27 March 2024
On March 26, the Young Academy of Sweden and Luleå University of Technology organized a half-day seminar on career paths and merit evaluation in academia. The vice-chancellor and deans gave lectures and participated in panel discussions, highlighting various opportunities and challenges.
Ronnie Berntsson, Birgitta Bergvall-Kåreborn, Ellen Bushell, Karl Andersson, Annica Sandström and Christian Holmberg Sjöling.
The sky was clear and the thermometer showed minus twelve degrees when the Young Academy of Sweden organized SUA on tour in Luleå. Chair Ronnie Berntsson, who works at Umeå University and is therefore used to low temperatures, opened the seminar at the House of Science with a lecture on career paths in academia.
SUA has long advocated that the position of assistant lecturer can be applied for up to seven years after defending a thesis – a proposal that may soon become a reality.
The vice-chancellor of LTU, Birgitta Bergvall-Kåreborn, took the floor and spoke about how the university in Luleå works with career paths and merit evaluation. Annica Sandström and Karl Andersson, who are deans of the philosophical and technical faculties at the university, provided their experiences and perspectives.
After the presentations, a panel discussion was held, moderated by SUA's own Ellen Bushell. Christian Holmberg Sjöling, a doctoral student and chair of the doctoral section at LTU, also took the stage. The topics discussed ranged from financing to types of employment and gender equality at the university.
In discussions with the audience, it became clear that both terminology and convention differ between the country's various institutions of higher education. The differences can be confusing for a young researcher. At LTU, for example, there is the position of associate professor, which is familiar to some but unfamiliar to others.
The seminar was well attended and there was great enthusiasm. There is no doubt that questions about career paths and merit evaluation are important for young researchers in Sweden.
The Young Academy of Sweden took the opportunity to ask some of the young researchers attending the seminar: What challenges do you see ahead on your career path within academia?
The biggest challenge is balancing different commitments. On one hand, there is research and teaching, and on the other hand, there are all the other tasks on the side. What is it that will directly contribute to climbing the ladder? If you are passionate about your subject or jump onto what is interesting, then there is a balancing act between the interesting and the useful.
Joel Lööw, assistant lecturer at LTU
It may be a strange challenge, but if one is ambitious and enjoys trying different things, it is difficult to know what to do. The possibilities are so many. You cannot hold all oranges and apples in one hand, you have to choose something – and it's hard to choose what to do for the rest of your life.
Zainab Al-Maqdasi, postdoctoral fellow at LTU
Photo: Jesper Ahlin Marceta/SUA
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