22 March 2018
March was a busy month with two career seminars, after Lund it was time to visit Linköping on March 22. The discussions naturally focused on career paths for young scientists but also on teaching and how to balance this with research in terms of merits.
Panel: Helen Dannetun, Vice-Chancellor of Linköping University, Karin Axelsson, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and Per Eklund Senior Lecturer, IFM, Young Academy of Sweden alumni. Moderator: Anna Wetterbom, CEO, Young Academy of Sweden. Photo: Magnus Jonsson/Young Academy of Sweden
The seminar was co-hosted with the Junior Faculty in Linköping and after initial presentations of the two organisations it was time to welcome vice chancellor Helen Dannetun who described the career paths at Linköping University. She noted that the university has a strong reputation among students and therefor values teaching experience highly. Young scientists who are hired as associate senior lecturers (biträdande universitetslektorer) are expected to pursue excellent research as well as teaching.
For the panel discussion the vice chancellor was joined by Karin Axelsson (dean of Faculty of Arts and Sciences) and Per Eklund (Senior lecturer and alumni of the academy). The audience was eager to ask questions and during the discussion it became clear that the teaching duties varies quite a bit across faculties and departments. Whereas some young researchers are struggling to fill the teaching quota due to too few courses others find it challenging to find time for research. The academy finds this bothering and argues that it is essential that young scientists are able to develop in both aspects and particularly to have enough time for research early in their careers. Without enough time for research it is hardly possible for young scientists in Sweden to compete internationally.
The panelists concluded by giving their best advice to their junior colleagues. To succeed as a researcher they found it important to publish excellent research, prove independence from supervisors and attract external funding. Maybe it’s not rocket science, but it is still far from easy.
Click to enlarge. Photo: Magnus Jonsson/Young Academy of Sweden
The panelists concluded by giving their best advice to their junior colleagues. To succeed as a researcher they found it important to publish excellent research, prove independence from supervisors and attract external funding. Maybe it’s not rocket science, but it is still far from easy.
Previous stops on the Academy’s career seminar tour:
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU)
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