News from the management

It was lovely to come together to celebrate our graduating students with speeches, music, scholarship awards, the teaching award, a procession, mingling, laughter and applause. And there was plenty of applause, long and loud!

The graduation ceremony in Alnarp has become a much-loved event, and it is a pleasure to continue this tradition.

At the end of May, we held our first farewell reception for graduating students at Campus Ultuna. It took place among bunting and tree canopies in the courtyard by Ulls Hus and brought together many teachers and students, along with friends and family. It was a very successful occasion and one we hope to repeat.

A big thank you to everyone who helped give our students such a wonderful send-off in both Ultuna and Alnarp.

Operational dialogues

The past few weeks have been busy, and not only in teaching. The faculty management team has held this year’s operational dialogues with the faculty’s departments and units. The discussions were positive and covered both challenges and opportunities. Topics included external funding, skills provision and educational infrastructure.

We are now summarising the discussions, finding common issues and supporting further work within our roles and responsibilities.

The faculty management team has also held an operational dialogue with the vice-chancellor and university management. This, too, was a positive discussion focused on the future. Those of us who attended felt that the vice-chancellor was pleased with the faculty’s work.

Aakash steps out and I step in

For those of us involved in teaching, the end of term always brings a change of pace. It is an intense period, with much to be done. Grades must be reported, course evaluations summarised and budget reports submitted.

However, it is also a time for farewells. On 30 May, the faculty management team had the chance to say a symbolic farewell to Aakash Chawade, who is now moving on to a professorship at the University of Göttingen in Germany.

Aakash has done a great deal for the faculty, not least in research infrastructure, and we are grateful for the time he has given us. We wish him every success for the future – and are delighted that he will remain employed at SLU, although in a very small capacity.

This also means that I have had to step in and replace Aakash as deputy dean, replacing the dean when needed. My area of responsibility will remain the same: undergraduate and Master’s education. I look forward to becoming even more involved in the faculty’s work and future together with all of you.

Welcoming new students this autumn

First, we can hopefully all look forward to a wonderful summer. It is well deserved, given all the fantastic work being done across the faculty. Before then, however, there is still a little more to do. Planning for the autumn welcome for new students is in full swing.

Student recruitment work is underway, and new initiatives are being planned. Recruitment work is never finished, and the faculty management team would like to give a huge and heartfelt thank you to everyone who continues to be involved.

Alongside tried-and-tested and successful approaches, this year we have tried new recruitment venues, including Järvaveckan, Kosläppet at Lövsta and the Malmö Garden Show. None of these initiatives would have been possible without the commitment of our students, staff and departments.

It is also good to see that, ahead of the autumn semester, we not only have more applicants but also at least one first-choice applicant per place on our undergraduate programmes. We are delighted by this but will continue working to make our programmes even more attractive. Programme development is important, and we will focus more on it in the coming year. AI, digitalisation and international marketing are also on the agenda for the autumn.

Anniversary

There was a little more more celebrating as the Swedish National Gene Bank marked its 10th anniversary on 15 June in Alnarp. This is important for SLU and for our shared future, not least for biodiversity and climate change, as well as for our identity and green cultural heritage.

With that, we would like to wish you all a truly wonderful summer: restful, inspiring and filled with sun, wind and water, if that is what you enjoy. See you at the Faculty Day on 27 August!

Caroline Dahl, Deputy Dean