GU-Journal 3-2024

GUJORNAL

Researchers threatened at UN meeting NEWS

Big donation to support children’s health REPORT

Much time spent on attracting funding

New hope for water plant

Per-Olav Moksnes cares for eelgrass meadows

Contents

GU JOURNAL

The GU Journal has a free and independent position, is made according to journalistic principles.

Editor-in-chief: Allan Eriksson, temporarily on leave.

Editor: Eva Lundgren

Phone: 031–786 10 81, e-mail: eva.lundgren@ gu.se

Photographer: Johan Wingborg, Phone: 070–595 38 01, e-mail: johan.wingborg@gu.se

Layout: Anders Eurén, Phone: 031–786 43 81, e-mail: anders.euren@gu.se

Address: GU Journal, University of Gothenburg, Box 100, 405 30 Gothenburg , Sweden. E-mail: gu-journalen@gu.se

Internet: gu-journalen.gu.se ISSN: 1402-9626

News 04–11

04 Harassed at UN conference.

06 Twenty years with QoG.

08 Political science among the best I Europe.

09 Professor’s chair in honor of the queen.

10 Birgitta Karlén leaves Welcome Services.

Profile 12–15

12 New hope for eelgrass meadows.

Report 16–25

16 Amundön as digital twin.

18 Research and the hunt for new funding.

22 Wants a balance between pressure and safety.

23 Small funds within the humanities.

24 Strolling in Little London.

4

Bethanie Carney Almroth, threatened by lobbyists.

12 Looing for eelgrass and mussels.

26 Stroliing in Gothenburg.

Manifestations give reason for reflection

or the Vice Chancellor’s staff and me, the last few weeks have largely been characterized by dialogues, questions and meetings concerning the tent demonstration outside the university’s main building. Similar manifestations are happening at several other universities in Sweden and around the world. The situation has been intense at times, but it has also given rise to reflection on fundamental issues such as the university’s role in society, academic freedom, freedom of expression and the right to protest. The University of Gothenburg has had an open, respectful and attentive approach, but we have also been clear about the university's mission and mandate. These are big questions, and I would like to take the opportunity to summarize our approach here.

Our task, as a university, is to conduct education and research, not to act politically through boycotts or with foreign policy positions, which is what the protesters want. The university as an institution must stand free from external pressure. This means that students, staff members and citizens are free to express their opinions and demands, but they cannot expect the university to act based on their wishes.

We believe in our collaborations, all of which are carefully chosen. What cooperations are chosen, is based on what is favorable for the development of research and education and must be done

responsibly and with good judgment. For the development of knowledge to move forward, international collaborations are a prerequisite. Not infrequently, this means that employees work in or have exchanges with regions in conflict. Academic freedom as a principle necessitates the existence of research, publishing and education on all matters, even the ones that might be perceived as controversial.

This stance does not mean that we are indifferent to the horrors of the war in Gaza. We can all feel, think and wish for an immediate “cease-fire”. I want to emphasize that the university condemns the violence and protects freedom of speech, that is, the right of all people to freely raise their voices to make an influence.

The fact that the University as an institution does not take a position does not mean that we are silent. Our researchers appear almost daily in the media and contribute with their knowledge and analyses regarding the situation in Gaza and the conflict between Israel and Palestine in general. The university should act as an example when it comes to discussing even difficult issues from multiple perspectives in a respectful tone.

The demonstration we have seen here at the University of Gothenburg has taken place in a respectful tone. The city, the police and we as a university have promoted dialogue and openness and I am hopeful that the demonstrations will continue in the same way.

When this issue reaches you, most of us will have a few weeks off. I wish you all a really lovely summer!

Vice-Chancellor MALIN BROBERG

Researchers threatened at conference

hen Bethanie Carney Almroth, professor of Ecotoxicology, on April 23–29 attended the fourth United Nations meeting on the forming of a global plastic treaty, she was harassed by several representatives of the fossil fuel and chemical industries. As part of this harassment, she was surrounded by a number of people accusing her of generating unnecessary concern about environmentally harmful emissions.

This was not the first time Bethanie Carney Almroth has been similarly attacked; last autumn, various industry organizations accused her of having spread misleading research results after she had published a report on toxic chemicals in paper cups.

Gaining access to information, as well as to a clean and healthy environment, is part of human rights, Bethanie Carney Almroth points out, who has reported the harassment to the UN.

Funding is an eternally burning issue. According to a survey from the Swedish Research Council, researchers spend approximately ten percent of their time applying for external financing – a number many of the university staff members believe to be a rather substantial underestimate. Perhaps there are no better alternatives other than to apply in competition, but at least government funders ought to have an equal application system, says Charlotta Olofsson at Sahlgrenska Academy.

Summer means travels and new experiences. But perhaps the best discoveries are lurking round the corner? Do as Simon Poole; grab a map of London or New York and follow it around Gothenburg – and allow yourself to get wonderfully lost!

Eva Lundgren

Harassed at UN conference

On April 23–29, the United Nations Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (ICN) held its fourth meeting on how to form a global plastics treaty. Lobbyists from the fossil fuel and chemical industries also attended the sessions.

– These people spread misleading information, disrupted the meetings and screamed at us scientists right in our faces. We have now sent a report about harassment to the UN, explains Bethanie Carney Almroth, professor of Ecotoxicology and one of the founders of the network The Scientists’ Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty.

IT IS CALLED THE Triple Planetary Crisis: climate change, loss of nature and biodiversity, and pollution, including the release of various types of plastics. For example, 5-13 million tons of plastic waste end up in the oceans every year. The high global levels of plastic waste discharge has led to microplastics now being found everywhere on

earth, for example in the air and in living organisms. In humans, microplastics have been discovered for example in the blood, liver, lungs and in breast milk, says Bethanie Carney Almroth. – 99 percent of plastics are made from fossil fuels and can contain as much as 16,000 different chemicals. We know very little about how these substances affect the environment. Certainly, there are areas where plastic is an irreplaceable material, for example in certain healthcare products and in technical equipment. But almost half of all plastic production today is used for disposable items, including packaging, and this is hardly sustainable.

IN THE SPRING OF 2022 , the UN Member States decided to initiate negotiations on creating a global plastics treaty, which should include reduced production, reuse and refilling systems, as well as increased recycling. The negotiations take place through the United Nations Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC). The meeting in Ottawa in April was the fourth talk and already in November a decision on a bin-

» I myself was surrounded and scolded by a number of lobbyists. They accused me of incompetence, of not understanding science and of inducing fear in the public.«

Bethanie

Carney Almroth

ding agreement must be made. So, it’s a tight schedule, Bethanie Carney Almroth points out.

– In order to supply the negotiators with scientific facts, in 2022 a number of scientists formed the network The Scientists’ Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty. I was one of the founders and I’m also on the steering committee. About sixty colleagues from the coalition participated as observers in Ottawa to assist with robust and unbiased research, not influenced by any conflicts of interest.

IN ADDITION TO negotiators from 175 countries, representatives of several rights organizations were also represented, such as the Indigenous Peoples Caucus.

But 196 lobbyists for the fossil fuel and chemical industry were also there, and some even participated during the negotiations. – The lobbyists were extremely assertive and aggressive. For instance, they had put up advertising posters all around Ottawa about the blessings of plastics, they shouted and disrupted the meetings and spread incorrect and incomplete information. I myself was surrounded and scolded by a number of lobbyists.

Photo: TT

They accused me of incompetence, of not understanding science and of inducing fear in the public. Although suppression techniques do not work on me, two of my PhD students, who were attending a side event, felt so threatened that they eventually called for help. Not only the researchers, but also representatives of indigenous peoples and waste-pickers were harassed, says Bethanie Carney Almroth.

– ACCESS TO KNOWLEDGE and information is a human right, as is clean, healthy and sustainable nature. When scientists are prevented from giving information about scientific facts or when vulnerable groups are being discredited because they testify about environmental destruction, that is extremely serious. I have now sent a report about the harassment to the UN and am also in further discussions with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). What the plastics industry wants is to influence the treaty so that it is not about reduced production, but instead about recycling, and in many cases about investments in unreliable

solutions, says Bethanie Carney Almroth.

– But research shows that it is the production of plastics that must be reduced, and that recycling is not so simple, partly because plastics consist of so many different chemicals. The industry, of course, wants to make money. But for society, the cost of the environmental destruction caused by plastic emissions, for example healthcare and lost ecosystem services, is higher than what the industry earns. Plastic production at today’s levels, which the industry wants to triple in coming years, is neither environmentally nor economically sustainable.

Several members of The Scientists’ Coalition will now work to limit the influence of industry lobbying organizations at the INC’s final meeting in November. At the same time, Bethanie Carney Almroth works towards having more universities and academic institutions accredited by UNEP.

– SO FAR, ONLY about twenty of the world's universities can contribute with their knowledge at UNEP meetings, but more app -

»But for society, the cost of the environ_mental destruction caused by plastic emissions, for example healthcare and lost ecosystem services, is higher than what the industry earns.«

Bethanie Carney Almroth

– Microplastics are everywhere, says Bethanie Carney Almroth.

rovals are on the way. Of course, I hope GU will also seek accreditation and thereby increase the opportunity for our researchers to share their results directly with decision-makers working on a global level.

Text: Eva Lundgren

Photo: Johan Wingborg

→ Facts: In the spring of 2022, the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) created a committee, the United Nations Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (ICN), to negotiate a global agreement against plastic pollution. The ICN had its first meeting in Punte del Este (Uruguay) in November 2022. Since then, meetings have been held in Paris (France), Nairobi (Kenya), and most recently in Ottawa (Canada). A final meeting, when a decision on a binding agreement must be made, will be held in November in Busan (South Korea).

The Scientists’ Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty is a network of independent scientific and technical experts who want to contribute to an effective, global treaty, based on robust scientific knowledge and the precautionary principle. The network consists of approximately 350 researchers from 60 countries, including Bethanie Carney Almroth, professor of Ecotoxicology, who is one of three researchers coordinating the coalition’s work.

The coalition calls on the member states to work for the fifth INC meeting to:

- ambitious global and national goals for reduced plastic production

- criteria for assessing the importance, safety and sustainability of plastic chemicals over the entire life cycle of the plastics.

- scientific and political collaboration for handling conflicts of interest with representation from affected groups.

Twenty years with QoG

20 years ago, corruption was not a hot research topic. Today, corruption and the quality of societal organisations are very much topical fields within social and political science. One important reason is the Quality of Government Institute (QoGinstitute). Now they are celebrating their 20th anniversary.

THE QOG-INSTITUTE was founded in 2004 by Bo Rothstein and Sören Holmberg, both professors of Political Science. At the time, corruption was not something that academia spent much energy on, and to point out the corruption in developing countries was even considered somewhat uncouth.

But the fact that aid does not always reach those that the money is intended to help is not news to those who work in developing countries, says Aksel Sundström, Associate Professor in Political Science and Research Supervisor at QoG Data.

– TODAY, IT IS MORE natural to be able to identify such short-comings. Together with a number of colleagues I have just published a report on corruption in connection with climate efforts which is based on analyses of data from 200 international studies. It shows, for example, that climate aid can sometimes contribute to corruption rather than reducing it. Money intended for wind power plants end up in the pockets of mafia organisations, grants for hiring security guards at national parks go to “ghost guards”, i.e. employment of people that do not exist. It is

at the local level that corruption is often difficult to get to, as people are dependent on one another and anyone trying to oppose can end up in serious trouble.

CURRENTLY, THERE are around thirty researchers at the QoG Institute that are interested in a number of issues that concern governance and administration, not just corruption.

One important foundation for the institute’s many research projects are the six databases, primarily the flagship, QoG Standard Dataset, Aksel Sundström explains.

– The databases are free and open to anyone. You can select a certain time period or a specific country and download information on health, environment, social welfare, election system, poverty, corruption and all kinds of things. There is also a visualisation tool that can filter and process the information according to the user’s needs.

USING THE DATABASES , the researchers at the GoQ Institute have produced several prominent studies. For example, they have shown that countries with more equality and more women in executive positions are less corrupt

than unequal societies, Aksel Sundström says.

– This may have many causes, such as corrupt societies often being governed by closed networks, preventing outsiders from getting in. When women enter politics, these networks start eroding. And local communities also seem to benefit from equality. One such example is France, where female mayors often make fairer procurements than their male counterparts.

OTHER RESEARCH AT the institute has shown the importance of interpersonal trust for a well-functioning society, that the quality of a country’s drinking water is often correlated with the degree of corruption, and that people in corrupt societies are quite reluctant to back climate-supporting interventions such as climate taxes.

– One project that I am involved in concerns corruption on the municipal level. Usually you investigate whole countries, but then you miss the regional differences that may be considerable.

Together with Professor Lena Wängnerud Aksel Sundström is also involved in a project about “sextortion” or put differently, corruption where the goods are not money.

– It may be civil servants that compel people to provide sexual favours in order to get their passport or a business transaction where sex workers are part of the settlement. Sextortion is often associated with schools. A teacher can for example demand sexual favours in exchange for better grades. But it can also be about explaining away the success of female students by claiming that it is due to alleged sexual favours

rather than skill alone.

So what can you do to counter corruption? There are no simple answers, Aksel Sundström argues.

– BUT A FREE MEDIA that has the courage to draw attention to improprieties and hold the powers that be accountable is one important piece of the puzzle. Another important part is whistleblowers. Icelander Jóhannes Stefánsson is an interesting example. He

»But a free media that has the courage to draw attention to improprieties and hold the powers that be accountable is one important piece of the puzzle.« Aksel Sundström

uncovered corruption in the fishing industry in Namibia and later received the Gothenburg Sustainability Award.

The QoG Institute celebrated its 20th anniversary with a conference on May 20–22 called 20 Years of the Quality of Government Research: taking stock and moving forward conference.

–Some twenty years ago, corruption was not a big issue within science, says Aksel Sundström.

Text: Eva Lundgren Photo: Johan Wingborg

Political Science –equal and with high quality

In 20 years, the Department of Political Science has evolved from having one single female professor to a share of 46 percent women professors.

This evolution coincided with a considerable improvement in quality: for the fourth year running the University of Gothenburg’s political scientists are ranked number one among political science departments in Sweden, according to the latest Shanghai ranking.

THE FACT THAT THE Department of Political Science has done so well in terms of equality is due to intentional efforts, explains Lena Wängnerud, Professor of Political Science.

– It is difficult to picture how male-dominated the department was when I started as a doctoral student in 1991. There was only one female doctor, for example.

In 1996, the department conducted a survey to find out how many students, doctoral students, associate professors and professors were women. The survey was conducted at the department itself as well as on a national level through the Swedish Political Science Association.

After the introduction of the promotional reform in 1999, which enabled a senior lecturer to apply for promotion to professor, the political scientists also conducted a survey which concluded that it takes longer for women

than men to get promoted.

– By raising awareness about the situation, the interest in doing something about it also increased, such as taking longer to consider who you collaborate with and invite to the discourse. The department also launched a mentor programme for anyone wanting to become an associate professor or professor. One important aspect was that the programme was aimed at everyone, not only women, which usually achieves better results than identifying a particular group as being in need of support.

ANN TOWNS, Professor of Political Science, argues that a meritocracy will benefit women.

– Focusing on openness and transparency, as the Department of Political Science does, attracts the best applicants. But another important aspect is the culture at the Department of Political Science, with networks that include both men and women and where tasks, including the very important “academic chores”, is something that everyone carries out. In addition, there is a generous attitude in general where the joy of a colleague’s success is shared by all.

THE DEPARTMENT’S gender research is integrated with all the other research, Lena Wängnerud points out.

– Each year we have a oneday conference where those of us involved in gender research get to meet, but otherwise the

»One important aspect was that the programme was aimed at everyone, not only women, which usually achieves better results than identifying a particular group as being in need of support.«

Lena Wängnerud

gender dimension integrated in all our research. I think this is more successful that a separate gender track.

The Department of Political Science got its first female professor in 2004. Currently, the department has 26 professors, of whom 12 are women, explains Bo Rothstein, Professor of Political Science.

– NEXT YEAR, five of my male colleagues will retire, which should lead to a majority of women professors. It is important to stress that this development took place without a trace of quotas or similar shortcuts.

As equality improved, the department has also developed strongly in terms of quality, Bo Rothstein points out.

– Since the Shanghai ranking was started around ten years ago, the department has climbed from position 50–75 to number 16 globally. So, we are ranked more highly than more famous universities such as Duke University, Exeter University, MIT, Cornell University, UCLA and Paris’s Science Po. In Sweden, we are ranked number one and in Europe, number five. Our department is of course only one example, but it still shows that equality can be achieved without quotas, and also be combined with a considerable improvement in quality.

Text: Eva Lundgren

Photo: Johan Wingborg

New Professor’s chair in honour of the queen

Queen Silvia’s Chair in Global Children’s and Adolescents’ Health specialising in mental health is the working title of a new venture at the University of Gothenburg. It was initiated and made possible through a donation of 20 million krona by industrialist Carl Bennet. The launch will coincide with scientific conference as well as a round-table talk in the university’s main building, attended by the queen.

THE DONATION IS Carl Bennet’s gift to the queen in connection with her 80th birthday last year. For some time no, a group has been working on advertising and appointing someone to this chair, says Deputy Vice-Chancellor Max Petzold.

– The committee will primarily be part of the drafting and dissemination of the advert, and of identifying relevant experts. We are looking widely for a suitable individual and will therefore not designate a faculty in the advert; the professor-to-be may come from the healthcare sector but also from some other field, such as economics of social science.

This means that the university management is also working on the matter of which faculties may be interested in accepting the chair, while HR are dealing with more practical matters.

Besides scientific qualities, the applying professor should also be an outgoing person and will act as an ambassador

»The round-table discussion, with royal participation, is intended to be a recurring event here in Gothenburg.«

Max Petzold

for global issues concerning the mental health of children and adolescents, Max Petzold explains.

– We would like someone who can promote these issues internationally; one aspect highlighted by the WHO is traumatised children who have seen war and other disasters. But the local perspective is also important; the chair is at the University of Gothenburg and the professor must also be engaging with the city and the region.

ANOTHER TASK for the committee is to secure future financing for the new chair.

– Carl Bennet’s generous donation is intended to finance the over a ten-year period. Together with the City

of Gothenburg and the Västra Götaland Region we hope to be able to find additional donors in order to secure the chair for the future.

WHILE WORKING on the advert for the professorship the group is also involved in planning an international conference that will be held on October 11 on the topic of Children’s and Adolescents’ Mental Health, Max Petzold tells us.

– The conference will open with the charitable foundation, Wellcome Trust, presenting their operations. The foundation is investing as much as 15 billion krona over the next ten years in research on mental health. Now, they wish to encourage Swedish researchers to apply for funding. This will be followed by a regular conference with different sessions.

On October 10, the idea is that the conference will be preceded by a very special round-table discussion in Vasaparken.

– There will be several pro -

minent international guests attending, as well as a number of regional representatives from Queen Silvia’s Children’s Hospital, schools and other organisations that work with children and adolescents. But the queen is also expected to participate in the conversation. The intention is for the issues that are brought up there will be elaborated on during the subsequent conference. The round-table discussion, with royal participation, is intended to be a recurring event here in Gothenburg.

Text: Eva Lundgren Photo: Johan Wingborg

→ Facts: Queen Silvia’s Chair in Global Children’s and Adolescents’ Health specialising in mental health is based on a donation of SEK 20 million by Carl Bennet, industrialist and former chairman of the University of Gothenburg board (2007-2013). The professorship is to be appointed in the spring of 2025. On October 10, designated by the WHO as World Mental Health Day, a round-table discussion will be held in the university’s main building, with the participation of the queen, among others. The round-table discussion, with royal participation, is intended to recur annually.

On October 11, a conference on children’s and young people’s mental health is to be arranged with the participation of the charitable foundation Wellcome Trust. A group, with representatives from different parts of the university, works with the professorship and the conference. The group is led by Vice-Chancellor Max Petzold who in the autumn will be succeeded by Per Cramér.

Visiting guests' best friend

When Birgitta Karlén was employed as the manager of the Welcome Services in 2009, she was tasked with improving the reception of international visitors to the university.

Since then, the Welcome Services has developed into supporting most things that an international employee or student may require.

Now, Birgitta Karlén will be retiring.

BIRGITTA KARLÉN trained as a teacher in Swedish and English, and subsequently worked on EU projects within culture tourism and with Astrid Lindgren’s 100th anniversary in Vimmerby, as well as with the Comenius programme for Linköping University before coming to the University of Gothenburg.

– Our university already offered some support to international guests, such as housing for visiting researchers, international events at Ågrenska Villan, as well as a handbook, which I later re-edited into the leaflet, Guide for visiting staff. But as the international contacts kept growing, the university realised the importance of creating a support centre for the departments.

In the spring of 2010, Welcome Services arranged a meeting the Jonsered Manor with some of the departments that had expe-

rience of receiving international guests.

– WE FORMED a network where those of us who worked at the centre obtained information about what was going on at the departments. The network, or “Guestwork” as we call it, currently comprise around 250 employees who work in various ways on recruiting and receiving international staff members.

We have invited representatives from the Migration Agency, the Tax Agency and Försäkringskassan (the Social Insurance Agency) who were given an opportunity to talk about their operations and answer questions.

In 2010, the university joined EURAXESS, a European network aimed at facilitating researcher mobility and promoting career development, says Birgitta Karlén.

– TOGETHER WITH Lund University and the Karolinska Institute we were rather unique in the network in providing practical support to international researchers. We met with one another and talked about how we worked, and the University of Gothenburg was also visited by several other universities who wanted to learn. For a long time, we were pioneers, but more and more universities have now organised their receiving of in-

»Together with Lund University and the Karolinska Institute we were rather unique in the network in providing practical support to international researchers.«

Birgitta Karlén

ternational staff in various ways. A little over 30 Swedish universities are now part of EURAXESS and I was the project manager for the Swedish network up until last year.

In 2015, Welcome Services adopted its new name. Besides purely practical help with housing, contacts with authorities, information about Sweden and support for any accompanying families, the Welcome Services also arrange an international evening each semester, as well as an international café each month in collaboration with Chalmers, Birgitta Karlén explains.

– WE HAVE A SERIES of seminars as well, on different themes, for example on what it is like to live and work in Sweden and how to

survive the Swedish winter. But the most appreciated activity is probably the annual excursion to the Tjärnö Marine Laboratory. Many visiting researchers do not have time to see much of Sweden and mostly go to and from work; getting to see the beautiful nature of northern Bohuslän is a wonderful experience for them.

FOR SOME TIME , universities have been able to provide housing to exchange students and visiting researchers.

– From January 1, 2023, a new regulation is in effect that also enables us to lease to fee-paying students, doctoral students and new researchers just starting their careers. We help senior researchers find housing in other ways.

Over the years, the Welcome

Services has worked closely with Human Resources, the International Centre and the Grants and Innovation Office, in addition to the departments of course, Birgitta Karlén tells us.

– We have a good team at the Welcome Services where I have also worked closely with Section Manager Karin Hellqvist over the years, to develop our own operations as well as those of EURAXESS Sweden. And to get to meet visiting researchers, doctoral students and students from all over the world has been very interesting.

→About the Welcome Services: The Welcome Services collaborate with departments in receiving international researchers, staff members, doctoral students and students in providing them with housing and information to ensure they have a good start to their stay in Sweden.

Among other things, they provide a comprehensive welcome programme to international students, participate in the introduction to international doctoral students, researchers and staff members by holding short information sessions and sending out welcome letters and newsletters. Throughout the semester, they arrange seminars, social events and activities.

More information can be found at the Staff Portal.

Text: Eva Lundgren Photo: Johan Wingborg

Birgitta Karlén has worked at GU with international guests since 2009.

Protecting the green ocean

We are on a boat outside Lilla Askerön between Orust and Tjörn. We are here to look at an eelgrass plantation made three years ago by the Zorro research programme. But what the research supervisor Per-Olav Moksnes and doctoral student Johan Severinson bring up from the seabed is something different: Large sausages of gravel, with a large number of mussels wedged in the gravel. →

Text: Eva Lundgren Photo: Johan Wingborg

n the spring of 2021, the Zorro research programme spread 1,800 tons of sand and gravel across a one-hectare area in a small bay outside Lilla Askerön. Then they planted 80,000 cuttings of eelgrass. When the research team returned to the site that autumn it turned out that not only had the eelgrass managed, but had increased tenfold, says Per-Olav Moksnes, Professor of Marine Ecology.

– This was of course a very good result. But on around a quarter of the seabed the eelgrass had disappeared, leaving only sand and gravel. Last spring we discovered something unexpected. In the gravel on this surface, we found a large amount of juvenile sea mussels, whose propagation elsewhere had decreased dramatically in soft-bottom seabed along the West Coast. An increase in small predators like green crabs that eat the juvenile mussels is thought to be an important explanation. In order to investigate if the gravel perhaps protects the mussels, we laid down a number of mussels three weeks ago that we placed on lines, both in the area with a gravel seabed, as well as in an area with clay.

The sausages are soon collected in a number of nets that Per-Olav Moksnes and Johan Severinson throw up into the boat. On the boat are Louise Eriander, research engineer at Zorro, and Patrik Magnestam, employee of “8 fjordar” (8 fiords), a partnership project around coastal management between five municipalities in the Bohuslän province. They immediately start to scrape off the gravel to be able to measure and count the mussels. So the theory about gravel as mussel protection seems to be correct, Per-Olav Moksnes argues.

– If so, it would be an example of one of the most fun aspects of research: while you are investigating one particular phenomenon you happen upon something else that seems interesting. Suddenly you have a whole new research project going, and a potential restoration method for mussels that was never the intention initially!

It was 2010 when Per-Olav Moksnes, in collaboration with Lena Gipperth, Professor of Environmental Law, started the Zorro Research Programme. The reason was that eelgrass had become increasingly rare along our coasts and that it requires expertise from more than one scientific discipline to find solutions. Zorro involves partnering across several fields, recently involving marine ecologists, environmental lawyers and environmental economists.

– Eelgrass is a plant that spends its entire life below the surface. Globally there are around 60 species, so it is a small group. On the other hand, it is widespread, and grow at all the coasts of the world, except at the Antarctic.

But along the coast of Bohuslän, eelgrass growth has diminished dramatically in many places, primarily in the southern parts from the Hake Fjord down to Gothenburg. We do not know precisely when it happened, but probably in the 1990s, Per-Olav Moksnes explains.

– Compared to plants on land we generally have a poor understanding of what is happening to sea vegetation, so nobody noticed when the eelgrass disappeared. Today, however, intensive work is ongoing with surveying and monitoring of eelgrass propagation using drones, so the situation has improved.

»Suddenly you have a whole new research project going, and a potential restoration method for mussels that was never the intention initially!«

PER-OLAV MOKSNES

Eelgrass meadows play an important role in coastal ecosystems by creating a habitat for several different fish species and invertebrates, which lead to better biodiversity. It is also important to humans, such as by keeping the water clear.

– The causes behind eelgrass diminishing are numerous, but it is primarily due to eutrophication and overfishing of larger fish such as cod. It has had a cascade effect: if the larger fish disappear small fish will profligate; they will eat small crabs that would otherwise have grazed on algae; this leads to fine-threaded algae covering the eelgrass, blocking the sunlight; then the eelgrass will start dying, which leads to murkier water that is even more difficult for sunlight to penetrate. Eelgrass is also an important nursery for larger predatory fish, leading to even fewer cod and other larger fish, and even more small fish.

In addition, eelgrass is important from a climate perspective. The several meter deep organic sediment beneath the eelgrass meadows store carbon and nitrogen, which risk being transformed to greenhouse gases if they are disturbed.

The project at Lilla Askerön is a successful example of eelgrass planting. But even less successful attempts may be valuable, Per-Olav Moksnes argues.

– In collaboration with the County Administrative Board, in 2020 Zorro carried out a large-scale eelgrass restoration in two bays at Sydkoster. Despite good water quality, the restoration unexpectedly failed. Subsequent studies showed that large amounts of green

crabs had torn the plantation to pieces. Naturally this was sad, but the outcome gave us new knowledge about how the loss of large predatory fish and unnaturally high numbers of their prey, the green crab, can cause unexpected problems for the vegetation. It helped us to better understand the causes behind the diminished eelgrass around the Koster Islands, and to develop new planting methods that work where there are plenty of crabs, which is an important result.

Per-Olav Moksnes has been interested in the sea since he was 5–6 years old, according to his parents. It may seem a little odd, considering that he grew up in Örebro.

– But surprisingly many marine biologists in fact stem from Örebro – if you live in a landlocked town the longing for the sea can be overwhelming. As a young boy I was fascinated by Jacques Cousteau’s underwater films and I wanted to explore the sea, just like he did. But that was nothing that you could make a living from, was the opinion at the time.

After upper-secondary school he planned to study international economics but thought that he needed to improve his French.

– So I went to Paris and got a job in a restaurant. In a bookstore, I found an amazing book about European fish which I bought, even though I couldn’t really afford it. It made me think about studying something about marine life after all. In 1988, when Sweden was hit by both killer algae and seal death, oceanography suddenly became an important topic. So, I went to Gothenburg to study marine biology.

Per-Olav Moksnes has primarily spent his time on basic research. But in 2009, when he started working part-time as an environmental analyst at the Swedish Institute for the Marine Environment, he realised the importance of research benefiting society.

– Since then, Lena Gipperth and myself have collaborated on cross-disciplinary education. For example, in 2015 we were part of starting a paired-doctor academy, which meant that doctoral students from different disciplines are paired together.

They were also involved in starting the international master’s programme Sea and society, which combines natural and social sciences, coordinated by Per-Olav Moksnes.

– The programme currently has more than 90 teachers from five faculties, as well as various public authorities and companies.

This survey of eelgrass and mussels outside Lilla Askerön is now completed.

– When Zorro started its operation almost 15 years ago eelgrass was not something that people in general

were aware of; they knew that coral reefs and mangrove forests were threatened, but eelgrass? Today, I no longer need to explain myself when I tell people that I do research on eelgrass. On the contrary, people think that I am doing something really important. But for me personally research is about more than solely science; to be able to snorkel on a beautiful May morning among the green eelgrass meadows with the sun gleaming through the leaves, that is a wonderful experience.

PER-OLAV MOKSNES

About: New professor of marine ecology.

Currently involved in: The crossdisciplinary research programme, Zorro. Among the many publications bfrom the programme we find Handbok för restaurering av ålgräs i Sverige (Manual for restoring eelgrass in Sweden), written by Per-Olav Moksnes, Lena Gipperth, Louise Eriander, Kristjan Laas, Scott Cole and Eduardo Infantes.

Family: Wife and two children.

Lives in: Partille.

Hobbies: Angling, cooking as well as walking and mushroom foraging in the forest with his dog.

Watch the movie about eelgrass here: www.gu.se/moksnes.

Digital twin as environmental help

How do you build a residential area that is sustainable from both an ecological and economic perspective? In order to answer this question a number of factors need to be considered, such as the species present on site and what the landscape is like.

Now, there is a project where different options can be studied using digital twins.

The Ecotwin project is about combining ecological and economic sustainability by simulating a landscape, subjecting it to different scenarios and seeing what happens. For example, how many seals can you hunt in a certain area without the seal population collapsing? Is it better for the ecological balance to fell the western part of a forest than the eastern? And where should a dam be located in order to minimise its impact on its surrounding nature?

– The market already offers several ecosystem simulators, explains project manager Claes Strannegård, Professor of Cognitive Science. But these models are often based on writing code by hand, a very arduous job. And the models also very often lack two important components: a model for what the local geography looks like as well as animals that behave naturally. In Ecotwin we investigate whether you can create more powerful and easy-to-use models by using machine learning.

Using the Unity game engine, Ecotwin has created a 3D model of, say, Lilla Amundön (Little Amund Island) based on geographical and topological data. Subsequently, trees, grass, and dandelions were added.

– The purpose of the plants is to provide nutrients and water to the animals populating the model, such as foxes and hares. They replicate real animals as they have the ability to reproduce and die, for example by being eaten, starving or dying of old age. But their behaviour is also realistic; by using so-called deep reinforcement learning, they are trained using rewards to keep on living.

Aside from Lilla Amundön, Claes Strannegård’s team have made ecosystem models of two places outside Venice, one by the Venetian Lagoon and another up in the mountains.

– The lagoon contains the invasive blue crab species which is very aggressive and eats copious amounts of the lagoon’s mussels. We have created models where we investigated how different interventions to reduce the blue crab population would impact the ecosystem as a whole.

The models in Ecotwin can be created on a micro, meso and macro level.

– We are able to investigate everything from how an individual fish can survive under certain conditions, such as the consequences of an entire species of fish being eradicated in the North Sea. We can study what will happen ten years after a certain forest has been felled and replanted and compare it with the part that was left intact. AI-based ecosystem models

»At the moment, the new discipline of machine psychology is being developed.« CLAES STRANNEGÅRD

will revolutionise the technology and provide vastly better data for decision makers.

The use of AI becoming increasingly common within everything from medicine to traffic planning is a very positive development, but also disconcerting, Claes Strannegård argues.

– Evolution has not prepared us for the

systemic threats that an excessive trust in AI can lead to. Disinformation is becoming ever more difficult to detect. Alternative game settings create mental ill health, and if decisions are solely based on information from chatbots it will probably not work out very well. At the moment, the new discipline of machine psychology is being developed, where researchers conduct experiments to learn about the behaviour of machines. Because even though we are using AI in our day-to-day work, we do not know very much about who dwells in there.

Humans today constitute around 34 percent of the total biomass of mammals on the planet, while our pets and the animals

we breed comprise 62 percent, Claes Strannegård says.

– The remaining 4 percent are other wild mammals, everything from whales to mice. Biodiversity has an inherent value but is also indispensable to human life. In order to turn around the trend of diminishing biodiversity we need powerful tools that can be used during planning to analyse the ecological as well as the economic consequences of various actions. That is where we hope Ecotwin can do some good.

About Ecotwin: The Ecotwin ecosystem simulator is based on the Unity game engine and AI. The aim of the simulator is to provide data for decisions concerning ecosystem impact and biodiversity. Claes Strannegård, Professor of Cognitive Science, is the project manager.

Find out more: https://www.ecotwin.se/.

Watch the film about Ecotwin here: www.gu.se/strannegard

Text: Eva Lundgren Photo: Johan Wingborg

– AI-based ecosystem models will provide vastly better data for decision makers, says Claes Strannegård.

Constant search for funding

Researchers and teachers in Sweden spend about 10 percent of their working time applying for external funding, according to a report from the Swedish Research Council. Around 15-20 percent of the applications are granted Is it a good system that sifts through the very best projects? Or is it rather a gigantic waste of time and resources?

GU Journal has spoken to five researchers. →

Text: Eva Lundgren Photo: Johan Wingborg Illustration: Lars Lanhed

Research as a way of living

Constant stress, uncertain conditions and unpaid work over weekends – being a researcher is a lifestyle rather than a profession.

This is what Ingrid Wernstedt Asterholm argues, who despite it all struggles on while her colleague Charlotta Olofsson chose a different career path.

March–June is the most stressful period. That is when applications must be filed with the Swedish Research Council, the Swedish Heart Lung Foundation, ALF and the Swedish Cancer Society. Ingrid Wernstedt Asterholm, Professor of Physiology explains.

– Many applications are extensive and require months of work. However, not everything is stress and anxiety, it is also fun to develop new ideas and projects, but pressure grows as you are nearing the deadline. And if you do get the funding you are overjoyed. But most probably your application will be denied, and you will just have to keep trying. Grant decisions cannot be appealed. But the state

financiers will provide feedback, so you can write a better application next time, something that private financiers do not tend to do.

Applying for research funding is not solely about trying to realise your ideas.

– You are often also responsible for a couple of post-docs and doctoral students. The doctoral students are guaranteed to complete their post-graduate education, regardless of what happens to the project they are working on. But post-docs with no funding of their own lack that safety net, and as their research supervisor you can easily feel quite a lot of anxiety about the constant pressure to raise money for the team’s salaries.

Charlotta Olofsson previously was a diabetes researcher, but since 2021 she is a research advisor at the Department for Research Support at Sahlgrenska Academy.

– Even though I was passionate about my research, in the end it was not worth the constant uncertainty and stress. Instead, I am now supporting other researchers with their applications. It is also a lot of fun, and hopefully I can facilitate

matters for them and reduce their application stress.

The chances of receiving grants vary wildly depending on the financier, the discipline and the funding that you apply for. At the Swedish Research Council, the degree of grants for project applications within medicine and health are quite decent, around 25 percent, says Charlotta Olofsson.

– And several private foundations also support research, the largest of is the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation. But many financiers are smaller, with varying degrees of funding being granted, and it is also frequently fairly small amounts, which we are still happy to receive of course. But those financiers are not required to be open about their processes. This means that a researcher that has received funding for many years suddenly may not get any, because the reviewers were replaced or for some other reasons. Understandably, not being told why your application was denied can feel quite frustrating.

– One important difference between Sweden and several other countries, such

Charlotta Olofsson and Ingrid Wernstedt Asterholm.

as Denmark, Norway and Switzerland, is that the core funding is lower in Sweden. For this reason, Swedish researchers need to spend more time on applying for funding from several different financiers, as it is not possible to do much research without external funding.

Something that has become more important over the past few years is that the applications must be clear and lucid, says Charlotta Olofsson.

– The layout has become more important; the applications will be read by other researchers who are themselves working against the clock, so it is important that they understand from page one what the project is about. But the fact that an easy-to-understand and lucid application has a greater chance of success than one that gives a sloppy impression does not mean that you have to tweak the colour of headings and text boxes in order for everything to look good – what is essential is clarity. At the Department for Research Support, we help the researchers at Sahlgrenska Academy by providing feedback on their applications and giving advice on how they can best present their project.

Ingrid Wernstedt Asterholm has personal experience of assessing applications to the Swedish Research Council.

– Every reviewer sit in their room reading maybe 40 applications, most of which are well written and interesting. In the beginning I am full of enthusiasm for all the interesting ideas, then I realise that I need to be critical instead and find reasons for denying them. The Research Council uses a seven-point scale and normally, a six is required for eligibility for a grant. When the reviewers eventually meet for a decision, you need to be able to explain why you have ranked one project higher than another, which is also very good.

One interesting assessment model that has been tested in Germany is to first screen for the very best projects, that obviously should be financed, says Charlotta Olofsson.

– But instead of trying to assess the intermediate level projects, you just draw lots. Some projects receive funding this year, others maybe next year. Research shows that drawing lots can save both time and money, and also that the review process will be fairer and more impartial. This model could work just as well as the

one we use today, I would argue, but our Swedish financiers so far seem uninterested.

How to manage overheads is a recurring problem, Ingrid Wernstedt Asterholm tells us.

– A foundation may grant 10 percent for overheads, which means that the department must contribute the remainder, which they may be unwilling or unable to do. Researchers are extremely creative when it comes to scraping together funds for overheads anyway, but sometimes it is not possible and you have to refrain from applying. This also creates stress, but it ought to possible to solve this problem.

– We need to get the financiers to understand what the overheads are for. If the financiers and their donors realise that it is not just a big black hole, they may be more willing to accept adding a little more.

So, how could the system for financing be improved? Of course, it would be good if we had higher core funding, Charlotta Olofsson argues.

– But there are actually things that can be done that do not need to cost anything. For example, all state financiers could use the same system for applications, so that the researcher do not have to spend time on familiarising themself with a large number of procedures and rewriting their applications in different formats. The ethical review can also be made simpler; once you have been approved by the Ethical Review Authority you should not have to explain your ethical considerations again. In Germany and Austria, for example, they do not have specific application periods, instead reviewers look at the applications as they arrive – whether this is a better system, I do not know, but there are several models that may be worth testing.

Charlotta Olofsson has spent more than 20 years in research.

– Despite all the stress, it is still amazing to have the opportunity to develop your project ideas and be part of generating new knowledge.

Ingrid Wernstedt Asterholm argues that she has the most interesting job in the world.

– The creative process and the feeling of breaking new ground never gets boring. That is why it so important to me to succeed with my applications.

About funding: The largest state financiers of research are Formas, Forte, the Swedish Research Council (VR) and Vinnova. Other authorities also fund research and innovation, such as the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB), the Environmental Protection Agency, the Swedish National Space Agency, the Swedish Energy Agency, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and the Swedish Transport Administration.

Sweden also has a number of private financiers of research. The Wallenberg foundations comprise 16 foundations where the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (KAW) is the largest: IN 2023 KAW invested 2.2 billion krona in research. Other major financiers include the Swedish Cancer Society, the Swedish Heart Lung Foundation and Riksbankens Jubileumsfond.

The European Union also finances research, such as Horisont Europa, with a budget of over 95 billion euro for the period 2021–2027.

According to VR’s Research Barometer 2023, associate senior lecturers and research assistants spend 11 percent of their time at work on applying for R&D funding, while the figure for professors and researchers is 9 percent. However, several researchers that the GU Journal have spoken to point out that those figures seem very low.

In 2023 VR processed 5,684 applications, of which 1,052 were granted, to the amount of a little over 5 billion krona over the next few years.

VR’s degree of funding grants for different scientific fields in 2023:

Humanities and the arts: 14 percent

Medicine and health science: 21 percent

Science: 22 percent

Social science: 14 percent

Source: Statistics 2023 - Vetenskapsrådet (vr.se)områden 2023:

Per Sunnerhagen and Åsa Sjöling.

Want a balance between pressure and safety

Careful scientific review, strict disqualification rules and transparency are some success factors for the Swedish system of funding research.

– The balance between being under pressure and feeling safe is not perfect, but it is hard to come up with something better, say Per Sunnerhagen and Åsa Sjöling at the Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology.

Most research applications are denied. But this does not necessarily mean that the work is in vain, since an application, after some reworking, can often be refiled, explains Per Sunnerhagen, Professor of Molecular Biology.

– I may apply for funding from twelve different financiers but I do not have twelve different projects of course, perhaps only one or two. Everyone does it this way, because you know that you will never get full funding.

»I may apply for funding from twelve different financiers but I do not have twelve different projects of course, perhaps only one or two.«

PER SUNNERHAGEN

Springtime is the most intense month for applications, which also happens to coincide with the most intense teaching period, explains Åsa Sjöling, Professor of Prokaryotic Microbiology.

– It means a lot of work on evenings and weekends. How many of my applications are granted is difficult to say, but perhaps 20–30 percent.

Anyone who already received a major grant will have better chances of receiving additional funding. This is the meaning of the so-called Matthew Principle: “For to everyone who has will more be given”.

– The question is what the marginal effect is if an already well-funded project receives an additional million, Per Sunnerhagen points out. In some instances the financier needs to be restrictive, perhaps the money could provide more benefit somewhere else.

How much of the research funding that can subsequently be used for purchasing or for hiring new employees will vary between universities, says Åsa Sjöling. She was previously employed by Karolinska Institute (KI), which has low overhead costs, around 20–23 percent. But the money must cover a lot, including your own salary and rent for premises for each researcher.

– Sometimes they talk about “research hotels” but a previous colleague argues that KI instead is “research hostel”. Everyone is constantly applying for external funding, such as for financing their own salary. There are people who have worked at KI for more than 20 years and still work under conditions that are as uncertain as when they started, which must be extremely stressful. The advantage of

KI’s system is that they can hire more researchers. But I am happy to have moved to Gothenburg even if my overheads are higher.

All systems for allocation of research funds have their pros and cons, Per Sunnerhagen argues.

– For example, in Sweden doctoral students fare much better than in many other countries, as they are employed and guaranteed to complete their post-graduate education even if the project they are working on loses its funding. This can be compared to Denmark’s flexicurity system: if the external funding is lost, the post-graduate education is suspended and the doctoral student has to wait for new funding, if it ever materialises.

Besides applying for funding for their own projects, researchers also review other people’s ideas, so called peer review, Per Sunnerhagen explains.

– The Research Council has a very good system in place – transparent and with strict disqualification rules – which are also used by the Swedish Cancer society. First, each reviewer will read the applications received and grade them. Then all reviewers come together in an executive meeting, and surprisingly often they are in agreement.

Most applications are very good, Åsa Sjöling points out.

– It can feel heartbreaking to turn down a really interesting project and the applicant often wonders what they did wrong. It is frequently just a case of the other ideas being a little better this time.

Reviewing maybe 50–100 applications involves at least one month’s worth of work, says Per Sunnerhagen.

– You do it to contribute to the peer-review system. But even if it can be quite taxing, the review work is also very instructive. You get new insights and ideas that you may not have considered before.

As a reviewer you also learn how to write your own applications, Åsa Sjöling argues.

– For example, it is important to have a good structure where the objective is clear from the beginning. If the reviewer has to read through ten pages before having any idea of what the application is about, there is every chance that no money will be granted. So putting in a little extra effort to facilitate for the reviewer is something I recommend!

Text:

Eva Lundgren Photo: Johan Wingborg

Small chances for funding within the humanities

– The chances of having an application granted within the humanities depend somewhat on your type of research. But in my experience, chances are very slim, says Anna Blennow, Associate Professor of Latin.

If you have an idea for a project that you think is competitive, you can spend endless amounts of time on filling out applications, says Anna Blennow.

– Application writing becomes a little project in itself, where you often have to have some interim results already completed in order to be able to indicate the project’s expected outcome and benefit. The problem is that university employee rarely have that time. If you work as a lecturer, teaching takes so much time that it is difficult to find continuous periods for writing. For this reason, it is important that departments are able to regularly provide extra funding so that employees can get a few weeks for working on applications.

The granting ratio within the humanities is low among major financiers. According to the Swedish Research Council the figure for humanities and the arts in 2023 was about 14 percent.

– With many financiers, the share of granted applications is even lower, perhaps 10 percent, argues Anna Blennow.

For someone with a position as a lecturer, a small part is included for internally financed research, at least in theory.

– But anyone who wants to initiate a larger project is entirely dependent on external funding. And someone with a pure research position must constantly replenish their funds with new external funding in order not to lose their job. And to some extent, the departments are also dependent on their employees attracting external funding, as it affects certain forms of other internal funds that the department can receive. But applying for external funding is also instructive – even if you do not get the grant, Anna Blennow explains. – Writing an application often helps you get a little further in your research, since so much must be in place when the application is filed. Grant opportunities are often not targeted, so you are free to formulate precisely the project you would wish to embark on. This is a good way of promoting research that is both unexpected and cutting edge.

– One gets a little further in ones research when applying for funding, says Anna Blennow.

Discovering Little London anew

If you follow a map of Real London to navigate Little London – what would happen?

You will get confused.

This was precisely what a number of participants in London, Little London – A Psychogeographic Walk experienced on a chilly spring evening in Gothenburg.

We have gathered at Gustaf Adolf’s square, around forty people who all signed up for the psychogeographic walk. Our guides are translator and author Erik Andersson and Simon Poole, Associate Professor at the University of Chester as well as Visiting Professor at the Department of Literature, History of Ideas and Religion. A map of London, on which two ways of getting from Brunnsparken to Järntorget have been outlined, is handed out to each participant while Simon Poole begins to explain two essential terms: psychogeography and dérive.

– French surrealist Guy Debord started developing psychogeography in the 1950s. It is about discovering hidden emotional and psychic dimensions in a city’s streets, buildings and public spaces.

This particular evening the walk has an objective, arriving at The Bishops Arms at Järntorget, as the idea is for the participants to eventually come together to talk about their experience. But the term dérive, or “drift”, is essential to psychogeography.

– The point is to walk around a place without heading in any particular direction, and instead let yourself be driven by whim and fancy. The very notion of accepting that you may get lost enables the wanderer to open themself up to

unexpected discoveries and insights that would otherwise have passed them by. The ideal is to stroll around in groups of two or three people so that the wanderers have others share their experience with. Perhaps someone might wonder why they have not noticed a certain building before, or why a certain place feels agreeable while another feels unpleasant? Different settings have different moods, which may be interesting to ponder.

The very act of walking is important, Simon Poole points out. It will not be the same to cycle around town for example.

– The walk is preferably undertaken at a slow pace so the wanderers have time to notice subtle details and nuances in their surroundings.

The link between art, science and psychogeography is a strong one, argues Simon Poole.

– Artists frequently use psychogeography as a way to draw inspiration from different structures, energies and stories that turn up during the walk. In the same way, researchers can use psychogeography in order to study how spatial shapes affect people’s behaviour or well-being for example.

One of the organisers of the city walk is the network One by walking, whose founder, literary scholar Camilla Brudin Borg, also joins us for the walk.

– When people talk about the importance of walking they often emphasise the health aspects. But within One by walking we explore the concept of walking as a way of researching and acquiring knowledge of the world. By moving aimlessly within an area and thus disrupting your day-to-day cognition, where you frequently only see what you already know, you learn a different way of relating to a place.

The psychogeographic school was part of modernity, which was about seeing the world anew, Camilla Brudin Borg explains.

– Within the network we work with different exercises to challenge our anthropocentric view of our existence, such as by walking slowly through a forest and exploring ways of showing consideration. This gives you an opportunity to experience nature with your entire body, instead of through sight alone, which is normally the dominating sense.

Psychogeography can also be a way of working with our cultural heritage.

– Certain constructions, such as churches, important buildings and monuments of different kinds, are of course part of our shared history – but so is a small forest path or a cottage.

As a literary scholar, Camilla Brudin Borg studies the written text. But written text on a page always creates a distance to the real world, she points out.

– For this reason I have tasked my students with roaming the city just to observe, as a complement to seminars and lectures.

Before Simon Poole releases the walkers on their evening stroll he reads the short poem The Path by Edward Thomas, which is about a forgotten path that like

silver winds its way down towards the sea. – When we eventually meet up again at Järntorget we can talk about the different paths that brought us there. Hopefully, you will even have had time to get a little lost.

About the walk: Simon Poole, Associate Professor of Cultural Education at the University of Chester as well as Visiting Professor at the University of Gothenburg, on April 24–26 April participated in

a three-day programme about walking. The walk London, Little London – A Psychogeographic Walk started from Gustav Adolf’s square, the rest of the event took place at the Jonsered Manor. Organisers were the network One by Walking, the Jonsered Manor and the Department of Literature, History of Ideas and Religion.

One By Walking is an interdisciplinary network that that gathers researchers

Rediscovering your own city is best done by foot.

from around the world. It was founded in 2020 with funding from Riksbankens Jubileumsfond and the Nordic Co-operation Committee for Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences (NOS-HS) and currently has more than 40 members. One by walking organises online seminars and joint “walkshops” where members work together to explore new research methodologies. The name is a paraphrase of the Nietzsche quote Nur beim Gehen gewonnene Idéen haben einen Wert (only ideas gained through walking have value).

You can join by contacting founder and Camilla Brudin Borg, Senior Lecturer in Literature.

Find out more on the website: https:// www.onebywalking.net.

Text: Eva Lundgren

Photo: Johan Wingborg

About the walk: Simon Poole, Associate Professor of Cultural Education at the University of Chester as well as Visiting Professor at the University of Gothenburg, on April 24–26 April participated in a three-day programme about walking. The walk London, Little London – A Psychogeographic Walk started from Gustav Adolf’s square, the rest of the event took place at the Jonsered Manor. Organisers were the network One by Walking, the Jonsered Manor and the Department of Literature, History of Ideas and Religion.

One By Walking is an interdisciplinary network that that gathers researchers from around the world. It was founded in 2020 with funding from Riksbankens Jubileumsfond and the Nordic Co-operation Committee for Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences (NOS-HS) and currently has more than 40 members. One by walking organises online seminars and joint “walkshops” where members work together to explore new research methodologies. The name is a paraphrase of the Nietzsche quote Nur beim Gehen gewonnene Idéen haben einen Wert (only ideas gained through walking have value).

You can join by contacting founder and Camilla Brudin Borg, Senior Lecturer in Literature.

Find out more on the website: https://www. onebywalking.net.

With a map of big London, you can discover Little London anew.