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Even if it’s difficult to replace physical meetings, it’s important to travel more wisely ...
GUJournal KATARINA GÅRDFELDT PAGE 7
INDEPENDENT JOURNAL FOR THE STAFF AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG #3 SUMMER 2017
NEWS
Air travel clashes with climate goals. PROFILE
Anna Bohlin on why we love old things. REPORT
Interviews with outgoing vice-chancellor and pro-vice-chancellor.
YOUNG PHYSICIST AT THE TOP MATTIAS GOKSÖR, PRO-VICE-CHANCELLOR “It will certainly take around a year for the new management team to learn the ropes,” says Mattias Goksör.
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VICE-CHANCELLOR From a sprawling to a more unified university
Today, there is far more consensus on various strategic issues.
FTER ELEVEN YEARS, my time as the University of Gothenburg’s vice-chancellor is almost up. It feels a little sad. At the same time, I’m happy with, and proud of, the University’s development in these years. When I took over in 2006, the board gave me an assignment: We want you to create a more closely integrated university, a university with a clear “we identity”. Easily said, not so easily done. At that time, we were, in practice, eight different universities. We had a number of vice-chancellors and a highly chaotic deans’ group. Simply put, it was very much “us and them”. This could not go on, especially as, not least as regards resource allocation, the rest of the world did see us as ONE university. Looking back over all our work to increase integration, I think we’ve done well. Today, there is far more consensus on various strategic issues. Faculties and departments are also considerably more willing to contribute to what is best for the University as a whole, even if it sometimes involves compromises. One important reason for this is Vision 2020. DEVELOPING A VISION that includes long-term
WHEN I STARTED as vice-chancellor, the University of Gothenburg did not have a strong position locally, regionally or nationally. I wanted to change that. A truly good platform for this was my six-year assignment as chair of the Association of Swedish Higher Education (SUHF). This provided not only first-hand information on all issues, but also opportunities to make new contacts internationally. Nonetheless, my goal of putting ONE University of Gothenburg on the map would never have been reached without the University’s employees. So, I would like to express my profound thanks and wish you every success in the continued development of the University of Gothenburg. Photo: JOHAN WINGBORG
goals and strategies is no easy job. Thus, it was great fun to be in on this wide-ranging process in which 1,100 employees took part. That the resultant vision is now used as a starting point for continuous work with action and operational plans is more than pleasing. We all know how easy it is for a high-flying vision document to turn into a lame duck that never serves as the originally intended tool for operations development. Another initiative that played a major role
was RED 10. This was the first comprehensive evaluation of all our research. It showed that we had some world-class research and some that fell short of the mark. Owing to RED 10, we now work more methodically with research issues. This has also given better results. On top of this, we have lately fanned the flames of university pedagogics, an issue that is often dealt with step-motherly. However, what are we without our students? They must receive research-linked education and the best possible teaching. This is a question of quality.
PAM FREDMAN
MASTHEAD Copy Norway’s model! WE ARE APPROACHING a change in power. Not surprisingly, this creates both some unease and lots of expectation. In this issue, there is quite some focus on the management teams – both outgoing and incoming. In addition to a farewell interview with Pam Fredman, there is also a special issue (restricted to 300 printed copies) on her 11 years in power. In the special issue, we have col-
lated a selection of GU Journalen’s articles on the vice-chancellor. All of this edition is, of course, available in digital format on GU Journalen’s website. Ahead of the power change, we take the liberty of presenting some small, unpretentious proposals.
1. Continue to safeguard GU Journalen as an independent, journalistic
publication with the task of promoting free debate. 2. Do as in Norway – grant the editorial team the same latitude as internal audit, with extended review assignments. 3. Provide financial guarantees for the journal’s continued existence, regardless of publication form. ALLAN ERIKSSON & EVA LUNDGREN
20 Anna Bohlin studies why more and more people love flee markets.
HIGHLIGHTS NEWS 04–10
04. Meet Mattias Goksör, the University’s new pro-vice-chancellor. 06. Who is Mattias Goksör? 07. Sideways struggle to climate goals. 10. Threatening sacred values.
PROFILE 12–14
12. Why do Swedes believe that old objects have a soul? Anna Bohlin knows more.
”Old objects can be a link to our history,” says Anna Bohlin. Photo: JOHAN WINGBORG
REPORT 16–23
16. Pam Fredman on her 11 years at the heart of power. 20. Evolutionary biologist at the University of Gothenburg.
PEOPLE 23–27
24. Archaeologist documenting destruction in Syria. 26. Helena Lindholm returning to her heart issues. 28. Summer school for newly arrived refugees. SUMMER 2017 GUJOURNAL
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Mattias Goksör Currently: From 1 July 2017, the University of Gothenburg’s new pro-vice-chancellor. Work: Head of the Department of Physics. Background: Doctor of physics, master of b usiness administration. Age: 42, the University of Gothenburg’s youngest ever pro-vice-chancellor. Lives: In Mölnlycke. Family: Wife and two sons. Interests: Golf with sons, a big fan of hockey-team HV71. Latest research: A microfluidic chip that, in the testing of pharma ceuticals, can do away with animal testing and save money. This rese archis taking place within OrganoVitro, a company that has progressed to a regional final (west) of Venture Cup, Sweden’s premier startup competition.
Steppingup to Vasaparken Mattias Goksör is 42 years old and thus GU’s youngest pro- vice-chancellor ever.
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NEWS “I believe management should represent the University in the widest possible way. Our new vice-chancellor is professor of Italian, and I’m a doctor of physics. Hopefully we can complement each other.” So says Mattias Goksör, who on July 1 will be the University of Gothenburg’s new pro-vice-chancellor. FOR MOST PEOPLE, the 25th of April was perhaps an entirely ordinary Tuesday. However, for Mattias Goksör, head of the Department of Physics, it brought an ever ringing telephone and a continuous stream of email. This was the day on which the University Board’s drafting committee decided to propose him as the sole candidate for the pro-vice-chancellorship of the University of Gothenburg. “Over 300 congratulatory emails arrived in less than half an hour. I received so much attention from all quarters that I was obliged to get away for a couple of days.”
Mattias Goksör grew up in Jönköping and is a big HV71fan. During his studies he worked as a telescope operator at Onsala Space Observatory, where he participated in experiments to determine the mass of black holes. His interdisciplinary research is about “single cell analysis” where individual cells can be manipulated and studied to better understand intracellular processes and intercellular communication. He has two spin-off companies from his research. Mattias Goksör has still not had the opportunity to discuss with Eva Wiberg which areas he will be heading. However, at his own department, the work environment has been one of his major involvements. “When I became head of department five years ago, I believed that the results of the ‘Work Environment Barometer’ would lead to initiatives from University or Faculty management. These results indicated, amongst other things, a great deal of stress and heavy workloads. However, not much happened. Three years later, it was time for a new barometer. This indicated even slightly higher stress. Nonetheless, it didn’t lead to any measures either.”
This was why, at the Faculty of Science, Mattias Goksör took the initiative of setting up a working group comprising heads of departments, work environment representatives, HR officers and others interested in work environment issues. Over the past two years, they have held meetings to which psychologists, work environment researchers and other people with work environment experience have been invited. “It would be interesting to start something like this for the whole University. After all, it’s not only my department that has heavy workloads. These result not so often from employer imposed requirements, but rather the dependence on external funding. Naturally, the financing system is not something that the University of Gothenburg can change by itself. Yet, we can perhaps remedy rising self-administration and learn from good examples elsewhere.” MATTIAS GOKSÖR IS also interested in economics. “For example, how do we ensure the quality of programmes such as that for medical physicists? It’s a socially important programme but, as there are so few students, it’s also expensive. Currently, because money is awarded on a performance basis, we have no really good model for this.” Mattias Goksör is in the steering group of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Gender Research and on the council of the Pedagogical Development and Interactive Learning (PIL) unit. To support the teachers at the Department of Physics, he has appointed a special pedagogical developer, Jonas Enger, and invested in an IT tool for natural scientists. “As the natural sciences are about providing symbolic answers to abstract problems, the other available tools are unsuitable. This
nr 4 | sommar 2012
Fångar livets minsta delar Mattias Goksör är fysikern som ägnar sig åt biologi Hörandeförsamlingen
barometern presenteras
efter 44 år i gu:s tjänst
Illa genomtänkt process
så mår GU:s medarbetare
Nu går Lennart Weibull i pension
sId 4
sId 6
sId 24
Mattias Goksör Mattias Goksör was the profile subject in the fourth GU Journalen of 2012. https://issuu.com/ universityofgothenburg/docs/guj42012.
is why professor Stellan Östlund and system developer Hampus Linander have developed a self-correcting tool that the IT unit is now supporting. Used by both the University of Gothenburg and Chalmers, it is also open for other higher education institutions, nationally and internationally.” EVEN IF THE ROLE of pro-vice-chancellor is demanding, Mattias Goksör still hopes to have some hours over for research. His involvements here include one with OrganoVitro, a company that has developed a special chip which can be used in cell culture, thereby replacing animal testing in pharmacology. The company has been nominated for a regional final of Venture Cup, Sweden’s premier startup competition. It is not only vice-chancellor and pro-vice-chancellor who will be changing on the 1st of July. University director Jörgen Tholin is also leaving to become the pro-vice-chancellor of the University of Borås. Furthermore, as Mattias Goksör points out, new assistant vice-chancellors are also needed. “TO BEGIN WITH, Eva Wiberg and I will be going round speaking to as many of our new colleagues as possible. We will be listening to different opinions and trying to become thoroughly acquainted with the University’s operations. However, it will take around a year for the new management team to do this. Eva Wiberg has primarily been involved with education. However, as the pro-vice-chancellor at Lund, she has, of course, extensive leadership experience. I, myself, am more research oriented, but have large networks at both the University of Gothenburg and Chalmers. An occasional management change is useful. It prevents organisations ending up in ruts. However, so that we do not forget how things used to work, it is also important to build on available experience. I hope that our management team will pull off both these tasks.” Text: EVA LUNDGREN Photo: JOHAN WINGBORG SUMMER 2017 GUJOURNAL
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Who is Mattias Goksör? “Mattias Goksör has wide skills in all areas of the complete academic environment. He also has his professional expertise in the field of physics and a qualification in economics. He is analytic, takes a holistic view and, as both a head of research for major projects and a head of department, he has good leadership experience. He has got involved in University-wide issues such as quality, work environment, teaching and gender. This has given him a good overview of many areas within the University of Gothenburg. I nominated Mattias for the pro-vice-chancellorship because he has what it takes. Along with all the University’s managers and staffs, he also has the organisation’s best interests at heart. He is passionate about being a part of the University of Gothenburg’s development. He will be an exceptional complement to our new vice-chancellor. I am convinced that he will also bring job satisfaction to being a member of the management team.” Margareta Wallin Peterson Professor of zoophysiology and former assistant vice-chancellor of the University of Gothenburg
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“If I was tasked with giving a five-word assessment of Mattias, I would say he is receptive, insightful, skilful, meticulous and collegial. In my role as a pedagogic developer, I would summarise him as a very wise pedagogue. He has been extremely committed to the council of the Pedagogical Development and Interactive Learning (PIL) unit and freely shared his pedagogic expertise, not least when we have discussed complex and difficult pedagogic challenges. Unfortunately, owing to his new role, we will not be able to have such continuous exchanges. However, in his new management role, we will continue to be inspired by his pedagogic skills and know-how.” Tomas Grysell Head of the PIL unit
“I’m happy that Mattias Goksör has got the job as pro-vice-chancellor. At both the department of which he is the head and within the Faculty of Science as a whole, I have teamed with him on work environment issues. In the last initiative, he was concerned by one of the main results of the 2015 Work Environment Barometer – that employees felt there was great stress. Mattias invited faculty people in management positions to a series of seminars/ workshops focused on the question: ‘What can we, as managers, do to reduce work-induced stress for our employees?’ Getting involved in this way in major, multifaceted issues is typical of him. I also met Mattias when, for one year, he was on the Manager Development Programme at the University of Gothenburg. Even then, he stood out as an active and fearless manager with great commitment to a range of issues. Quite simply, he’s fun to work with!”
“I got to know Mattias in his role as a representative of the Faculty of Science in the working group of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Gender Research (GIG). Mattias is a sympathetic, straightforward person of high integrity. He is efficient and goal-oriented. He has been a positive force in the steering group’s work. Jointly with Lena Martinsson and Birgitta Jordansson, he produced a comprehensive self-assessment of GIG at the halfway point.” Eva-Maria Svensson Professor of jurispru dence and director of GIG
– Mattias Goksör is one of the best managers I’ve had. As regards creating the right conditions for his staff to work well and efficiently, he is tireless. He manages to combine respect for regulations with sound scepticism for the very same regulations. This means he gets things done under the prevailing conditions while laying the foundations for future improvements. It is with great interest that I’m looking forward to seeing what, from his new position, he can do for the University of Gothenburg.” Johan Åkerman Professor of experimental physics and applied spintronics
Olle Persson Senior lecturer, licensed psychologist, internal consultant on work environment issues
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s y a w e d Si o t e l g g stru s l a o g e t a m i cl The University of Gothenburg has high expectations as regards, amongst other things, reducing total travel- attributable emissions of carbon dioxide. However, thus far, the goal has not been achieved. Compared with 2008, emissions have increased by 20 per cent. The explanation is simple. We are flying more and further. Text: ALLAN ERIKSSON Photo: JOHAN WINGBORG
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NEWS
CURRENTLY, IN LINE with Vision 2020 and Agenda 2030, the University has 14 environmental goals centred on promoting sustainable development in both research and education. However, there are also other goals. These relate to lower energy consumption, less use of chemical products and reduced emissions from travel. Unfortunately, it is difficult to balance being an international university (where air travel is a necessity) with the ambition of reducing emissions. With the exception of the crisis year of 2009, the number of air journeys has annually set new records since 2008. Last year, the rise
was a full 10 per cent. From 2008 to 2016, our carbon dioxide emissions from air travel increased by 36 per cent. Flying generates four times the emissions generated by district heating for all the University of Gothenburg’s buildings. Katarina Gårdfeldt, director of the Centre for Environment and Sustainability (GMV) and the person in charge of the University’s sustainability results, feels that we will have to live with conflicting objectives for some time yet. “EVEN IF WE cannot presently reach
the goal, we must continue to strive towards it. Increased internationali-
Katarina Gårdfeldt, director of the Centre for Environment and Sustainability.
CO2 emissions per source of emissions 2008–2016 (tonnes) Car, bus, train Plane<50 Plane>50
Plane truth: The most environ mentally friendly way to t ravelis by train. The environmentally worst way is to fly.
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“We must fight to reduce emissions from travel, but we cannot isolate ourselves.” KATARINA GÅRDFELDT
In brief: High emissions The emission of carbon dioxide from air trevelling has increased with 36 per cent (32 per cent if you count all travel arrangements). The most popular destinations (number of journeys) Gothenburg – Stockholm (1,148) Gothenburg – London Heathrow (749) Gothenburg – Umeå (702) Amsterdam – Gothenburg (645) Bromma – Gothenburg (502) In total, University of Gothenburg employees travelled 51,371,925 kilometres in 2016. This is the equivalent of 1,282 times around the world or a journey to Mars. Per employee, it equates to 8,000 kilometres or the distance between New York and Santiago in Chile. In 2016, University of Gothenburg long-haul flights generated 4,204 tonnes of carbon dioxide. This makes flying the University’s single largest emission factor. In the same year, our district heating generated 1,309 tonnes. An annual report (Miljöledning i Staten) published by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency shows that the major universities (e.g. Gothenburg, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Lund) head the total emissions figures. In its latest report, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency writes that the increase is due to an overarching objective of increased internationalisation.
sation and reduced carbon dioxide emissions from travel are examples of areas that are in conflict with each other. There is a complexity we cannot shut our eyes to. We must talk about it and continue to stimulate an increased exchange of students and teachers,” says Katarina Gårdfeldt. Nonetheless, she emphasises that, in each case, consideration should be given to whether digital technology cannot replace a journey. “IT’S NOT ONLY a great benefit for the climate. Working time is also saved by not spending hours getting somewhere.” In Katarina Gårdfeldt’s opinion, the most important thing is to promote sustainability in both education and research. This contributes to reaching the global goals. “The young people we are now teaching will have great influence in society over the next 40 years before they retire. As regards research, ever more scholarly articles on sustainable development are being published at the University of Gothenburg. Thus, things are moving forwards in several areas.” Katarina Gårdfeldt also believes that increased internationalisation can lead to new, innovative ways of working. “TO VARYING EXTENTS, all universi-
ties certainly face the same dilemma and can swap best practices with each other. Even if it is difficult to replace physical meetings, it’s important to travel more wisely and meet digitally whenever possible.” Some attempts are being made to put a brake on travel. For example, the Swedish Secretariat for Gender
Research has introduced travel-free periods. Throughout December, January and the summer months, its personnel avoid travel on official business and, instead, hold meetings using technologies such as Skype. “I THINK IT works well. Of course,
it’s a little quieter at those times and far fewer journeys are necessary. You have to request an exemption to go on a trip,” reveals Charlotte Benninge, administrative manager. Katarina Gårdfeldt points out that another way of taking responsibility is to “climate compensate” all travel. The University of Gothenburg has been doing this since 2011. The extra fee levied on each ticket goes to a climate fund from which students and employees can seek finance. “The idea is to support new proposals and methodologies that, in the long term, promote sustainable development. This applies not least to new technologies and travel-free meetings.” Are long-haul flights not a measure of our being an international, successful university? “No, they can’t be used as a measure. However, international co-publications are a measure. As research is now global, travel is often a necessity,” declares Katarina Gårdfeldt. “We mustn’t isolate ourselves. There are certainly a number of unnecessary journeys. However, it’s important for our researchers to travel to conferences, present their abstracts there and co-publish in journals of high academic quality. It is an element in quality assurance.”
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Threatening sacred values Text: EVA LUNDGREN Photo: PER GUDMUNDSON/PHOTOS FROM THE BOOK SVENSKAR I KRIG 1945-2015/TT
WE HUMANS LIKE to see ourselves as
rational. Yet, “holy values”, which have nothing to do with common sense, are more important than can be easily imagined. So believes Scott Atran, professor of anthropology at Oxford University, the University of Michigan and the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in Paris. He is at the Wallenberg Conference Centre to take part in the Segerstedt Institute’s conference on violent extremism. Although most of the participants are from the Nordic countries, there are still some from many other parts of the world. “In a project I took part in from 2004 to 2008, almost 4,000 Israelis and Palestinians were asked how they would react to various peace proposals. The participants were divided into three groups and had to take a stance on various practi-
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cal possibilities. These included a two-state solution, mutual recognition of each other’s rights, compensation in the form of grants, etc. None of the proposals was particularly well received. Attitudes started to soften only when we tried a more symbolic approach to handling the conflict. One example here was that the Israelis should apologise for the Palestinians’ suffering and the Palestinians should recognise Israel’s right to exist.” Ideas of justice, redress and respect for various “holy” beliefs can thus be more important than solutions centred on economics, borders or other practicalities. This insight was one of the starting points when Scott Atran assisted in the founding of ARTIS International, an interdisciplinary group of researchers undertaking field studies to try to understand why young people choose to devote themselves to political violence. The group has, for example, been to Iraq and interviewed captured IS soldiers. “TODAY’S SITUATION is like an
unholy alliance in which immigrant-hostile nationalists and IS supporters are, each in their own ways, succeeding in destabilising the western world in a fashion that is reminiscent of the 1930s. At that time, George Orwell was already warning of the attraction Hitler held for young people – why settle for so-
cial security and paid holidays when there are the seductions of struggle, danger and heroic death? As the 17th century philosopher Thomas Hobbes observed in his Leviathan, man is the Earth’s sole absurd being.” Scott Atran explains that, even if family, friends, work and education are important – for IS supporters too – there is something even more important. Photo: JOHAN WINGBORG
“The dark side of globalisation,” that is what Scott Atran calls the search for purpose and meaning that leads young people to join violence-inciting movements. He was one of the main speakers when, at the end of April, the Segerstedt Institute held an international conference on extremism. “Such perpetrators of violence cannot be swayed by money or the prospect of a successful career. Instead, society must find something better for them to be passionate about.”
Holy ideas must be countered with other holy ideas. SCOTT ATRAN
“IS RECRUITERS CAN put hundreds of hours into persuading just one young person that it is vital to forsake everything and join the terrorist organisation. They talk about religion and punishment. However, the emphasis is on development and commitment. They agree family is important, but offer an even better brotherhood and a new motherland. Furthermore, sacrifices are required more for the new family than for the ‘cause’. Exactly as the classic revolutionary movements, IS was started by an elite, but attracts adolescents who are in a period of breaking away or people who are, in some way or other, marginalised.” Thus, IS supporters are not swayed by rational, economic or practical arguments. “Extremists of various types are often perceived as deeply immoral people, ready to kill even innocent children. However, a person who is willing to sacrifice own and others’ lives for a higher purpose perce-
By the end of 2012, jihadists in Syria began to spread images like this, representing themselves with weapons in their hands.
ives himself or herself as holding the moral high ground. We have to understand this. Consequently, instead of youth recreation centres, social security and general comfort, the youngsters attracted by IS must be offered something to fight for,” declares Scott Atran.
Conference on violent extremism Risks, roots and responses: Nordic conference on research on violent extremism was held from the 24th to the 26th of April in the Wallenberg Conference Centre. It attracted 180 participants, primarily from the Nordic countries. Some 75 papers were presented. The conference organiser was the Segerstedt Institute at the University of Gothenburg.
“WHEN I HEAR older people speaking about the importance of moderate and measured Islam, I always answer: ‘Measured? Have you ever met a teenager?’ Holy ideals must be countered with other holy ideals.” Scott Atran believes that young people need not only a distant vision to dream of, but also a personal goal that can be realised in practice. “Major, state or municipal initiatives against violence and extremism are usually less successful that when adolescents themselves take the initiative for various projects. One example is the sisters Gulalai and Saba in Pakistan. They started a network of female peace activists. It reaches out to thousands of young people. Imagine a global contact network of such initiatives built-on personal commitment at grass-roots level. Where might it not lead? Besides being both local and global, this type of movement can involve the young supporting the young. It can also be a true counterbalance to the violence offered by growing extremism.”s SUMMER 2017 GUJOURNAL
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Furniture, fashion and feelings Text: EVA LUNDGREN Photo: JOHAN WINGBORG
A cabinet can mean a lot. It can be a much-loved heirloom, a meaningful find from a flea market or the symbol of an entire home that has been lost. It may also be part of a research project on memory, reuse and alternative cultural heritage. This is what Anna Bohlin is currently focusing on. MAY IS AT ITS loveliest as Anna Bohlin, reader in social anthropology, takes a break in the garden outside KK2, an old maternity hospital that is now home to the School of Global Studies. In collaboration with the Museum of World Culture, she has just submitted an application to stage an exhibition of things that, rather than being thrown away, are taken care of. She has also just finished an article on how people endow objects with a soul. On top of all this, she is extremely busy as coordinator of The Critical Engagement of Anthropology course. “Social anthropology opens eyes to the possibility of seeing existence in very many different ways, something that often amazes our students. Additionally, anthropology gives a valuable in-to-out perspective. Instead of assuming that anything is set in stone, we try to understand how objects are perceived by those concerned – what the objects are to them.” Anna Bohlin discovered social anthropology when she was studying at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies. “Initially, it was just something I studied to complete my political science programme. However, I grew to
feel that social anthropology asked the really important questions and I gradually gravitated in that direction.” Anna Bohlin’s interest in global issues surfaced as early as her two upper-secondary years at Atlantic College in Wales. This school was the first in the world with an international upper-secondary qualification. “The idea was that, by studying and living together, adolescents could promote peace and international collaboration. As a 16-year-old, living day-round with pupils from all over the world was dizzying and shaped me for the rest of my life.” SOUTH AFRICA WAS one of the countries to interest Anna Bohlin at an early age. In 1997, she travelled there to do field work in Kalk Bay, a small place thirty kilometres south of Cape Town. She wanted to investigate how the community had been affected by the Group Areas Act (GAA) of 1950. This latter centred on creating totally white areas in towns by, quite simply, forcing families classed as “coloured” or “black” to move. “My first interview was with a person who spoke in great detail of how GAA had forced families to leave their homes. This was exactly what I had already read in several newspaper articles,” explains Anna Bohlin. “However, when I then talked with other people in Kalk Bay, they said that hardly anyone had been forced to leave. The people had protested so strongly that they were given a fifteen-year postponement and were then left in peace. Confusingly enough, these opposing versions could be found within the same families. To find SUMMER 2017 GUJOURNAL
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In Japan, for example, people often highlight that an object has become worn by using gold to repair a crack in a vessel.
ted. This was because they were used to being poorly treated and thus had no reason to expect anything else. “Under the land reclamation programme, those who had been evicted could receive compensation in the form of a new home or a piece of land. However, many chose money instead. With this, they then bought something fine, a beautiful cabinet for example. For them, redress itself was the important thing. The cabinet, or whatever else had been bought, became a powerful symbol of this.” In total, Anna Bohlin spent 11 years in South Africa. There, amongst much else, she married and then had her first child. She has been back in Sweden since 2008. out what had actually happened, I had to dig deeper.” In fact, the major part of the affected population in Kalk Bay had successfully withstood GAA. They were very proud of this. Nonetheless, around one fourth of the families had been forced out. “Those who moved were ashamed that they had let themselves be treated so badly. The more heroic account of the fight against the regime was also far pleasanter to remember. Together, both these factors resulted in the memory of evictions being pushed to one side. Nonetheless, at that time, the truth commission was uncovering many uncomfortable recollections. Of course, this made being a field worker rewarding.” IN 2001, Anna Bohlin defended her dissertation, In the
Eyes of the Sea. This related to her work in Kalk Bay. She was soon back in Africa. This time commissioned by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) to monitor the land reclamation programme that was to give black and coloured people the right to recover confiscated property. One of the things she undertook was a comparison of the evictions of coloured, Afrikaans-speaking people in Riebeek-Kasteel and black, Xhosa-speaking people in Knysna. Although, viewed materially, the people in Knysna suffered more than those in Riebeek-Kasteel, they were less frustra-
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ONE OF HER posts is as a member of the senior manage-
ment team of the Centre for Critical Heritage Studies. Along with a colleague, Staffan Appelgren, she is also leading the Re:heritage research project. Even if her research in Sweden differs markedly from that she conducted in South Africa, she still finds points of contact, for example, that a cabinet can have great significance. “Objects are certainly valued very differently. Some things end up in museums to be preserved for future generations. Others, paper cups for example, are seen as scrap. However, Re:heritage is primarily about objects that are sold at flea markets and auctions. In this way, they are converted to a form of circulating cultural heritage that is in fact used.” One of the reasons why second-hand is now in fashion is that it is an environment-friendly and cheap way of creating a characterful home. Yet, it is also about finding a link to older generations, opines Anna Bohlin. “Many people are attracted by objects that have a history; old kitchen settles for example and other things that, like various forms of handicrafts, people have put time into. Inherited objects can also be important. However, the people I interviewed didn’t distinguish greatly between old heirlooms and stuff bought at flea markets. There can even be an advantage
Researchers in Almedalen
to surrounding yourself with old things that have no links to you. They have no conflicts or feelings of duty bound up with them. This is sometimes not the case with inherited objects.” “Making” and “growing” are two terms used in social anthropology to reflect how objects are “made” and then, as they age, are part of a change process. “In Japan, for example, people often highlight that an object has become worn. For example, gold may be used to repair a crack in a vessel,” reveals Anna Bohlin. “In Sweden, we often say that old objects can have a ‘soul’, something connected to the object’s history. It’s a form of self-expression that, for example, is not so common in the Anglo-Saxon world.”
Work: Reader in social anthropology; member of the senior management team of the Centre for Critical Heritage Studies; along with Staffan Appelgren, is leading the Re:heritage, circulation and commodification of things with history project. Currently: Participating in Almedalen. Lives: In Krokslätt. Family: Two children (12 and 7), living apart together, cat. Last book read: My name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout. Last film: The Secret Life of Pets. Favourite food: Good cheeses. Interests: Reading, playing music, growing indoor and outdoor plants. Best/worst side: Inquisitive/Occasionally monomaniacal.
THERE ARE MANY reasons why Swedes endow objects
with a soul. One of them relates to the roles of the home and home furnishings in our secular society. “For many Swedes, old furniture offers not only a way of feeling a historical connection, but also of, morally and existentially, doing the ‘right’ thing, i.e. reusing instead of throwing away.” At the start of July, Anna Bohlin will, along with colleague Staffan Appelgren, be holding a seminar in Almedalen. It will be about office furniture. “When an office is being done up, fully functional desks, chairs and shelving are often thrown away. Together with the City of Gothenburg and an upcycling company, we have started a project on how even these things can be repaired, redesigned and reused. However, reusing is not always so simple. For example, old furniture may contain combustible materials. The environment administration has also issued a warning about phthalates in old plastic toys. So, how are we to establish reuse with both the consumer and the manufacturer taking responsibility? These are some of the issues we will be addressing at Almedalen.” Anna Bohlin points out that social anthropology is a subject with a long tradition of examining societies where categorisation into human and non-human, nature and nurture, future and past may be different from what we are accustomed to. “That is why the subject has so much to give as regards finding new ways of understanding our relationships not only with each other, but also with all that surrounds us.”s SUMMER 2017 GUJOURNAL
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Eleven years at the very top Text: EVA LUNDGREN Photo: JOHAN WINGBORG
“When I became vice-chancellor in 2006, the University of Gothenburg was extremely fragmented and had rather a low profile in the city. We are now a more closely integrated higher education institution. I see that as my most important contribution to the University and to its future management.” So says Pam Fredman, who is leaving her post as vice-chancellor on the 30th of June. COLLABORATIONS have been something of a hallmark of Pam Fredman’s eleven years as the University of Gothenburg’s vice-chancellor. There have been collaborations within the University and with the city, the region, the country and now also the rest of the world. Examples include “GU renewal”, Vision 2020, Red 10, UGOT Challenges, Campus Näckrosen and Campus Medicinareberget. From 2009 to 2014, she was also the chair of the Association of Swedish Higher Education (SUHF). Since November 2016, she has been the chair of the International Association of Universities (IAU). This international network of universities is linked to UNESCO and has its seat in Paris. However, Pam Fredman has no intentions of moving there. “I don’t need to be everywhere in person. Instead, I see my job as delegating responsibility and getting members involved. There is a professional secretariat that largely takes care of day-to-day operations. To support me, I also have some twenty board members from various parts of the world. Instead of travelling in person to a meeting in Nigeria or Bangladesh, it is much better if the incredibly competent local member is given a full mandate to act for IAU and then reports back.” In April, Pam Fredman received yet another assignment, this time from the government. It centres on reviewing control and resource allocation systems for Sweden’s universities and university colleges. Including proposals for a new system, the task is scheduled for completion in December 2018. Pam Fredman intends dealing with this assignment from Gothenburg too.
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“Magnus Petersson of the University Management’s staff arm will devote two days a week to supporting me in the investigative work. The principal secretary and other people appointed by the ministry are part of the investigation team. One of my views is that direct basic funding for universities, i.e. resources over which higher education institutions have independent control, is too small. This makes long-term investment such as the appointment of teachers and researchers difficult. We must have a system that crystallises the connection between research and education. It must also facilitate investment in lifelong learning. The present allocation system, under which higher education institutions get one sum of money for education and another for research, dates from 1993. Almost no other countries have this arrangement.” Thus, a quiet life as a pensioner is hardly what awaits Pam Fredman. “THE MAJOR DIFFERENCE will be that I no longer have
a full diary of meetings that may start as early as half past seven in the morning and run through the whole day. Instead, I hope that I will, for example, be able to walk my little Havanese dog in Näckrosparken. I can then observe the growth of the unique meeting point for the general public, culture and science that is planned there. I’m also looking forward to once again socialising with old friends, for whom I am no longer the manager. I’m a morning person and love working. I won’t lie in bed and relax.” Of all her achievements as vice-chancellor, Pam Fredman is most pleased with the University of Gothenburg now being seen as a single, closely integrated higher education institution. “When I started, we were seen as perhaps twenty different higher education institutions and, even in the city, we were extremely diffuse. Today, we are very much more a natural part of Gothenburg. My work in SUHF has also entailed the University of Gothenburg getting more first-hand information about what
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else. Even though there must be people who are still critical, we now have a thoroughly thought-out vision that is well-known to most employees.” Some ten years ago, the government began to invest heavily in strategic areas. The University of Gothenburg very much failed to get any of this money. “We didn’t even get the marine environment area! This was not because our research was poor, but because we had difficulties linking up the various elements and showing what we could do. This was the background to our building up the Grants and Innovation Office. It has made us far more successful as regards grant applications. Nonetheless, our failures were also a reason for the investment in the RED 10 research evaluation.” To get an out-to-in perspective, Pam Fredman appointed an advisory board comprising three experienced researchers: Krista Varantola, Iain Robinson and Arild Underdal. “Of course, this also attracted criticism. Why those people and why only three? Yet, they proved to be a valuable support in the University’s continued development and acquired great legitimacy in our operations. They were then a constant presence throughout almost all my time as vice-chancellor.”
is happening in Stockholm. The cohesiveness of the country’s higher education institutions has greatly improved.” Yet, not everything has gone Pam Fredman’s way. Built on an investigation by Göran Bexell and Christina Rogestam, the major organisational change embarked on in 2010 was initially intended to lead to a concentrated humanistic-social sciences faculty. However, there were enormous protests and management had to pull back. “IT’S SOMETHING WE have to realise. Not everything can be one hundred per cent as we’d intended. Still, it was important that we’d discussed the University’s organisation, not least for our work with Vision 2020. Fantastically enough, this involved slightly over 1,100 of the University’s employees. We got together in groups, held vision seminars and discussed things. It became a methodology that I don’t think has been used anywhere
Pam Fredman is most of all satisfied with having united the University.
IN 2015, THE University decided on UGOT Challenges. This offered SEK 300 million to interdisciplinary environments that had programmes addressing some of the greatest global challenges now facing society. Seventy-eight applications were received. “The programme proposals themselves, which should throw light on the various, global, societal challenges, were drawn up by researchers at the various faculties. What the board did was to set aside resources. Even if, in the end, only six areas were financed, I still believe that the process was important and can lead to continued collaborations in other ways.” Not least within the University, UGOT Challenges has resulted in major collaborations. “When, for example, I look back at my time as a doctoral student, I could wish that, even that early, I had been exposed to several different disciplines. After all, a university is a vast repository of all sorts of knowledge. Thus, the most important objective of major projects such as UGOT Challenges, Näckrosen and Medicinareberget may be to bring together students and employees from various disciplines.” Pam Fredman is of the opinion that, for collaborations to be truly rewarding, the parties should offer complete environments, i.e. comprise education, research and collaboration. “The investment in excellent teachers and a pedagogical academy has been one way of upgrading pedagogic performance. A university with no students SUMMER 2017 GUJOURNAL
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the ability to make decisions. Of course, these may generate criticism. Anyone who wants a friction-free life must, quite simply, avoid this role. My tough decisions were those that affected particular individuals. Otherwise, it hasn’t been difficult for me to separate my management role from my private life.” Pam Fredman points out that, all things considered, leading the University of Gothenburg has been nothing but a privilege. “I can say that, throughout my eleven years, I have learnt new, interesting things. Furthermore, there hasn’t been a single day when something fun hasn’t spurred me on.”s
Pam’s new challenges Currently: Leaving post as vice-chancellor on the 30th of June.
and, its development of Sweden’s university landscape.
New assignments: New chair of the International Association of Universities; has also been commissioned by Sweden’s government to review the current control and resource allocation systems for Swedish universities and university colleges and then make new proposals.
Lives: In Örgryte.
Assignments over the years: Chair of the Association of Swedish Higher Education (2008 – 2014); member of: the council of the European University Association; the board of the Swedish Agency for Government Employers; Sweden’s National Innovation Council; the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences; and, Göteborg & Co (an initiative to develop Gothenburg as a destination). Most pleased with as vice-chancellor: That the University of Gothenburg is now seen as a single higher education institution.What, according to state secretary Karin Röding, the government is most pleased with: The University’s: social commitment; its work with new arrivals to Sweden, the environment, gender equality and employer issues;
Family: Husband, three children, grandchildren. Pets: Has just acquired a Havanese puppy. A selection of Pam Fredman’s achievements during her 11 years as vice- chancellor “GU renewal”: A new administrative organisation, implemented 1 January 2013. Vision 2020: A vision for the University of Gothenburg up until 2020. RED 10: An evaluation of all research at the University of Gothenburg. A new evaluation, RED 19, is under way. BLUE 11: An evaluation of all degree programmes at the University of Gothenburg. Doctoral student appointments: Since 1 July 2015, all doctoral students have been entitled to an appointment. UGOT Challenges: SEK 300 million to six interdisciplinary centres addressing global challenges facing society.
A selection of Pam Fredman’s achievements during her 11 years as vice-chancellor “GU renewal”: A new administrative organisation, implemented 1 January 2013. Vision 2020: A vision for the University of Gothenburg up until 2020. RED 10: An evaluation of all research at the University of Gothenburg. A new evaluation, RED 19, is under way. BLUE 11: An evaluation of all degree programmes at the University of Gothenburg. Doctoral student appointments: Since 1 July 2015, all doctoral students have been entitled to an appointment. UGOT Challenges: SEK 300 million to six interdisciplinary centres addressing global challenges facing society.
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Wallenberg Centre for Molecular and Translational Medicine: A major investment in life science. It involves a collaboration between the University of Gothenburg, Region Västra Götaland and AstraZeneca. The Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation is the principal financier. Excellent teachers and pedagogical academy: Since autumn 2016, there has been a special pedagogical academy comprising excellent teachers who are to contribute to the University’s pedagogical development.
Campus Näckrosen: The campus is to be a culture and science meeting point that is open to all. Medicinareberget: In a collaboration with Sahlgrenska University Hospital, the area is to be developed into a life science centre. English: Decided that the University’s name in English should be “the University of Gothenburg”, and nothing else. Courses: Committed to leader and employee courses.
Gender mainstreaming: Initiated the gender equality initiatives that are now under way at all the country’s university colleges.
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The portrait of Pam Fredman was uncovered on June 7 and hangs in Vasaparken. The artist is Olle Hamngren.
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Nature is full of surprises Why are there so very many different species? This was the basic question when Scott Edwards, evolutionary biologist from HarvardUniversity, guested for ten weeks at the University of Gothenburg and Chalmers. Amongst other things, he gave five international, interdisciplinary workshops that brought together some one hundred researchers. Text: EVA LUNDGREN Photo: JOHAN WINGBORG
THE ORIGIN OF BIODIVERSITY was
the subject of the research programme that Scott Edwards led from the middle of April to the middle of June. It assembled international participants from the fields of biology, mathematics, physics, medicine and computer science. “I’m completely overwhelmed that all these experts in so many different disciplines chose to come together to discuss the subject and learn from each other. I actually know of no other such programme anywhere else in the world,” reveals Scott Edwards when GU Journalen meets him. Along with some fifteen colleagues from different countries, he is visiting the Swedish Museum of Natural History. They are keen to learn exactly what museums can contribute to research into biological diversity. Scott Edwards has primarily devoted himself to DNA research, a
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field that has revolutionised views of species development. “Darwin would have been truly amazed. Certain species seem very similar, yet their DNA discloses that it is long since they shared a common ancestor. But it can be the other way around with other species. They can appear different, yet their genetic material may differ at a couple of points only. On top of this, the more we investigate the various individuals, the more complicated it gets.” SCOTT EDWARDS relates that, even if
evolution is, naturally enough, irreversible, it is possible to study how species form. Fruit flies and bacteria can be used for this. “For example, a population can be divided into different groups that are then exposed to the same environmental factors. Will the groups, owing to random mutations, eventually start to differ, or will they develop in the same way? This is one
’’
How can all these various organisms co-exist? SCOTT EDWARDS
of many interesting questions.” What then is a species? According to an old maxim, if two populations do not interbreed with each other, then they are different species. This still holds true, explains Scott Edwards. “HOWEVER, PERHAPS not really one hundred per cent. We can take ourselves as an example. We now know that most modern people also have a small percentage of Neanderthal genes. Yet we still see Neanderthals as something else – they cannot be the same species as us!” Just like the USA, Scandinavia is one of the world’s regions that is rather poor in species. This is particularly so in comparison with the riches of the tropics. For example, there are around 16,000 different species of tree in Amazonas. Of these, only about 230 are somewhat common. “How can all these various
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The term ‘extended organism’ is sometimes used to describe the evolutionary symbiosis in which all organisms live along with an enormous number of bacteria. SCOTT EDWARDS
organisms co-exist? Why doesn’t competition lead to some species being crowded out? Additionally, how will this amazing diversity be affected by climate change? We still don’t know.” NONETHELESS, data shows that
birds such as blackcaps and willow warblers have changed their migration patterns and are arriving ever earlier at their spring grounds. It is likely that this is because of climate warming. “Birds are affected by people in other ways too. For example, great tits in cities sing at a higher frequency than do great tits in forests. This is presumably because they need to be heard above all the noise.” Birds are, into the bargain, one of Scott Edwards’ special interests. “I’ve loved birds since I was very young, both because they’re so beautiful and for their fantastic flying abilities. They are also exciting, not least for those interested in evolution.” As early as 1868, Thomas Henry Huxley, ‘Darwin’s bulldog’, realised that there could be a connection between birds and small theropods (types of small dinosaurs). Indeed, a few years earlier, German researchers had found a fossil of the remarkable archaeopteryx. This lived around 150 million years ago and seemed to be the missing link between reptiles and birds.
“WE NOW KNOW that birds are
descended from the theropods. Thus, it’s wrong to say that the dinosaurs died out 65 million years ago. They live on as birds!” Scott Edwards states that there are several similarities between birds and theropods.
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“Their ways of breathing, for example. Like today’s birds, theropods had air sacs so that they could use oxygen far more efficiently than mammals do. Birds and theropods also have a considerably smaller genome than does, for example, man. It contains less repetitive DNA and fewer introns, i.e. the bits between the genes. Previously, researchers linked small genomes to flight, but they now appear to be more a characteristic of fast metabolisms.” FEATHERS ALSO have a dinosaur link.
Yet, the history of feathers goes back even beyond this, recounts Scott Edwards. “As early as 300 million years ago, amniotes, the great grandparents of mammals, reptiles and birds, had a complete gene set for feathers. That man doesn’t have feathers is attributable to regulators that switch on or off various gene expressions determining the development of feathers, scales, nails and hair.” Another example of how gene expressions can change is the general inability of birds to taste sweetness. “Like their dinosaur parents, birds can taste umami (savouriness, e.g. broths and glutamates). However, in hummingbirds, the genes for umami sensitivity have mutated so that there is, instead, sweetness sensitivity. That is why, unlike other avians, hummingbirds love nectar.” Over perhaps the past 15 years, researchers have also started to show an interest in the role of truly small organisms in evolution, says Scott Edwards. “The term ‘extended organism’ is sometimes used to describe the evolutionary symbiosis in which all organisms live along with an enormous
number of bacteria. It is interesting that when a bacterial flora changes, so does the physiology of its host. This entails the bacterial flora having to change again. In this way, host and bacteria drive each other’s development.” SCOTT EDWARDS believes that DNA
research is certain to deliver several surprises in the future. However, even if modern technologies have revolutionised evolutionary research, it does not mean that old, proven methods should be abandoned. “Nothing can replace solid field work! Actually being outdoors, living with plants and animals in their natural habitats is absolutely essential for a biologist. However, museums and herbariums are also important. This is where you can learn how various species have changed or how they were distributed in the past. That is why I’m incredibly grateful that this project attracted people from the museum world. We would also very much like to share the thrilling workshops in which we participated. Thus, they will eventually result in articles that are to be published in the web journal, PeerJ.”
DURING HIS VISIT to Gothenburg,
one of the things Scott Edwards made time for was birdwatching on Getterön island outside Varberg. Unfortunately he missed the cranes dancing at Hornborgasjön lake. “Yes, it was a shame, but perhaps there’ll be another time. I truly fell in love with Gothenburg. Size and climate-wise, the city reminds me of Seattle. We lived there when our children were growing up. So, I hope I get a chance to come back sometime.”s
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â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have always been attracted to museums. When I was young, they provided an exciting, somehow calming, and sometimes scary environment for me, especially the big, larger-thanlife models of insects! Now they are a great place to teach students about biodiversity and how to care for the preservation of different species. Museums for me are truly wondrous places and I hope I can help other curious kids to enjoy them as much as I do!â&#x20AC;?
In brief Scott Edwards, professor of evolutionary biology at Harvard University, has just led the Origin of Biodiversity, a ten-week, interdisciplinary, research programme financed by the Gothenburg Centre for Advanced Studies in Science and Technology (GoCAS). This is run jointly by the University of Gothenburg and Chalmers.
Attended by international researchers in biology, medicine, mathematics, physics and computer science, the programme included five workshops. These were: biodiversity and macroevolution; sexual selection/sexual conflict; phylogenomics and phylogeography; host-pathogen co-evolution; and, the role of museums in
modern evolutionary biology. The workshops are to result in articles in the web journal, PeerJ. Scott Edwards has also just been appointed as an advisor to the Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre (GGBC). He attended the official opening of this on the 19th of April.
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Archaeologist for the sake of Syria His life has been threatened in his native country, Syria. Now in Gothenburg, Anas Al Khabour, a researcher and archaeologist, is wrestling to save cultural heritage in his war-torn land. “When our cultural heritage disappears, a part of our cultural identity dies,” he says. Text: KARIN FREJRUD Photo: JOHAN WINGBORG
IT IS WITH A grieving heart that Anas Al Khabour follows news reports from Syria, his homeland. The war there is constantly claiming new victims and laying waste to countryside, buildings and towns. Islamic State (IS) terrorists are spreading fear. They have also made it their mission to destroy valuable buildings. To finance their terrorism, they are selling captured antiquities on the black market. “Two years ago, one of my friends and colleagues was beheaded by IS. He was the manager of a museum in world heritage town Palmyra,” reveals Anas Al Khabour. “IS classes archaeologists as disbelievers. That’s why I can’t return to my homeland without endangering my life.” HOWEVER, FOR SOME years now, Anas Al Khabour and his family have enjoyed sanctuary in Sweden. Through the Scholars at Risk (SAR) programme, he presently has a position at the Department of Historical Studies. The University of Gothenburg is very active in helping vulnerable researchers. Last year, SAR offered four researchers temporary positions at the University. One of these went to Anas Al Khabour. “It means so much to me. The University of Gothenburg offers fantastic opportunities for my research. I’m acquiring more pedagogical experience here and can exchange ideas with experts in my field,” he states, when we meet in his office at the department.
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In almost faultless Swedish, Anas Al Khabour speaks about his two ongoing projects. One of these concerns the Kura-Araxes culture and involves studying how items circulated around a large area in the Middle East between 3000 and 4000 BC. “By studying pottery, metal and, for example, burial rituals, we can understand the lives of the people there at that time.” ANAS AL KHABOUR’S research shows that people of
different religions and ethnicities lived there, side by side, for many thousands of years. “Imagine a colourful and beautiful mosaic. No one would want to replace this fine work with a mosaic in only one colour. IS builds its ideology on total inaccuracies. Syria’s cultural heritage shows that there has always been room for diversity – up until now.” He feels that, to counteract distortion of facts and denial of history, it is vital that our cultural heritages are preserved. “They are part of a nation’s identity and history. By understanding our past, we can understand our present. Those who do not remember what has gone before are doomed to repeat earlier mistakes,” declares Anas Al Khabour. This is why he is so passionate about his other project. It centres on protecting and preserving threatened
cultural heritage in IS controlled areas. By studying satellite images and reports from people in Syria and Iraq, Anas Al Khabour and his colleagues are creating an inventory of the destruction and documenting which objects have disappeared. “The destruction of all these ancient buildings and objects is terrible. However, we will be able to restore some things. To stop illegal trafficking in antiquities from various war zones, we are also trying to spread information about so-called blood antiquities.” ANAS AL KHABOUR’S study of archaeology took him
from Damascus University to master’s studies in Madrid. Prior to 2013, he was the director of the National Museum of Raqqa and the cultural attaché at Syria’s embassy in Madrid. The war then forced him, his wife and two children to come to Sweden. Here, before arriving at the University of Gothenburg, he worked at Kulturmiljö Halland in Halmstad. Why did you want to be an archaeologist? “When I was a young boy, I and my friends used to play on a hill near where I lived. We found shards of pottery. When we spoke with archaeologists who were working there, they told us that the objects were several thousand years old. I found this immensely fascinating.” A new world opened up for the young Anas Al Khabour. A world in which shards from the past were the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. A “detective” could put these together to give a picture of how a people’s forefathers had lived. For a boy who had grown up surrounded by books, going to university to study in greater depth was an obvious choice.
“WHEN I WAS growing up, my father ran a bookshop.
Nearly all my siblings (five brothers and six sisters) now work in teaching, in one way or other. So, my dad was a good source of inspiration,” discloses Anas Al Khabour. Anas Al Khabour thinks his work is at least as exciting today as it was when he started his career. “I now also see it as my duty to continue for Syria. Both as a specialist and as a citizen, it is my duty to try to save our cultural heritage. I hope that our cultural heritage can be used to bring about peace. If we can highlight our shared history, we can start to focus on what we have in common rather than on what our differences may be.”s
In brief Scholars at Risk (SAR) is an international programme to protect researchers whose life, freedom or wellbeing have been threatened. SAR arranges temporary research and lecturing positions at various university institutions around the world.
Anas Al Khabour Age: 41. Work: Archaeologist. Lives: In Halmstad. Family: Wife and two children. Interests: Reading, playing guitar and chess. “When we moved to Halmstad, I joined a chess club. It helped me learn Swedish. However, not having enough time now, I play against the computer instead.”
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Returns to her heart issues After five years as pro-vice-chancellor, and almost 15 in a management position, it is time for Helena Lindholm to go back to what started her university life – an interest in global issues and an inquisitiveness as regards research and teaching. Nonetheless, 20 per cent of her new post is as a senior advisor to the vice-chancellor and will be devoted to the University of Gothenburg’s work with the refugee issue. HEN HELENA LINDHOLM was
appointed pro- vice-chancellor in 2012, she was, at 48, the youngest ever person to hold this position at the University of Gothenburg. She had previously been the dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences for 6 years and, before that, head of the School of Global Studies for 3 years. As pro-vice-chancellor, she has had
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Helena Lindholm believes that higher education plays a major role for newly arrived refugees. The new competencies course in Swedish is an important initiative, but there are also information meetings about higher education.
particular responsibility for areas such as internationalisation, the work environment, gender equality and equal treatment. She was also actively engaged in launching Vision 2020 and working for broader recruitment. “LEAVING THE POST of pro-vi-
ce-chancellor after five years feels right. I’m returning to research and am enormously excited and enthusiastic, even if, of course, there will be some emptiness. All in all, I’ve had great fun and learnt so very much. Over my five years, I’ve been part of the University of Gothenburg’s thrilling journey. I will certainly miss being in the thick of the action. Yet, at the same time, it’s nice to be going back to research. I personally long for a less fragmented life where I can focus a little more and go deeper into global issues such as war, conflicts and refugees.” Even if she has accepted an assignment as senior advisor to the
I will certainly miss being in the thick of the action. HELENA LINDHOLM
vice-chancellor, Helena Lindholm emphasises that she will no longer be a part of management. She reveals that she has been offered several management positions, both in Sweden and abroad. She has consistently declined all of them. Five years ago, she thought she would, at some time, like to be a candidate for the vice-chancellorship of the University of Gothenburg. However, she changed her mind. “THAT WAS BECAUSE I saw not
only what a vice-chancellor’s days and workload were like, from early morning to late evening, but also that so much time and energy went into dealing with disciplinary and HR matters as well as questions connected with the work environment. Being the head of a public authority is an extremely exposed position, especially when issues are hot. I also want to have more free time than is possible as a vice-chancellor.” Asked how, after such a long
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time, it feels to be returning to research and, eventually, teaching, she laughs. “HMM! IT WILL be interesting. Above
all else, it will be fun. However, going back to collegiality after a long period as a manager is a classic problem in academia. Nonetheless, over the past year, I’ve had a little time to resume research. I have tentatively started brainstorming a couple of research projects. It certainly won’t be entirely problem-free. I’m also taking a lot with me that I hope will be of use to the department. Examples include a knowledge of how the University is governed and an understanding of the current shape of organisations and decision paths.” She is most pleased with having contributed to the University of Gothenburg raising its profile as regards social responsibility, global commitment, refugee issues and gender equality. That the University of Gothenburg needed to do more for refugees became clear, at the very latest, on the 3rd of September 2015 when the pictures of a drowned boy, Alan, spread around the whole world. Helena Lindholm discloses that committed employees sent her a great number of emails about what the University of Gothenburg could be doing.
“HOWEVER, OUR responsibility is long-term and rests in the fact that we are an institution for education and research. Via this responsibility and these assignments, we can make a structured, long-term contribution. We are also a public authority and can contribute to improved inclusion of new arrivals and greater understanding of migration and refugees. Additionally, we have a responsibility as a potential employer.” She is less pleased with the endeavours to initiate a more strategic and forward-looking work environment management aimed at remedying ill health related to, for example, stress. “We know that stress is one cause of ill health, long-term sick leave,
conflicts and difficulties in working with other people. I wish I could say that we’d come further. Amongst other things, we need to draw up an overall plan for dealing with stress and working more preventively, both at the individual level and as regards the more structural aspects.” Another issue that deeply concerns her is the changed view of knowledge in the wakes of Trump and Brexit. She believes there are both increased scepticism towards established knowledge and an anti-intellectualism that is creeping into Swedish society. Helena Lindholm fears that these are even threatening the academic sector. “WE MUST CONTINUE to safeguard
the values that universities stand for – openness, freedom, humanism and the importance of science and systematic, well-founded knowledge. We absolutely must not hide. Instead, we need to place even greater emphasis on these attitudes in our study courses and programmes. In one respect, increased populism and neonationalism are a reaction to globalisation and openness. Sweden too has passport controls and closed borders. We are also experiencing a stronger emphasis on so-called ‘Swedish values’. We seem to be heading into a reactive era that is characterised more by isolationism and protectionism than it is by globalisation. No one knows how long or strong this reaction will be.” Looking out of the high windows of the light Vasaparken office she is soon to leave, Helena Lindholm comments: “One thing is clear, these are challenging times for the next management team.” Has your view of executive power changed over the years? “Clearly enough, it is fun and satisfying to have influence and to be able to have an impact in issues where we can make a difference. However, I don’t think it’s healthy to be in a position of power for a long time. My period in office has been just about long enough.”s
Text: ALLAN ERIKSSON Photo: JOHAN WINGBORG
Which of your achievements are you most proud of? “Being part of the development of a good climate of collaboration between the faculties and departments at the University of Gothenburg. It has meant that we’ve been able to use the University’s width in quitean exceptional way. Eight years ago, UGOT Challenges was entirely unimaginable.” 2 “The University of Gothenburg has a national reputation for social responsibility and global commitment. We’ve received much praise for how we’re working with the refugee issue.” 3 “We reached the goal of at least 30 per cent of our professors being female. We’re amongst the higher education institutions that lead the country in this. We weren’t a few years ago.” 4 “We are prominent in issues regarding gender equality, accessibility and equal treatment.” 5 “I think we’ve made a success of Vision 2020. It was a matter of some urgency and proved to be both shared and comprehensive. It can also be adapted to suit different operating environments. Simply having a vision is not enough. The systematic way we worked with Vision 2020 was special.”
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Further assignments
20 per cent: Senior advisor to the vice- chancellor on issues relating to new arrivals to Sweden and inclusion. 25 per cent: Director of the Segerstedt Institute (an assignment from the vicechancellor). Chair of the government’s Expert Group for Aid Studies. Member of the Association of Swedish Higher Education’s working group on the refugee situation. Member of the board of the Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education (STINT). Remainder of the time: Professor at the School of Global Studies. Picture caption: Peace researcher Helena Lindholm, who leaves the position of pro- vice-chancellor on the 30th of June, feels that higher education plays a great role for new arrivals to Sweden. The new entry-qualifying course in Swedish is an important initiative, as also, for example, are information m eetings on higher studies.
SUMMER 2017 GUJOURNAL
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Brief details: From the 12th to the 16th of June, the University of Gothenburg and the Swedish Public Employment Service offered new arrivals to Sweden information on studying in the country. All the Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s faculties took part. A visit to the botanical gardens and testing of virtual reality were included. The summer school was targeted at new arrivals between 18 and 30 years old with upper-secondary education or whose higher studies had been interrupted. Reimaz Bakkour, Adam Bakkour, Victoria Nilsson Lissvall and Sofie Gustafsson are the people on the picture. Photo:Johan Wingborg
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