Do not forget interacting on online meetings

Jennie Knutsson

Interactivity is important!

About seventy participants usually come to the meetings arranged by the HR network for personnel officers and administrators. On September 8, however, a record was set when more than a hundred employees took part. – We usually offer a topical and interesting programme that attracts many participants. But the fact that the meetings are now online makes it easier for more people to participate, HR Manager Jennie Knutsson explains.

HOWEVER, HOLDING a meeting for a hundred participants can be difficult. Jennie Knutsson believes that it is important to tell the participants about the set-up at the beginning of the meeting, for example that you can ask questions in the chat. – We also explain that we will use breakout rooms and how that works. Different employees have adapted to digital development in different ways, so

Maybe the future will feature some kind of mix between digital and face-to-face meetings …

JENNIE KNUTSSON

it is important to be clear.

The most recent meeting was held by Section Manager Mathias Hassnert. – We also had a person who answered questions from the chat so that I could concentrate on chairing the meeting. In addition to the chat, we did Mentimeter surveys to quickly get feedback from the participants.

The virtual meetings must feel animated. Therefore, they are also somewhat shorter than the meetings that were previously predominately held in Vasaparken. – We are also careful to take breaks because it can be tiring to look at a screen for too long, says Mathias Hassnert.

Whether they take place on site or virtually, the HR meetings always contain a combination of information and a topical lecture. But an interesting programme is perhaps even more important when the participants do not meet physically, says Jennie Knutsson.

– YOU LOSE THAT small talk during the coffee break that is so important. That is why we try to be really interesting in other ways. At the next meeting, for example, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Fredrika Lagergren Wahlin will be participating, and she will be talking about the vision.

Obviously, it is too early to say how the HR meetings will be organized in the future – But of course it is important to take advantage of the experience we have now gained. Maybe the future will feature some kind of mix between digital and face-to-face meetings, we will have to decide on that eventually, Jennie Knutsson explains.

RANKING.The University of Gothenburg has risen 20 places to 141st place in this year’s Academic Ranking of World Universities, more popularly known as the Shanghai ranking. Thus far, it is the best placement ever for the University of Gothenburg. The University of Gothenburg has also improved its ranking dramatically on the QS list, but has fallen somewhat on the THE ranking..

In the Shanghai ranking,

the University of Gothenburg is in fourth place in Sweden and this year it beat Lund University, which has slipped down to 151st place. – It is great that we have managed to achieve such a good result. Although, they are really just slight changes. One explanation is that it is an adjustment of the method, which has benefited the University of Gothenburg. The change means that the University of Gothenburg has increased the number of its researchers on the Highly Cited list from 5 to 8, while the number of researchers on the list from Lund University has decreased, which of publications in Nature and Science and how many researchers are on the Highly Cited list. – It is not easy to rise significantly on this list. If we were to get significantly more articles published in Nature and Science or even more highly cited researchers.

Photo: ANNA-LENA LUNDKVIST

New website for oceanic research

NEW WEBB. Now all the research, education and news about the ocean can be found on the website: gu.se/havet. – Previously, ocean-related activities have been spread across various parts of the university’s website. It is now clear what extensive knowledge and expertise there is in this area, says Lena Gipperth, Director of the Centre for Sea and Society. The website has six areas: Life in the oceans, technology and the oceans, food and the oceans, responsibility for the oceans, the climate and the oceans, as well as man and the oceans. – By gathering the educational programmes in the same place, it will be easier for students to see what the University of Gothenburg has to offer, says communicator Karl-Johan Nylén. Another important goal is to facilitate contact with researchers and other staff at the university, including a list of marine experts. The idea is also to facilitate collaboration with the business sector, authorities and organisations outside the university. – We already currently have a lot of ongoing collaborations, but would like to have more in the future, says Lena Gipperth. Contact the editors by emailing havet@gu.se.

Felix Neuberghlecturer

ECONOMY. This year’s Felix Neubergh Lecturer is Timothy Earle, Professor Emeritus at the Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, USA. Timothy Earle specializes in archaeological studies of social inequality and political economy in early chiefdoms and states. Among other things, he has conducted comparative studies of the emergence of social complexity, and has conducted multi-year fieldwork projects in Argentina, Denmark, Peru, Polynesia and Hungary. Through his extensive scientific output, not least the monographs Bronze Age Economics and How Chiefs Come to Power, he is regarded as the leading international expert on prehistoric political economy. Timothy Earle has collaborated with researchers at the Department of Historical Studies since 1990. During the period 1990–2006, he participated in Professor Kristian Kristiansen’s projects in Denmark and Hungary. From 2011, he has actively contributed to Bronze Age research at the department, including as a visiting professor. The collaboration has resulted in several articles together with professors Kristian Kristiansen and Johan Ling, the most recent was published in Current Anthropology.