News from the management

It’s been an intense period for the faculty management, with colleagues taking up positions of responsibility as new members of committees and councils. This has required knowledge transfer and sharing. In addition, recruitment of new heads of department for three of our departments has been launched.

Application is open!

The application period for studies in the 2025 autumn semester is currently open, and SLU is working hard to attract more students to our programmes. A well-attended Open House was held to familiarise guests with our programmes, and several of us met with Director of Communications Sara Arvidsson to discuss communication strategies in various forums, particularly concerning student recruitment and marketing. To review our recruitment efforts, Lars Johansson at SoL is leading an inquiry that will result in proposals on how we can jointly improve our efforts to get potential students to choose SLU programmes, and key people with insight into undergraduate programmes have been asked to share their views with him. You can find out more about student recruitment and the inquiry on the staff web.

Many ongoing reports

We’re currently looking into how to process the plant material from Balsgård and the Rehab Garden. Both projects will be finalised this spring.

Mats Svensson from the Space Management Unit is coordinating a process to review leases, and at the request of the vice-chancellor, we’re also working on an evaluation of Movium, which should be completed in early autumn. That evaluation is part of a review of activities whose appropriation directions have been cancelled and also includes field research on ecological production, CBC and Epok.

We have also compiled a report on the occupancy rate of greenhouses, and Lomma municipality has carried out an environmental inspection of the greenhouse, which has produced interesting results. I can also announce that SLU's consultation response on VA-Syd's planned MAXIMA sewage pipeline, which will pass under our farmland, has been finalised. In the response, a broadly composed group has pointed out the importance of securing our long-term research projects during the construction period. VA-Syd's project will now undergo an environmental impact assessment, and construction is expected to start in 2027.

AI for educators

I would also like to remind you that the Unit for Educational Development is running a training programme for teachers, ‘AI for Educators’, which aims to help teaching staff navigate the opportunities and challenges of generative AI in education. They will be running workshops and seminars open to SLU teachers and researchers starting on 9 April. More information is available on the staff web: AI for Educators.

In connection with this, I would also like to mention the ongoing IT Infrastructure Upgrade Programme which is progressing according to plan. Several programme processes are underway, such as Nät 2.0, led by Cathrine Östholm, who together with her colleagues recently attended a meeting with heads of department. The roll-out of the network in Alnarp is expected to start during the second quarter of 2025.

Visit from SUHF

Recently, the university administration staff at LTV was visited by SUHF Secretary-General Marita Hilliges, who explained how the work at SUHF is organised and the issues they’re currently working on. It’s worth noting that an informal agreement between all higher education institutions on a  common e-infrastructure has been reached, and there is also a proposal for a framework for the higher education institutions' work on developing future merit assessments and a proposal for a position on the European Commission's roadmap to a European degree. Read more about SUHF's reports and inquiries at suhf.se.

The university administration management group

This year's away days with the university administration management group (VLG) have taken place. During these days, heads of division and faculty administration did exercises in leadership and reviewed interesting business intelligence. The intelligence session was headed by the head of the Division of Planning and Research Support, Helene Holstein, who will be succeeding Anna-Karin Olofsdotter as deputy chief operating officer. Holstein highlighted the uncertain political situation and its potential consequences for higher education institutions. She also noted that there is now a political consensus on increased investment in defence and law enforcement, which will affect the budget process. However, it remains to be seen to what extent such initiatives will have repercussions on the funding of higher education institutions.

Håkan Sandgren

Head of the faculty office