- I am very glad that we now have people in place in these important areas of operation. I have great confidence that Cecilia and Erik will strengthen SLU and meet society's needs, given their expertise and understanding of how successful collaboration leads to development, says Anna Lundhagen, vice-rector at SLU with responsibility for collaboration and ongoing environmental monitoring.
The vice-chancellor’s collaboration assignments are an initiative from SLU to create clearer entry points for society’s stakeholders and to strengthen SLU’s employees in their ability to use collaboration as a tool.
- These are areas where SLU is already prominent. But through these collaboration assignments, we aim to achieve more and go further, says Anna Lundhagen.
Developing research and education
Cecilia Sundberg and Erik Öckinger were given the vice-chancellor’s collaboration assignments before the summer. These assignments constitute 30 percent of their positions, and they are now in the process of starting up their activities.
- I really appreciate that these are long-term initiatives. There is great potential for this to contribute to exciting projects in both research and education, says Cecilia Sundberg.
She is a senior lecturer at the Department of Energy and Technology. Her research focuses on bioenergy systems and how biochar can be used to sequester carbon in the soil. Her collaboration assignment concerns the climate impact of land use.
- My hope is that I can be a focal point both within and outside SLU and that this work will lead to changes that make a difference in the climate transition," says Cecilia Sundberg.
Biodiversity
Erik Öckinger is a senior lecturer at the Department of Ecology and has the vice-chancellor’s collaboration assignment within biodiversity. This is a subject he researches with a focus on how pollinating insects are affected by climate and landscape changes.
- I already work a lot with collaboration and see how important it is. I look forward to doing even more of it, says Erik Öckinger.
In the first step, he wants to try to connect with the many colleagues at SLU who have expertise in biodiversity to see if they can achieve more together. Outside of SLU, he primarily sees good opportunities for collaboration with various government agencies.
- The Swedish Forest Agency, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, and the Swedish Board of Agriculture all work within the field of biodiversity. It will be exciting to see if we can develop collaborations with them, says Erik Öckinger.
