Questions and answers

We have the decision by the faculty board and we have the faculty strategy which points us to that:

• We need to adapt to a fast changing world around us, we need to be constantly relevant with high quality, attractive and "stay on top“
• We aim at strong research environments with high quality and with long-term stable and predictable funding
• Our government grants are decreasing, we are competing with other universities and we need to increase our external funding
• We aim at a good working environment, be an attractive workplace and have secure employments
• We need to ensure our teaching assignment, and we need to ensure our competence and knowledge supply
• We guarantee financing of higher positions
• We might have overlap and synergies between subject areas that we can use to make us strong

Changing conditions have lead us to a review so that we can strategically position us for future demands on research and education. Looking at this faculty-holistically, some subject areas were formulated a long time ago, and some questions are relevant to ask:

• Are our subject areas still relevant for how allocation of the government funds work tomorrow? Are we missing anything? Are we in tune with the times?
• Do we have a critical mass to finance PhD's and secure growth within existing and new subjects. What is the best combination of width and specialization so we cover what we need without spreading too thin?
• How can we pool resources in a smart way to increase our quality? Less islands and more strategic collaboration?
• How should we shape the content of our subject areas to meet the challenges / questions of the future?

Our guesses on future subject areas are that we will:

• Identify new ways of defining and describing our subjects and content in our subject areas
• Identify new ways of forming subject areas and the content of the subject areas
• Have fewer, but stronger (relevance+high quality+resources) and more cross-collaborating subject areas than today
• Have a strategic competency plan for recruitment when such opportunities arise in the future

The LTV faculty board decided in December 1, 2021 that a subject areas review was to be conducted.

According to SLU delegation of authority it is the LTV faculty board that decides on subject areas at the faculty in consultation with the vice-chancellor.

No! This is an open process and it is not pre-decided how many or which subject areas there will be in the future. Yes, of course the faculty management have guesses and hopes regarding what we see in the future which are: Fewer subject areas, but stronger subject areas and more cross-collaborating subject areas than today. We also hope that you will be farsighted and courageous to dare change, question and develop beyond where we are today in how we describe and define the content of our subject areas and how we shape ourselves for the future.

The head of departments, the leaders and members of the subject areas, the faculty management and the faculty board are involved at different stages in the process.

The total amount of subject area subsidies (ämnesmedel) aimed for the subject areas will remain the same. The size of the subject area subsidies will be depending on the number and size of the future subject area. N.B. It is the faculty board that decides regarding subject area subsidies.

Difficult to say and this is depending on the result of the process. It is possible that new subject area leaders may be appointed and current will share or lose the subject area leadership, but they will continue still as professors. It might be that retirements will open up for new constellations. It might also be that the results of the process shows that the role of subject area leaders will be revised.

Yes

Yes, there will be a holistic perspective on the subject areas in the review that includes research, education and environmental monitoring and assessment (EMA (FOMA)).

The future subject areas are planned to be implemented during 2024-2026. Possibilities for transitional solutions will be available for those will be involved in any changes.

You can contact Tomas Österman and Christina Lunner Kolstrup and you may also contact the head of department.