Investment in research institutes to tackle societal challenges

2024-10-14

Vice-Chancellor Anders Hagfeldt discussing Uppsala University’s new initiative: Uppsala University Future Institutes, which involves six different specialisations that will exploit the University’s breadth and depth to address complex societal challenges. Photo: Marcus Holmqvist.

Intensive work is currently underway to establish new University-wide research institutes. In the first phase, six specialisations will be launched that address complex societal challenges in different ways. The first area, focused on conflicting objectives, launched in September 2024.

UPDATE 13 NOV 2024: The name of the first institute launched in September 2024 was changed on 12 November to Uppsala University Conflicting Objectives Research Nexus (UUniCORN).

In the article below, the previous name has been changed to the new name. In addition, the planned opening date has been adjusted to February 2025 from autumn 2024.

Vice-Chancellor Anders Hagfeldt wants Uppsala University to take a leading role in the movement towards a more sustainable society. In order to achieve this, he has decided to invest in research institutes in selected areas. The initiative has been named Uppsala University Future Institutes (UUniFI).

“UUniFI is an initiative that utilises the breadth and depth of the entire University in new and exciting ways in order to tackle complex societal challenges in a rather original manner,” says Hagfeldt, Vice-Chancellor of Uppsala University.

What is your vision for UUniFI?

“I usually break it down into three parts. The first is that we create a common playing field where the University can really join forces and create something exciting across borders through multi- and interdisciplinarity,” notes Hagfeldt, before continuing:

“The second part involves us daring to be bold, thinking originally, ideally discovering things that maybe nobody ele has and making it exciting that way. Then, thirdly, I believe that if we succeed in that, we will have established an extremely attractive place at Uppsala University with cutting-edge research and exciting new ways of working. I usually think about the term ‘beyond excellence’”.

During the first stage, UUniFI will consist of six parts in the areas of

sustainable development with a focus on conflicting objectives and synergies
migration
precision health
the green energy transition
AI and digitalisation
inter- and multidisciplinarity.

“My hope is that UUniFI will lead to us contributing in a way that really addresses societal challenges and that we at Uppsala University are seen as a global player in addressing research on those challenges,” says Hagfeldt.

The inauguration of Uppsala University Future Institutes is planned for 2025.

Institute on conflicting objectives has been launched

September 2024 saw the launch of the Uppsala University Conflicting Objectives Research Nexus (UUniCORN), thus becoming the first part of UUniFI to be launched. Preparatory work is underway on the other five parts in order to start operations.

UUniCORN can be described briefly as a platform for interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary research and collaboration focusing on conflicting objectives related to sustainable development.

Professor Mats Målqvist from the Department of Women’s and Children’s Health has been appointed director and has begun work on getting the operations started. Read more about UUniCORN via the link in the fact box.

The inauguration of UUniCORN is planned for February 2025.

In September 2024, the Vice-Chancellor appointed Anders Malmberg, Professor of Geography at Uppsala University, to lead the work of building up UUniFI and the various parts of the initiative throughout autumn 2024.

Anders Malmberg, Professor of Geography. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt.

“UUniFI is an expression of a vision and ambition to create more world-leading research environments linked to important societal challenges through increased collaboration across disciplines and organisations. My role is to coordinate – on behalf of the Vice-Chancellor – the work of creating the practical conditions for UUniFI to get started. In addition to the big question of what organisational form the initiative should take, there are a lot of concrete decisions that need to be taken,” explains Malmberg.

Migration, precision health and energy transition

The boards of each disciplinary domain have been tasked with developing proposals on how the parts focused on migration, precision health and the green energy transition can be developed within the framework of UUniFI. The disciplinary domain boards must submit proposals for a research direction for each part based on a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach and an action plan for developing that research direction and the way in which the activities will favour new working methods and new collaborations.

The proposals from the disciplinary domain boards must be submitted to the Vice-Chancellor by 31 January 2025.

AI and digitalisation

There is already a proposal for possible directions in the areas of AI and digitalisation, and work on developing that area will continue in autumn 2024.

Inter- and multidisciplinarity

Work has not progressed as far in the sixth area of inter- and multidisciplinarity. Discussions are currently underway to connect the existing Centre for Integrated Research on Culture and Society (CIRCUS) to UUniFI.

“CIRCUS started as a centre in the area of Humanities and Social Sciences, but today it also has a University-wide mission to stimulate and support interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary initiatives (ed. note: see link to article on CIRCUS’s broadened mission in the fact box below). There is an idea to link CIRCUS’s important and valuable activities to UUniFI in some form, but the discussion on how this can be done has only just begun,” notes Malmberg.

Anders Berndt