are usually open to all and can generally also be followed online via a link.
Christina Garsten emphasises the clear message that pervaded all the panel discussions during the Jubilee Symposium: that institutes of advanced study are vital for promoting and deepening interdisciplinary connections and collaborations. SCAS is continuing its work on this within the European networks through a specific working group.
“In the coming year, themes such as climate change, temporality, academic freedom and integrity, the conditions for knowledge, democracy and welfare, and global governance and geopolitics will permeate our academic programmes. We will continue to work towards strengthening collaborations with Swedish universities, intensifying our contacts with other institutes of advanced study, and applying for funding for visiting research fellow programmes and other collaborative projects,” she says.
Johan Ahlenius