Mission, Goals and Strategies - Disciplinary Domain of Humanities and Social Sciences

Act number:: HUMSAM 2020/43
Decision maker:: Disciplinary Domain Board of Humanities and Social Sciences
Processing body:: Office for Humanities and Social Sciences
Contact:: humsam@humsam.uu.se
Decision date:: 5 May 2021
Reviewed:: 13 November 2024

Foreword

The Disciplinary Domain of Humanities and Social Sciences is vibrant and multifaceted. Our 2,500 members of staff conduct research and education and provide operational support in six faculties: Theology, Law, Arts, Languages, Social Sciences and Educational Sciences. In 2020, these faculties provided education to nearly 30,000 or 60 per cent of Uppsala University’s students in Uppsala and at Campus Gotland. Students from near and far can choose programmes in a vast array of subjects and the courses and programmes offered are among the most popular and competitive at the University. We also have national responsibility for certain educational programmes, for example in Egyptology, aesthetics, Finnish and Turkish. The wide range of freestanding courses offered has a decisive role in enabling lifelong learning. The freestanding courses also give students unique opportunities to create their own degree programmes. We are determined to maintain and develop these opportunities in the future.

At the time of writing, we have more than 700 doctoral students in no fewer than 75 third-cycle subject areas, large and small. While our doctoral programmes attract many applicants, both from Sweden and from other countries, we seek new partnerships with other universities, in the form of graduate schools, for example, to ensure volumes and quality. We also aim to secure more external funding of doctoral studentships.

The Disciplinary Domain of Humanities and Social Sciences is a leader in terms of the share of grants it obtains from the Swedish Research Council and other broad research funding bodies. There are internationally leading research groups and networks in the great societal challenges of our time: sustainable development, democratic societies, migration, working life, digitalisation and artificial intelligence, to give a few examples. One compilation of the most cited ranking lists identifies Anthropology, Archaeology, Geography, History, Politics and International Studies, Sociology, Theology and Development Studies as being in the top 100 in the world (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2021). We host numerous and diverse centres and forums. This diversity reflects the interest and need that exists for multi- and interdisciplinarity. However, conducting successful interdisciplinary studies is predicated on frontier expertise in individual disciplines. The broad University and the broad Disciplinary Domain of Humanities and Social Sciences with all its subjects constitute the very foundation of thematic cooperation.

The quality of research and education is not always as easy to measure as the volume. The quality of education arises out of the meeting between teachers and students, and builds on closeness between education and research. The quality of research builds on creativity and expertise and is ensured by critical review by faculty peers. However, the distinctive identity of academia as an independent knowledge institution cannot be taken for granted. In a world where democratisation trends are going backwards, humanities and social sciences bear a greater responsibility than ever for knowledge and expertise. In this Mission, Goals and Strategies document, we have focused on the strategic areas that the Disciplinary Domain Board will concentrate on in the coming years. These strategies grow out of the activities of the faculties, the initiatives taken and the needs expressed. The adventure of knowledge continues.

Uppsala, 20 April 2021

Tora Holmberg

Vice-Rector, Disciplinary Domain of Humanities and Social Sciences

Introduction

The Disciplinary Domain of Humanities and Social Sciences at Uppsala University conducts education and research in some fifty departments, centres and units in the Faculties of Theology, Law, Arts, Languages, Social Sciences and Educational Sciences in Uppsala and on Gotland. These operations are managed on the principle of collegial governance, which means that faculty members take decisions in joint bodies on issues relating to the content and quality of teaching and research. This organisational expression of academic freedom accords with generally accepted perceptions of the nature of scholarship, such as critical thinking, open-mindedness and transparency.

The disciplinary domain spans a broad field and features research environments that have reaped success both nationally and internationally. Both education and research produce and pass on important knowledge and new insights into social and cultural phenomena and challenges. In this way, the faculties in the domain help to move our society forwards and meet its challenges. Collaboration is an integral part of our operations, and the disciplinary domain has close contacts with other universities, companies, and state, regional and local actors around the world.

The Disciplinary Domain of Humanities and Social Sciences seeks to meet and contribute to our common future by strengthening education in, research on and collaboration with a changing world, taking a prominent role in defending and strengthening democratic rights and principles, and further developing a collegial organisation within Uppsala University that is characterised by transparency and cooperation.

Foundations

The disciplinary domain’s Mission, Goals and Strategies document builds on two main foundations: Uppsala University: Mission, Goals and Strategies (UFV 2018/641) and the goals and strategies formulated by the faculties in the domain.

Uppsala University defines its mission as being to gain and disseminate knowledge for the benefit of humankind and for a better world. Sustainable development, collaboration and equal opportunities are fundamental principles for the University’s activities. The overall goal is for the University to conduct education and research of the highest quality and relevance. The document presents strategic priorities and development goals related to the general principles and goals. The disciplinary domain has been instructed to implement the University’s Mission, Goals and Strategies and to propose indicators and target figures linked to the development goals, specifying dates for their achievement (UFV 2020/937).

According to the Rules of Procedure for Uppsala University (UFV 2017/95), it is the task of the faculty boards to systematically assure, enhance and monitor the quality of educational programmes, decide on their organisation and implementation, and decide on the organisation and quality of research. To all essential purposes, activities in the Disciplinary Domain of Humanities and Social Sciences are conducted under the faculties, and the domain’s goals and strategies, and its proposed indicators, are based on the goals, strategies and indicators formulated by the separate faculties (HUMSAM 2020/43).

Strategic priorities

The strategic priorities that the Disciplinary Domain Board has adopted for the period 2021–2024 are consolidated cooperation between the faculties and interaction between different measures to promote:

multidisciplinary research;
boundary-crossing education;
collaboration in education and research;
internationalisation;
infrastructure development.

Multidisciplinary research

Meeting current and future societal challenges in areas such as sustainable development, health, democracy, education and digitalisation will require strong multidisciplinary research. The Disciplinary Domain of Humanities and Social Sciences continues its strategic efforts to initiate, develop and support initiatives for such research. The aim is, firstly, to create new opportunities and forms for research cooperation at Uppsala University and, secondly, to study the development of patterns of cooperation. This means strengthening and spreading knowledge about multidisciplinary research as such, so that new research contacts can be established both within the domain and with other disciplinary domains and universities.

Strategic work on multidisciplinary research is organised in two principal forms: through platforms proceeding from the disciplinary domain and through support to separate projects and centres.

Centre for Integrated Research on Culture and Society (CIRCUS)

The Centre for Integrated Research on Culture and Society (CIRCUS) is the disciplinary domain’s foremost platform and physical environment for the initiation and development of problem-driven, thematic research cooperation across subject, faculty and disciplinary domain lines. CIRCUS complements the discipline-based structure of the Disciplinary Domain of Humanities and Social Sciences and is intended to take up and support many of the initiatives from temporary forums and networks that researchers in the domain initiate across subject boundaries. The purpose is to promote research cooperation within the Disciplinary Domain of Humanities and Social Sciences and with the other disciplinary domains at Uppsala University. Funding and support have been granted to multidisciplinary research with the potential to compete for medium-sized and large research grants from Swedish and European funding bodies. The Centre has co-financing from the Vice-Chancellor for the period 2019–2023. An evaluation of CIRCUS will begin in 2021.

Centres and separate projects in the domain

Centre for Digital Humanities (CDHU)

The Centre for Digital Humanities at Uppsala University (CDHU) started up on 1 January 2021, but builds on activities begun by the Forum for Digital Humanities (2015–2017) and the DH Uppsala research network (2018–2020). CDHU supports and coordinates the digital transformation of humanities and social sciences at the University. CDHU has a threefold mission encompassing: research-initiated activities (seminars, major events, support for projects and applications); teaching, learning and education (workshops, courses and other support in digital humanities from Master’s level to researchers with PhDs); and digital infrastructure to provide technical support to research in humanities and social sciences. The Centre has co-financing from the Vice-Chancellor for the period 2021–2025.

Centre for Multidisciplinary Studies on Racism (CEMFOR)

The mission of the Centre for Multidisciplinary Studies on Racism (CEMFOR) is to conduct, promote, support and coordinate research in the profile areas “integration, racism and discrimination”. One of its purposes is to monitor research funding calls and to continuously inform UU researchers about research calls that are relevant to the specified areas. In addition, it is to coordinate existing expertise and ongoing research at all Uppsala University’s faculties in the areas mentioned above with a view to creating strong multidisciplinary project applications that can be linked to CEMFOR’s remit in some way. The Centre has co-financing from the Vice-Chancellor and the Faculty of Theology for the period 2017– 2021.

Centre for Higher Education and Research as a Research Object (HERO)

HERO is a centre established in 2021 for the purpose of strengthening and developing the research conducted at Uppsala University in the field of studies of higher education and research. The research object consists of the organisation, management, external and internal governance, financing, quality assurance and evaluation of higher education and research.

The overall objective of HERO is to generate scientific knowledge for the benefit of research, education and practice by enabling multidisciplinary cooperation between researchers and research groups in the different disciplinary domains (HUMSAM 2020/28). The Centre has co-financing from the ViceChancellor and the other disciplinary domains for the period 2021–2025.

Democracy and higher education

The relationship between higher education and democracy is critical for the development of society. The disciplinary domain is therefore making strategic efforts to create conditions for a democratic and robust society, and to strengthen academic freedom. This project is unique both nationally and internationally and aims to (i) coordinate research with potential to grow and deepen; (ii) contribute frontier knowledge on the relationship between democracy and higher education; (iii) and give Uppsala University a prominent place on the international map concerning research on democracy and higher education (HUMSAM 2020/58).

The democracy and higher education project centres around three main themes in which research has already started in existing research environments and that there is good reason to develop. The first focus area addresses the internal life of universities, where the foundation is laid for the democratic relevance of higher education. The second addresses the significance of universities for the democratic institutions of Swedish society and their resilience. The third addresses global democratisation issues and their significance for sustainable development. The project will run for the period 2021–2030.

Cooperation across disciplinary domain lines

The disciplinary domain and its constituent faculties make continuous and purposive efforts to initiate, carry out and strengthen multidisciplinary research in a number of profile areas through cooperative projects across domain and faculty lines. The projects below are some examples in the current period.

Centre for Women’s Mental Health during the Reproductive Lifespan (WoMHeR)

Uppsala University’s Centre for Women’s Mental Health during the Reproductive Lifespan (WoMHeR) is a unique multidisciplinary centre that aims to produce evidence-based knowledge to support future strategic decisions in the world of work and society. The purpose of the Centre, which includes a graduate school with doctoral student projects that all have supervisors from at least two of Uppsala University’s disciplinary domains, is to increase knowledge and awareness for the benefit of women’s mental health, identify and evaluate approaches to prevention and intervention, and create a recognised knowledge centre for research, public authorities and members of society. The Centre is cofinanced by the three disciplinary domains for the period 2021–2023.

AI4Research

The AI4Research project aims to reinforce, renew and further develop research in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. AI4Research is intended for the entire University and researchers from all disciplinary domains at Uppsala University will be involved in the environment throughout the project. The project is co-financed by all disciplinary domains and is a University-wide project during the period 2020–2024.

Diabetes Centre

The newly established Uppsala Diabetes Centre (UDC) gathers researchers from the three disciplinary domains to tackle the challenges of preventing and treating diabetes from their different perspectives. The Centre’s activities will be characterised by a broad approach armed with expertise in AI technologies, image analysis and other supportive technologies, as well as knowledge of health economics, lifestyle issues, communications, psychology and other fields. The Centre is co-financed by all disciplinary domains for the period 2021–2024.

Uppsala Antibiotic Center (UAC)

The mission of Uppsala Antibiotic Center is to support research, education and innovation focused on tackling and finding solutions to the global challenge of antibiotic resistance. The research, pursued in all three disciplinary domains, aims for deeper knowledge on the development of resistance by bacteria, the use of available antibiotics and the development of new antibiotics. The project includes a new initiative in which more than a dozen doctoral studentships are attached to a graduate school at UAC. The Centre is co-financed by the three disciplinary domains for the period 2021–2024.

Boundary-crossing education

In connection with and in addition to the strategic work on multidisciplinary research, the disciplinary domain intends to take steps to identify and eliminate obstacles to interfaculty cooperation on teaching. This process will explore the possibility of shorter start-up processes and programmes with multiple main fields of study, and will support faculty-initiated ideas for boundary-crossing undergraduate and Master’s programmes.

The disciplinary domain will play an active role in the project “Lifelong learning at Uppsala University”, which aims to clarify possibilities, incentives and needs for lifelong learning at the University, and to develop educational models for different target groups and types of courses adapted to lifelong learning (UFV 2021/422). Within the framework of this project, the disciplinary domain will take stock of and raise the visibility of the University's existing courses in lifelong learning, proposing adjustments such as additions and clarifications regarding potential stakeholders and relevance connections, and assisting faculties that want to develop proposals on educational models that go beyond conventional courses.

Interdisciplinary graduate school in sustainable development

Uppsala University’s interdisciplinary graduate school in sustainable development started in January 2021. The primary mission of the graduate school is to conduct research addressing key societal challenges. This includes issues relating to changed energy systems, sustainable consumption and destination development. Uppsala University Campus Gotland, where the graduate school is located, is an important hub in the University’s pursuit of a sustainable society. The graduate school will be firmly anchored in ongoing multidisciplinary cooperation in research and education, set in an international environment. Six departments from three faculties in the disciplinary domain are included in this inter- domain collaboration, which so far comprises one call for 2021–2025.

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Through its strategic work on multidisciplinary research and boundary-crossing education, the disciplinary domain contributes to expanding education and strengthening the connection between education and research in all Uppsala University’s disciplinary domains. The lively centres conduct and develop both boundary-crossing, challenge-based research and research excellence, strengthening the ability of the disciplinary domain to attract research funding in both national and international competition. The initiative for the interdisciplinary graduate school in sustainable development consolidates Campus Gotland’s role as one of the University’s nodes in testing new paths for research and development.

Collaboration in education and research

Part of the University’s mission is to collaborate with the wider community, communicate about its activities and act to ensure that research results are put to use. The Disciplinary Domain of Humanities and Social Sciences therefore intends to clarify and further develop its ongoing collaborations. The domain will assist faculties that wish to initiate or strengthen existing cooperation with other parts of the University. Current partners include Uppsala University Culture and Heritage, which runs Universityowned infrastructure for collaboration in areas where the faculties in the domain have educational and research expertise, as well as Uppsala University Innovation and the Innovation Partnership Office at Uppsala University, which support researchers and research groups in establishing, developing and conducting collaboration and innovation projects with external actors.

Within the framework of these strategic efforts, the reference group for collaboration appointed by the disciplinary domain serves as an interface between researchers in the domain, faculties and Uppsala University’s overarching collaboration activities. The reference group works to raise awareness and facilitate collaboration in the humanities and social sciences. The collaboration activities conducted in the domain are to be identified and a plan developed to clarify, strengthen and further collaboration involving the humanities and social sciences (HUMSAM 2021/9).

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Through these strategic efforts, the disciplinary domain will contribute to developing collaboration as an integral part of the education and research conducted at Uppsala University.

Internationalisation

Internationalisation is an important strategy for enhancing the quality and relevance of education and research at Uppsala University, and the faculties in the disciplinary domain pursue purposeful internationalisation efforts. The disciplinary domain is carrying out a set of strategic initiatives aimed at concentrating and strengthening involvement in a number of European initiatives, including information campaigns on the new EU framework programme for research and innovation, Horizon Europe, which lasts from 2021 to 2027.

European University Network to Promote Quality of Life, Sustainability and Global Engagement Through Higher Education Transformation (ENLIGHT)

ENLIGHT is an association of nine comprehensive, research-intensive universities that aims to transform the European Higher Education Area and empower students throughout Europe to be globally engaged citizens and tackle major societal challenges. Over the next three years, the disciplinary domain will contribute to the project’s exploration of new initiatives relating to internationalisation, lifelong learning and flexible course and learning modules, along with harmonisation and integration of IT, quality assurance and admissions systems. The ENLIGHT Teacher Education Network, for example, will chart exchange programmes and identify mobility windows. Focusing on the competencies required to meet global classrooms, both cooperation programmes under Erasmus+ and research projects will be initiated.

European Research Council (ERC) and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Schools

The ERC and Marie Skłodowska-Curie schools already established (HUMSAM 2019/12 and HUMSAM 2020/23) will be evaluated and potentially further developed to enable researchers and research groups in the faculties to enjoy continued training and support in preparing major applications. Activities have included a number of workshops providing information about grant and funding systems, advice on drawing up various types of applications and preparing for panel interviews, and activities aimed at strengthening cooperation between researchers and research groups and grant administrators.

Knowledge & Innovation Community (KIC)

The disciplinary domain leads Uppsala University’s efforts towards establishing a Knowledge & Innovation Community (KIC) specialising in the creative industries, cultural heritage and conservation (HUMSAM 2020/49). The process of preparing the application to be submitted to the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) will enhance knowledge about complex calls at EU level among both core academic and administrative staff, and create a new understanding of the various relations between the faculties in the disciplinary domain and local and regional authorities, culture and innovation enterprises, museums and institutions. Finally, the initiative is expected to lead to a stronger platform for already established teaching and research in cultural industries, cultural heritage and conservation.

The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities

Since 2016, Uppsala University has been a member of The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities, an organisation that consists of 19 of Europe’s most research-intensive universities. To give the faculties in the disciplinary domain influence on the activities coordinated by The Guild, the domain has established a reference group with the following tasks (HUMSAM 2019/37):

to take initiatives for applications and international cooperation with The Guild and its member organisations;
to provide input on relevant issues associated with EU research policy.

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Through its strategic internationalisation efforts, the disciplinary domain stimulates and nurtures both research excellence at its constituent faculties and their collaboration with partners at local, regional and international level. This enhances the ability of researchers to attract prestigious grants in international competition, particularly from the European Research Council. The broad cooperation on applications at international level in the disciplinary domain enhances the University’s potential to pool its resources in joint research initiatives.

Infrastructure development

Access to first-rate physical and digital infrastructure is essential if the faculties in the disciplinary domain are to conduct top-quality teaching and research.

Research infrastructure

Coordinated efforts are needed to enable research in the humanities and social sciences to take advantage of the new possibilities created by emerging research infrastructures. The Disciplinary Domain Board has established a reference group for research infrastructure with a continuous mandate from the board. The chair of the reference group represents the disciplinary domain on the University’s Advisory Board for Research Infrastructure, and is rapporteur or co-opted member of the Disciplinary Domain Board in items of business that are subject to decision by the chair of the Disciplinary Domain Board (HUMSAM 2019/41).

The disciplinary domain is charting the infrastructure resources that the domain’s research environments have access to and that are available for their use, focusing on research needs and interests. The purpose of this survey is to reveal the possibilities offered to research by existing and developing resources, as well as indicating research needs that may come to the fore in connection with new research issues. The expression ‘resources’ here refers to both human resources in the form of services to researchers and research activities, and tools such as databases, archives, computational resources, instruments, facilities, etc. The strategic work is led by the above-mentioned reference group together with a project group with the following remit (HUMSAM 2021/09):

to identify existing research infrastructure resources in the disciplinary domain at UU;
to report its own conclusions from this survey and to propose strategies for research infrastructures in the disciplinary domain;
to initiate workshops in the area of research infrastructures.

In addition to this, the disciplinary domain, in cooperation with the Centre for Digital Humanities, will continue to maintain and facilitate access to research infrastructures in the humanities and social sciences, such as Swe-Clarin and the Uppsala Conflict Data Programme (UCDP), as well as working for the establishment of new research infrastructures.

Premises

The Disciplinary Domain of Humanities and Social Sciences has instructions to draw up a long-term strategy for the availability and development of premises (UFV 2019/2124). The first stage of this task is to explore future premises needs in terms of both quantity and quality, and to consider appropriate procedures for annual follow-up of pedagogical and physical requirements for the digitalisation of teaching. Specific issues for attention include the Gamla Torget campus area, with its relatively urgent needs and possible expansion in the city centre. Other priority issues concern:

governing principles for the disciplinary domain;
increased flows of students and teachers between the campus areas;
more centralised room booking system;
spaces for students;
excess spaces and future expansion.

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By its strategic attention to the physical and digital infrastructure, the disciplinary domain contributes to coordinating and focusing the University’s resources, and hence to the University’s ability to contribute in and by its own activities to sustainable development.