Letter from the dean

In Sweden, for instance, the government decided in 2023 to shut down the Swedish Research Council’s annual call for development research funding, known as U‑forsk. For many years, U‑forsk was an important source of funding for researchers at SLU. Between 2015 and the programme’s closure in 2023, more than 20 per cent of the awarded funds went to SLU. By comparison, just under 2 per cent of the funding allocated through all of the Swedish Research Council’s calls during the same period went to SLU.

Today, we are forced to look for alternative funding opportunities. Thanks to innovative approaches, many of us have nevertheless managed to keep several international research collaborations alive. In this more challenging funding climate, it is therefore encouraging to see our faculty making a deliberate effort to support and further develop its international relations.

The Faculty Committee for Global Development, which had been dormant for a couple of years, has now been reactivated. Towards the end of last year, the committee announced a call for funding aimed at giving early‑career researchers at the faculty the opportunity to expand their research networks, while also promoting collaboration with researchers in the global South. Three applications were submitted in this year’s call and are currently under review by the committee. From my own experience, this type of funding opportunity represents an excellent chance for early‑career researchers at SLU who aim to develop their international networks.

As part of the faculty’s broader international initiative, a small group of researchers from our faculty, together with representatives from the LTV Faculty, will visit Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) in Morocco during the final week of March. We will attend the university’s annual research week, listen to presentations, and explore opportunities for continued collaboration between researchers at our respective institutions. It will be exciting to see what may come out of this in the years ahead.

While the faculty’s international initiatives cannot replace the financial support from major research funders, I am pleased to work at a faculty that actively contributes to both maintaining and strengthening our international collaborations. Cultural exchange is a cornerstone of how new ideas are formed, and international research collaboration is essential if we are to address the global challenges facing the world today.

Klara Fischer, Vice Dean of Internationalisation