Sustainable development the focus of new graduate school at Campus Gotland
21 January 2021
Doctoral students from around the world will be working at the new graduate school at Campus Gotland with sustainable development as part of five unique multidisciplinary projects
On 18 January, Uppsala University’s new multidisciplinary graduate school opened at Campus Gotland. Its focus is on sustainable development. This involves research on key societal challenges within changing energy systems, sustainable consumption, digital development and climate changes based on different scientific contexts.
The starting point for the graduate school is multidisciplinary approach to important societal challenges within sustainable development. Around 20 supervisors from eight departments are participating in the graduate school: Earth Sciences; Anthropology and Ethnology; Civil and Industrial Engineering; Archaeology and Ancient History; Informatics and Media; Business Studies; Law; and Art History.
Supports the profile area sustainability
The graduate school at Campus Gotland is an important hub in the University’s ambition to achieve a sustainable society. Here, the graduate school will be firmly anchored in ongoing multidisciplinary collaborations within research and education. The goal is for the graduate school to conduct research at the highest international level based on questions relevant for local needs. Regional relevance will be combined with international excellence.
“This multidisciplinary graduate school is the biggest and single most important initiative that the University is currently working with to develop research at Campus Gotland. Through the graduate school, we are supporting research on the University’s profile area of sustainability,” says Olle Jansson, adviser to the Vice-Chancellor on behalf of Uppsala University Campus Gotland.
Significant international interest
There has been considerable interest in the graduate school, even internationally. When the doctoral positions were advertised this summer, there were close to 3000 applicants for the 12 positions. These have now been filled with students from the United States, India, Bangladesh and different countries in Europe, including Sweden.
Business Studies and director of the new graduate
school.
“There are certainly several reasons for the enormous interest,” explains Jenny Helin, senior lecturer at the Department of Business Studies and director of the new graduate school. “In part, many people want to make a difference by studying and researching sustainability and they are attracted to the multidisciplinary approach. But it also has to do with Sweden having a good reputation in sustainability. Internationally, Sweden is at the forefront, and this makes it interesting to apply for doctoral positions here. Uppsala University is also a strong brand, that’s also important.”
Five unique multidisciplinary projects
Twelve doctoral students will be working together with their supervisors, international partners, guest researchers and local stakeholders within five unique multidisciplinary projects.
The five projects are:
- Sustainable destination development. (Three doctoral students)
- Gotland’s sustainable energy system transition: resources, demand and planning. (Three doctoral students)
- Fisheries and coastal development in a small island context – the past, present and future. (Two doctoral students)
- Getting the balance right - Applying legislation when seeking a balance between energy transition and the conservation of cultural values. (Two doctoral students)
- Digital innovation for sustainable consumption. (Two doctoral students)
Starting out online
Lovely new facilities with a view over Visby harbour have been prepared for the graduate school’s doctoral students to ensure a creative and stimulating environment. The original idea was that all 12 doctoral students would be on site from the start, but the pandemic has forced a change so that everything will begin online.
“It is not just different disciplines coming together within the graduate school, but also different doctoral education traditions and different administrative processes from the supervisor group’s home departments. So, there will be challenges, particularly now when we have to begin completely online. But I am convinced that we will make it work with the eager and enthusiastic doctoral students now beginning at the graduate school. Hopefully, we will soon be able to meet here on Campus Gotland in our newly renovated facilities that are waiting for us and build a strong doctoral environment together,” says Jenny Helin.
News
-
Martin Henriksson Holmdahl Prize goes to Afaf Doleeb and Patricia Lorenzoni
21 november 2019
The Martin Henriksson Holmdahl Prize is Uppsala University’s foremost award for contributions to the promotion of human rights and liberty. This year’s prize is shared by graduate student Afaf Doleeb and researcher Patricia Lorenzoni for their com...
-
Large-scale cadastral maps on parchment digitised
08 november 2019
Uppsala University Archives holds a large collection of hand-drawn seventeenth century maps on parchment. These maps are of significant historical value and a valuable source of information on the University’s agricultural properties at the time.
-
New Honorary Doctors Appointed at Uppsala University
21 oktober 2019
The nine faculties at Uppsala University have decided on who they wish to appoint as honorary doctors this academic year. The new honorary doctors include researchers in fields as diverse as string theory, maternal healthcare, evolutionary biology...
-
Excavation documentation from Labraunda digitised
21 oktober 2019
Uppsala University Library's part of the project Mötesplats Medelhavet ("Labraunda") - a research platform for digitised archaeological collections and archives at the Swedish institutes in Athens, Rome and Istanbul, is now being started. The aim ...
-
Aristocratic family trees became scientific model
01 oktober 2019
Before the French Revolution, family trees were reserved for the feudal upper classes, who used them to consolidate their social status. While feudalism broke down and family trees lost their old roles, the trees gained new functions as scientific...
-
Uppsala philosopher elected to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
19 september 2019
Folke Tersman, professor of practical philosophy at Uppsala University, has been elected as a member of the class for humanities and for outstanding services to science at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
-
Johan Ihre’s dissertations now in digital form.
06 september 2019
Johan Ihre (1707-1780) was professor of Rethoric and Politics at Uppsala University for 42 years. During this time he managed no less than 453 dissertations, the theses of the time. These dissertations are currently a widely used source material i...
-
Sustainable urbanisation requires collaboration
10 juni 2019
On Sunday, 30 June, six seminars on sustainability and urbanisation focusing on India and Sweden will take place in Almedalen. To find out more, we talked to Swaminathan Ramanathan, visiting research fellow, and Owe Ronström, professor of ethnolog...
-
Races for women play an important role
06 maj 2019
Participating in a race for women plays an important role for women and increases self-confidence among participants. Women aim to perform as well as they can, and they place most emphasis on their physical performance, despite the organisers’ oft...
-
Award for research and teaching on the Holocaust
11 april 2019
Tomislav Dulić, Senior Lecturer in History and Director of the Hugo Valentin Centre, has been awarded the Austrian Holocaust Memorial Award 2019.
-
Diplomatic wives’ political clout often overlooked
07 mars 2019
Many 20th-century accounts of international relations and diplomacy often leave out the role of women. Diplomats’ wives were not officially employed, but diplomacy was frequently based on couples working together.
-
Ola Larsmo awarded Martin Henriksson Holmdahl Prize
16 november 2018
The Martin Henriksson Holmdahl Prize is Uppsala University’s foremost award for efforts to promote human rights and liberty. This year’s prize is awarded to author and honorary doctor Ola Larsmo.
-
New light cast on Scandinavia’s most important Bronze Age site
09 oktober 2018
Håga, Scandinavia's most significant Bronze Age site, is relatively unknown. But in a new book, archaeologists at Uppsala University have brought together what is known and placed Håga in a larger context.
-
New study shows virus traces in historical skeletal material
06 september 2018
A new international study shows the importance of studying historical skeletal material to increase knowledge about how viruses develop.
-
Large-scale whaling in north Scandinavia may date back to 6th century
13 juni 2018
The intensive whaling that has pushed many species to the brink of extinction today may be several centuries older than previously assumed. This view is held by archaeologists from Uppsala and York whose findings are presented in the European Jour...
-
Vice-Chancellor Eva Åkesson to receive King’s Medal
08 juni 2018
H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf has decided to award Uppsala University’s Vice-Chancellor Eva Åkesson and Johan Svedjedal, Professor of Literature, H.M. The King’s Medal.
-
This year’s Distinguished Teaching Award winners chosen
04 juni 2018
The 2018 Distinguished Teaching Award winners at Uppsala University teach subjects related to art history, informatics and media, pharmaceutical biosciences and information technology. The free Distinguished Teaching Award was presented to Senior ...
-
Human diversity as a research area
29 maj 2018
Human diversity abounds in language, culture and biology. An understanding of this diversity is central to a lot of research, but it is important to address the ethical issues raised by this research. The Human Diversity Research Network takes an ...
-
Shared meals important for wellbeing
29 maj 2018
How, where and when we eat are key issues for human health and wellbeing. A multidisciplinary research network at Uppsala University aims to deepen knowledge about the significance of meals.
-
Is citizenship necessary for being part of a democracy?
26 april 2018
Nowadays, civil rights are usually connected with citizenship of a country. But how do growing globalisation and more mobility affect this?