Downgrading Forskningsrådet’s size could lead to a lack of expertise and representation, group body warns

Norway’s universities are opposing a planned reduction in the number of members of the board at the Forskningsrådet, the country’s research council.

Universities Norway (UHR), a council representing 32 universities and colleges, said it feared that a reduction of the board’s size could impact its scientific expertise and its diversity. In a letter to the Norwegian research ministry, the organisation’s leaders said there was ongoing concern over the board’s ability to fulfil its function in a smaller capacity.

“The board of the research council has an important function in ensuring representation and legitimacy in the sector,” said chair of the UHR Sunniva Whittaker and secretary-general Nina Sandberg. “It is central that the board has high-level scientific expertise, and preferably international participation of top researchers.”

Permanent reduction

Norway’s research ministry proposed in January to make permanent a temporary reduction of the number of board members to just five representatives. The entire board of the Forskningsrådet was fired in May 2022 by research minister Ola Borten Moe, after it emerged that the council was set to make losses worth nearly 2.9 billion Norwegian krone (£234 million) by the end of 2023.

In December, the Norwegian government had to rescue the council from bankruptcy with a one-off grant of NKr1.6bn.

As well as dissatisfaction with the board’s size, the UHR expressed concern over a proposal that the board be directly appointed by the Norwegian research ministry. At present, appointments are made formally by the King of Norway, according to recommendations issued jointly by the research ministry and the cabinet.

“The Forskningsrådet is a key player in the Norwegian research and innovation system, not only for distributing research funds, but also as a research policy adviser for the entire government college,” the UHR said. “Appointment of the council’s board through the King helps ensure cross-ministerial ownership of the council.”

Whittaker and Sandberg said that the discussion of the role and organisation of the Forskningsrådet should be delayed, so they can happen in conjunction with an upcoming parliamentary review on Norway’s entire research system.

After the removal of the previous board, Borton Moe said that “new competencies” were needed on the board to prevent any future budget issues. Norway’s former finance minister Kristin Halvorsen, who is the chair of the temporary board, said it could take until 2024 to balance the budget.

The Norwegian government voted in December to extend the mandate of the temporary board until 30 June.

Weaker expertise

Earlier this month, the rector of the university of Oslo, Svein Stølen, also voiced criticism about the Forskningsrådet reorganisation. Just like the UHR, the university believes fewer representatives will weaken the scientific expertise of the board.

“We believe the ministry intervenes unreasonably when it proposes to change the board’s size and composition, as well as to move the appointment of the board from the King in Council to the ministry,” Stølen wrote in a blog post on the university’s website. “A broadly composed board is better equipped to look after the council’s purpose and many-sided activities.”

He added that the appointment of the board by the ministry could weaken its independence.

“Since it was established in 1993, the Forskningsrådet has had an independent advisory role vis-à-vis the authorities in matters of research policy,” Stølen said. “The council should still have that.”

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Change of rules means 30 per cent of students could lose right to accommodation

The Karolinska Institutet, Sweden’s most prestigious medical research institute, has said that the end of a housing pilot could affect its ability to recruit international students.

Under the pilot, which started in 2010, Karolinska was one of nine universities offering accommodation to all students regardless of their status or origin. However, a change in rules announced in December by education minister Mats Persson means that only a few categories of students at the university will continue to benefit.

Traditionally, Sweden offers free accommodation to exchange students in a formal programme and visiting researchers. On 1 January, new legislation added fee-paying students, doctoral students and early-career researchers to those that are offered housing.

But for the universities in the pilot programme, which was ended as the new rules were announced, this actually means a reduction in the number of students qualifying for housing. This, the Karolinska Institutet said, could cause 30 per cent of its students to struggle with finding accommodation.

Internationalisation

In a statement announcing the changes, Persson said that the changes are hoped to attract more international scientific talent to Sweden. For most Swedish universities, they will increase the number of categories of students and researchers who can be offered accommodation.

“The lack of housing often becomes an obstacle to the internationalisation of higher education institutions and the mobility of researchers,” he said.

But students falling outside the categories, including bachelor, master’s and EU students, will not be offered accommodation automatically, the Karolinska Institutet said. This could affect one in three students on its premises, it said.

The university said that students who were affected should get in touch with their concerns, but should “look for other housing options”.

“In some cases, new criteria must be met,” said Petrus Jansson, the institute’s manager of housing. “Especially for those students who are EU/EEA citizens and not in a paid oprogramme or part of a mobility programme, such as Erasmus.”

However, the Karolinska Institutet added that students currently in a housing contract with the university were not affected by the changes, and could remain in their accommodation until their contract expired.

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This week: Swedish development funding, a Danish research prize and international science in Finland

In depth: Norway’s universities are opposing a planned reduction in the number of members of the board at the Forskningsrådet, the country’s research council.

Full story: Universities oppose shrinking of research council board

 
Also this week from Research Professional News

Karolinska Institutet warns of housing problems—Change of rules means 30 per cent of students could lose right to accommodation

  
Here is the rest of the Nordic news this week…

Development council issues international strategy

Formas, the Swedish government research council for sustainable development, has decided on its international strategy for the years 2023–2027. The strategy states that both Swedish and international actors must be able to benefit from the knowledge emerging from developing countries. However, it urges Swedish collaborators to weigh carefully the risks and benefits of working with countries that are not democracies.

Danish princess awards Elite Research prize

Crown Princess Mary and the minister of education and research Christina Egelund presented the Elite Research Award to five young researchers on 20 February. Each winner receives a grant of 1 million Danish kroner (£118,000) for further research activities, plus a personal recognition award of DKr200,000. Among the winners was Per Borghammer, who demonstrated that clumps of Parkinson’s protein can be found in the intestines up to 20 years before the disease is diagnosed.

Academy of Finland co-funds international science

Last year, the three research councils of the Academy of Finland invested €14 million (£12m) in international research projects, a report has shown. The academy collaborated mostly with other national funding organisations, the EU and joint research council NordForsk. Most of the money was spent on thematic research programmes, where project teams are expected to be made up of researchers from at least two participating countries.

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Researchers working on tech with military applications could be covertly tapped for information, report warns

Norway’s Police Security Service (PST) has highlighted research and educational institutions as being at particular risk of exploitation by foreign actors in its national threat assessment for 2023.

The PST said that such institutions were facing growing threats from illegal knowledge transfer and that “actors” with ties to Russia, China, Iran and Pakistan were posing special challenges. Higher education personnel with links to foreign universities and engaged in research with military applications were most vulnerable to knowledge theft, the police said.

The same threat also applies to emerging technologies and the universities studying these, the report warned. Such technologies include 3D printers, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, maritime autonomics, biotechnology and advanced surveillance technology.

Beate Gangås, the chief of the PST, told the University of Oslo that the service is in constant contact with universities whenever there is suspicion that visiting academics are providing information beyond their remit.

“We have a lot of dialogue with the educational institutions, precisely to help them make wise assessments and make the right choices,” she said.

Covert relationships

The PST said it had observed that, for several years, other states had tried to establish scientific relationships with Norwegian researchers in order to obtain information.

“One classic Chinese method is to invite relevant individuals to China,” the report said. “This may start with the researcher being invited to write a well-paid article for a Chinese think tank. Then, perhaps, the person in question would be invited to attend conferences in China, all expenses paid.”

The report said that relationship-building like this could happen in different social settings, sometimes quite informal and under the cover of creating friendly relations. “In reality, the goal is to get the person to share sensitive information,” the PST said.

The police service said that such activities could be damaging for Norway, as academics influenced by outside actors could sway policy decisions within the country or leak information about other potential targets.

“The source could provide unique information about what public undertakings, political institutions, companies or individuals are doing or planning to do,” the PST said. “The person could be asked to find vulnerabilities that could be exploited by an intelligence service, such as regarding an enterprise’s routines, security measures and digital infrastructure.”

Illegal intelligence

However, the report also highlighted the risks of international researchers coming to Norway. In October last year, the PST arrested a Brazilian national working as a visiting researcher at the University of Tromsø who participated in research and networking on Arctic politics, defence and warfare.

The individual is charged with engaging in illegal intelligence activities related to Russia, which has considerable political and economic interest in the Arctic region.

Sunniva Whittaker, the chair of Universities Norway, said universities in the country would adhere to government advice when it came to assessing the size of the threat. “We will adhere to any advice they might issue following this report,” she told Research Professional News.

However, Whittaker also said she hoped that raising awareness of the threats posed by certain countries would not lead to unjust vilification of researchers from these countries. “We have many international faculty members in our institutions, and their presence is important for a small country like Norway,” she said.

A version of this article appeared in Research Europe

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Price hike comes as part of policy proposals in preparation for general election in April

Finland may increase tuition fees for all students from outside the EU, despite the government’s commitment to raising their number, a policy brief has revealed.

A set of recommendations issued by the country’s Ministry of Education and Culture in preparation for a general election on 2 April proposes that students from outside the EU and European Economic Area should pay more for their education. At present, these students pay between €4,000 and €18,000 a year to attend a bachelor’s or master’s programme at a Finnish university.

The policy document, published on 15 February, states that the yearly fees for these students should be increased “so that they cover the actual expense of education”.

Policy priority

The paper clearly commits, however, to raising the number of international students in the country, a policy priority of the current government. It states that “to respond to the lack of manpower, the number of foreign degree students at the universities is proposed to be increased”.

Last year, Finland vowed to increase its R&D spending to 4 per cent of GDP by 2030, including by spending more on universities and the education of professionals.

“The availability and level of education of R&D personnel is a critical factor in increasing the funding level,” the government said. “Increasing and renewing researcher education is necessary so that R&D resource increases can have the best impact.”

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This week: a full Danish research reserve, hacking attacks in Sweden and art for society

In depth: Norway’s Police Security Service (PST) has highlighted research and educational institutions as being at particular risk of exploitation by foreign actors in its national threat assessment for 2023.

Full story: Norway’s security service highlights risks of collaboration

 
Also this week from Research Professional News

Finland moots higher tuition fees for international students—Price hike comes as part of policy proposals in preparation for general election in April

  
Here is the rest of the Nordic news this week…

Danish research reserve bigger than ever  

The research reserve of Denmark, a funding pot held back to be spent on urgent issues, is 3.6 billion kroner (€483 million) this year, which is the highest amount ever, according to the Ministry of Higher Education and Science. The money is earmarked for science and research and will be allocated to specific areas throughout the year as needed. Political negotiations about the allocation have already started. Denmark’s total public research expenditure for 2023 will be approximately DKr27bn.

Swedish university websites hacked

The websites of the University of Gothenburg, Stockholm University and Malmö University were subject to an ‘overload’ attack on 11 February, during which they became periodically difficult to access due to too many loading attempts at once. Swedish newspapers reported that the hacker group Anonymous Sudan had claimed responsibility for the attack, after Rasmus Paludan, leader of the far-right Danish party Stram Kurs, burned a copy of the Quran in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.

Copenhagen to examine art’s role in society  

The University of Copenhagen is preparing to open a research centre on 1 June that will investigate the role of art in society now and throughout history. The Novo Nordisk Foundation, a health and sustainability research funder, will support the centre with a grant of 25 million kroner (€3.4m). Mikkel Bogh, director of the National Gallery of Denmark, will be the centre’s director.

The post Nordic news roundup: 14-20 February appeared first on Research Professional News.

Women are vastly underrepresented in media commentary, which can impact their careers, study finds

Only three women are among the top 50 Danish scientists cited or represented in the media in 2022, a study has shown.

The clear under-representation of female scientists in the media landscape can cause bias and damage careers, as media exposure often helps scientists gain extra impact, the study has shown. The list is an annual exercise undertaken by DM, the Danish union for academic professionals.

The data was published in Akademikerbladet, DM’s own magazine.

The latest study shows that representation of women in science journalism is decreasing. In 2020, the first time the DM study was published, six women made the top 50—and in 2021, this number increased to seven.

“Many excellent Danish women scientists are not on this list, and it is important to figure out why,” said Lone Simonsen, a professor of epidemiology at Roskilde University, the highest ranked woman on the list.

Under-quoted

Simonsen was quoted or appeared in the Danish media a total of 461 times in 2022. She is followed by Camilla Foged, a professor of vaccine design and delivery at the University of Copenhagen, with 279 citations, and Christine Nissen, a researcher of international politics at the Danish Institute for International Studies, with 238 citations.

Foged told Research Professional News that it was important to have diversity among experts cited in the media. “It is rather embarrassing and sad that we in Denmark, which is usually considered a rather progressive country, are very far away from equality,” she said.

Simonsen agreed, saying that more needed to be done to support female scientists’ presence in science journalism, and to encourage journalists to approach them. “It is important to find the barriers as to why the media call women less often than men, especially because exposure in the media leads to better careers,” she said to Research Professional News.

Simonsen emphasised that journalists had a responsibility to ensure they attempted to achieve gender balance when they cover science news.

“The media could improve the situation by having an incentive in place to achieve a good gender balance in their experts,” she said. “[Journalists should] get better at checking out the topic domain expertise of both men and women scientists by consulting our scientific output and international standing.”

Equal support

For Foged, the DM list shows that men and women do not have the same possibilities in the academic world. “The media should be more aware of using both men and women as experts, and the universities should make sure that men and women in reality have the same possibilities for an academic career and are supported equally,” she said.

According to the list, the war in Ukraine and rising energy prices were the topics on which scientists were most consulted in the media in 2022.

The most appearances and citations were racked up by Brian Vad Mathiesen, a professor of energy planning at Aalborg University, who was quoted or interviewed a total of  2,183 times. He is followed by Flemming Splidsboel, senior researcher on Russia at the Danish Institute for International Studies, with 1,847 citations, and Peter Viggo Jakobsen, a professor in the department of strategy and war studies at the Defense Academy, with 1,421 citations.

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Life sciences come top with social sciences bottom, new report into Academy research availability finds

Almost 70 percent of research results and data derived from projects funded by the Academy of Finland are openly available—but this varies hugely between disciplines.

A report looking into the broader impact of research funded by the academy between 2017 and 2021 has warned that open access to data, results and methods of this research was “unequal”. On average, 67 per cent of research materials were available for free through open access repositories, but in the social sciences, this was just 47 per cent, the report showed.

The life sciences scored best, with an open access publication rate of 85 per cent. Next came the environmental, agricultural and forest sciences with 76 per cent, and the natural sciences, with 74 per cent. The middle field was made up by engineering (63 per cent), medicine and health sciences (64 per cent) and the humanities (also 64 per cent).

National framework

Finland has a national framework for open access to research data, which states that all research results, data and methods should be “as open as possible, as closed as necessary”. The academy did not comment on whether it would take any additional steps to improve the free distribution of research results.

The report also looked into funding generated by projects supported by the Academy. For every €1,000 it grants, research projects received another €400 on average from other sources. The most significant share of such external funding came from researchers’ own organisation and EU research funding, as well as domestic foundations and funds.

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This week: board additions at Forska!Sverige, Finnish student aid repayments and an Arctic cooperation

In depth: Only three women are among the top 50 Danish scientists cited or represented in the media in 2022, a study has shown.

Full story: Female scientists less cited in Danish media

 
Also this week from Research Professional News

Open access unevenly spread in Finland—Life sciences come top with social sciences bottom, new report into Academy research availability finds

  
Here is the rest of the Nordic news this week…

Two fresh board members at Forska!Sverige

Forska!Sverige, a Swedish non-profit organisation whose aim is to make medical research a greater national priority, has elected two new members to its board. Björn Odlander is the founder of HealthCap, a European venture capital firm investing in life sciences. Mats Eriksson is a former politician in the Halland region, where he used his position to advance clinical research and quality in care, the body said.

Thousands of Finnish students to pay back support

Kela, the Finnish social benefits agency, is asking 47.000 students to repay financial aid that has been wrongly paid due to accounting errors. This is because the 2021 income of these students exceeded the maximum limit allowed under the country’s student financial aid scheme, the agency said. On average, the students have to pay back €976 each, but they can file a review request by 16 March.

Arctic university teams up with NORCE

The Arctic University of Norway (UiT) and the research institute Norce have entered into a cooperation agreement. Together they want to use their science to contribute to sustainable growth and development, with particular emphasis on the northern areas. Norce and UiT leaders will meet annually to discuss the collaboration, while a working group will oversee ongoing projects, the partners said.

The post Nordic news roundup: 7-13 February appeared first on Research Professional News.

Swedish residence permit process takes too long and is too cumbersome, union warns

A Swedish union has called on the government to urgently shorten the processing times for residence permit applications by international researchers.

Sanna Wolk, the head of Sulf, the Swedish Association of University Teachers and Researchers, said the current process to obtain residency in Sweden was taking so long it forced many academics to leave the country. This, she said, is affecting Sweden’s competitiveness and wasting resources spent on recruiting staff from abroad.

In an article for newspaper Svenska Dagbladet, Wolk gave the example of a doctoral student from a non-EU country, who had worked in Sweden for several years. This student waited more than seven months for a decision on their application for a permanent residence permit—only to be refused.

At the time of the refusal, the student in question had only 17 months and one week left of their employment period, Wolk said, just below the 18 months required to reapply. If the Swedish Migration Agency had handled the case quicker, she said, the student could have stayed in Sweden.

Delayed decisions

According to data from the Swedish Migration Agency, quoted by Wolk, around 25 per cent of international doctoral students who apply to extend their residence permit do not receive a decision in under six months of the application. This is despite the fact that the agency’s target is for decisions on residence permits to be made within 90 days.

Sulf said that around 40 per cent of doctoral students and 75 per cent of researchers at Swedish universities have an international background.

“These researchers constitute an extremely important resource for Sweden’s future research,” Wolk said in the article. “That we can keep them in Sweden is therefore crucial for the supply of competent staff for both our universities and the business world.”

One issue flagged by Sulf is the so-called maintenance requirement in the Swedish residence permit process, which states that applicants must prove they are able to support themselves financially though permanent or fixed-term employment for at least 18 months from the start of their application. This condition, Wolk said, is hard to meet for international researchers—especially doctoral candidates—as their contracts often run for a shorter duration.

Mikael Ribbenvik, the director of the migration agency, said the agency was actively working on reducing residency permit processing times. However, he pointed out that higher requirements for obtaining permanent residence permits, set by the Swedish government in 2021, had led to greater administrative burden and longer processing times.

Planned review

Aside from urging the migration agency to reduce residence permit processing times, Wolk asked the Swedish government to push ahead with plans to make it easier for international researchers to come to Sweden. A planned review of existing legislation on the topic, announced by Swedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson in October, has not yet begun.

Sulf said it welcomed the government’s plans to review residency laws, and said it was open to “good dialogue with representatives of the government regarding the issues”.

“However, we would like to urge the government to implement these necessary adjustments urgently,” Wolk said.

A version of this article appeared in Research Europe

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Proposal pitches over a billion in investment to stop Troll station from being closed down

Norway’s government has proposed spending between 1 billion Norwegian kroner and Nkr 3 billion (€100 million-€275 million) on upgrading the Troll research station in Antarctica.

The government said the station was an “increasingly important” facility on a continent that was becoming central to climate and environmental science.

“It is important that work on the new Troll can start as quickly as possible,” said Espen Barth Eide, Norway’s climate minister. “The global climate and environmental challenges make it increasingly important that Norway is present and conducts research in Antarctica. An upgrade of the Troll station is absolutely necessary.”

Poor condition

The Troll research station, which has been operating for around 30 years, is based at an altitude of 1.275 metres in Queen Maud Land, a region approximately 2.7 million-square-kilometres claimed by Norway as a dependent territory. Barth Eide visited Troll during the last week of January with a delegation that included representatives of Norway’s ministry of education.

The goal of the visit was to highlight the station’s importance for Norway’s Antarctic research and policy, but also to see its current state. According to the government, the facility is in “poor condition” due to extreme weather, and would have to be shut down within the decade if no measures are taken to renovate and improve it.

The Norwegian government’s building commission Statsbygg estimated in 2021 the cost of upgrading Troll at a minimum of Nkr 1bn, and said the process would take between four and five years.

“The government will now get a thorough understanding so it can choose the best solution for upgrading the station,” Barth Eide said. “It is important that the works on the new Troll can start as quickly as possible.”

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This week: Swedish synchrotron PhDs, Danish defence collaboration and Russian students in Finland

In depth: A Swedish union has called on the government to urgently shorten the processing times for residence permit applications by international researchers.

Full story: Academics demand urgent action on international exodus

 
Also this week from Research Professional News

Norway reveals upgrade plans for Antarctic station—Proposal pitches investment of NOK1-3 billion to stop Troll station from being closed down

  
Here is the rest of the Nordic news this week…

Swedish universities launch PhD for synchrotron experts

A group of Swedish universities have teamed up with the Swedish national synchrotron laboratory MAX IV to create the PRISMAS PhD programme. The programme will bring together students from “diverse scientific backgrounds” to use and develop synchrotron methods in their doctoral research. Summer and winter schools and fellows’ annual meetings are part of the programme, the partner said. The universities will aim to offer a large selection of relevant courses that students can use to meet the requirements for a PhD, they said.

Danish universities collaborate on defence tech

A National Defence Technology Centre has launched in Denmark, made up of the country’s eight Danish universities and five government-approved research and technology organisations (GTS institutes). The partners said their collaboration was motivated by the growing political will to strengthen defence in Denmark, due to the ongoing war in Ukraine. The aim of the research centre is to give the country a competitive edge in defence technology development.

More Russians apply to study in Finland

According to data released by Finnish public broadcaster Yle, about a quarter more Russian citizens have applied to study at Finnish universities so far this year compared with 2022. During the first university application period from 4 to 18 January, 665 Russians applied, compared with 534 in the same application period last year. The previous application period closed just before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The post Nordic news roundup: 31 January to 6 February appeared first on Research Professional News.

This week: academic freedom in Sweden, Finnish pay rises and honours for top scientists

In depth: One in three PhD students in Denmark has had to grant guest authorship to a more powerful researcher who did not contribute significantly to the publication, according to a study in Plos One.

Full story: PhD students feel forced into co-authorship, Danish study shows

 
Also this week from Research Professional News

One in three doctorates leave Norway’s academia—Number increases to almost half among international students, statistics report finds

  
Here is the rest of the Nordic news this week…

Swedish government orders review of academic freedom

Sweden’s government has asked the Swedish Higher Education Authority to conduct case studies on academic freedom, in an attempt to understand how higher education institutions in the country promote and protect it. The review is a result of growing concerns about so-called “cancel culture”, which entered Swedish public discourse last year. “It is extremely serious if researchers and teachers are excluded from scientific discourse because of their choice of words or subject matter,” said education minister Mats Persson. The review’s results are expected in the first half of 2024.

Negotiations start on pay rises for Finnish academics

The Finnish employees’ trade unions and Finnish education providers have entered negotiations to offer pay rises to all academic staff this year, a move that would affect 34,000 people. If the talks are not concluded by the end of February, a two-year collective agreement reached in spring 2022 may be terminated at the end of March, the unions said. In this case, staff would revert to the rules and regulations of a previous collective agreement.

Finland’s president honours top scientists

Sauli Niinistö, president of the Finnish republic, has awarded the title of Academician of Science to researchers Heli Jantunen, Martti Koskenniemi and Merja Penttilä, whose field of expertise is respectively technical physics, international law and biotechnology. The title can be held by no more than 16 Finnish scientists and scholars at a time, and is one of the highest honours for academics in the country. Nominations are made by the Academy of Finland.

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Half of those affected said a person in power told them to share publication credits

One in three PhD students in Denmark has had to grant guest authorship to a more powerful researcher who did not contribute significantly to the publication, according to a study in Plos One.

The survey, led by researchers at the University of Copenhagen, found that around half of the PhD students covered by the study had been told to do so directly by the person benefiting from co-authorship—usually someone in a senior position. The practice was found to be most common within the medical and natural sciences.

The respondents were 1,336 PhD students based in Denmark, Hungary, Ireland, Portugal and Switzerland. According to the authors, the findings contradict other studies showing that PhD students in the Nordic countries face less pressure to share article authorship than their colleagues in the rest of Europe.

“According to our data, Danish PhD students are pretty much as likely to grant guest authorships as their colleagues in Ireland and Switzerland, and more likely than their colleagues working in Hungary,” said Mads Paludan Goddiksen, the study’s lead author and a postdoctoral researcher in the food and resource economics department at the University of Copenhagen.

Position of power

The study found that 49 per cent of all PhD students granting guest authorship on their publications did so because they were asked by a person in a position of power. Other common reasons were a wish to maintain a good working relationship with the guest author, and a belief that this was common practice in their field.

However, Goddiksen warned that the practice was not in line with internationally accepted guidelines on scientific publications or Danish policies on guest authorship, which state that article authorship should only be granted to those who have made a significant contribution to the research.

“From a taxpayer’s perspective, we want to give research funding and positions to those who actually produce good research, not those who are best at exploiting their junior colleagues,” he said.

Goddiksen also expressed concern that the practice caused disillusionment among early career researchers, who felt exploited by senior colleagues. “Young, talented PhD students tell me that they are going to leave academia after they graduate because they are sick of having to play this game in order to stand a chance in the competition,” he told Research Professional News.    

Change of culture

In the paper, the research team called for a culture change, pointing out that the issue constituted a structural problem in higher education rather than any failure on the individual level. The team called on funders to denounce the practice and offer more support to PhD students concerned about having to grant guest authorship.

“It is telling that one of the most common reasons PhD students give for granting guest authorships is ‘everyone else in my field does it’,” said Goddiksen. “To change the practice, we must change the culture. This takes time, and probably some pressure from the outside.”

Christina Egelund, Denmark’s minister for higher education and research, said the findings were “worrying”. She promised to look further into the matter as part of her brief.

“The ministry is investigating the possibilities to learn more about this issue and examine it more closely,” Egelund told science news outlet Videnskab. “There is no doubt that this is needed.”

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Number increases to almost half among international students, statistics report finds

One out of three doctorates in Norway leave academia to find a job in the private sector or in public administration, according to the latest report by Statistics Norway.

The report looked at the approximately 19,000 students who were admitted to a Norwegian doctoral programme between 2005 and 2015. Of these, 78 per cent had completed their dissertation by the end of 2021, but 30 per cent had gone on to forge a career outside academia.

Another 20 per cent were not employed in Norway in 2021, meaning just half of PhD holders stay in academia for certain. According to Statistics Norway, it is likely that a large number of doctorates in this category had emigrated.

International leavers

The rate of emigration was found to be particularly high among international students, around half of which leave Norway after completing their PhD. The report said that citizenship was the most decisive factor in whether PhD holders stayed in the country or left.

This was, however, somewhat evened out by the fact that Norway is increasingly becoming more successful at attracting international doctorate students. The proportion of foreign nationals on doctoral programmes in the country increased from 22 per cent to 48 per cent between 2005 and 2015, Statistics Norway said.

The overall number of doctorates leaving academia in Norway, however, is not that high when looked at in an international context. In the United Kingdom, for example, around 70 per cent of PhD holders have found jobs outside universities around three years after obtaining their degree.

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Smaller number of board members hoped to reduce complexity and improve accountability

Norway’s research ministry has proposed to permanently reduce the number of board members at the country’s research council—the Forskningsrådet—to improve the body’s governance.

The council’s board is already operating under reduced capacity, after its 11 members were removed by the ministry over a budget hole worth nearly 3 billion Norwegian krone (€28m). In December, the government was forced to issue a NOK1.6bn emergency grant to ensure the council could continue operating and funding research projects.

After research minister Ola Borten Moe fired the board of Forskningsrådet in May, he appointed a five-member emergency board, assisted by two staff representatives. Following the emergency bailout, Borten Moe extended the mandate of the temporary board until the end of June 2023, to ensure managerial stability at the council.

Permanent changes

The Norwegian research ministry has opened a consultation on 12 January, seeking views on whether the Forskningsrådet’s statutes should be permanently changed to allow for a smaller board. “The ministry of education will assess whether the arrangement of a somewhat smaller board should be continued on a permanent basis,” it stated.

The proposal highlights that it is unusual for an administrative body like the research council to have a separate board. On top of the reduction of board members, the ministry wants to simplify the organisation’s structure.

Furthermore, the ministry said it should be solely responsible for appointing the Forskningsrådet’s board in the future. At present, this is done formally by the king of Norway, according to recommendations issued by the research ministry and the cabinet.

According to the research ministry, the proposed changes are “of a limited nature”, and there will be no change in the research council’s mandate or its core task. The ministry confirmed this in an email to Research Professional News.

“The ministry has presented for consultation an initiative to incorporate the bylaws into the instruction regulating the research council,” a ministry spokesperson said. “ The ministry will also consider the size of the board of directors, and to suggest moving the appointment of the board from the council of state to the ministry. The aim is to ease the steering and governing of the research council.

The council’s board was not available for comment.

Reality of law

Other ministries, as well as the Norwegian universities and higher education council (UHR), and the Forskningsrådet itself, are invited to give their input on the proposal by 17 February.

Eivind Smith, a law professor at the University of Oslo, said the impact of the ministry of higher education appointing the board would not be a big change from the current procedure. “The impact will be close to immaterial,” he said. “The highest executive organ of the state—the King in Council—systematically follows the proposals of the relevant minister. Any selection of board members that might cause controversy would be pre-checked with the cabinet or the prime minister.”

Smith told Research Professional News that the proposal would give a more accurate picture of the role of the Forskningsrådet. “From a constitutional perspective, the council is a hierarchically subordinate part of the minister’s resort, whereas the current statutes may create an impression of formal independence within the overall state administration,” he said.

But Per Koch, editor of the research and innovation magazine Forskningspolitikk, wrote an editorial expressing concern about the Forskningsrådet’s future impartiality.

“The research council was given its own statutes and status as an administrative body with special powers, because the council was supposed to be more than a directorate,” he wrote. “The council continues the role of the previous research councils, which were also seen as independent and proactive institutions.”

A version of this article also appeared in Research Europe

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Helsinki is biggest winner in push to define research profiles and boost international competitiveness

The Academy of Finland has granted nine universities a total of €100 million to improve their research profiles worldwide.

The funds are part of a national effort to help Finnish universities develop “strategic profiles” and bolster research quality as measured through international peer review. The sums granted range from €2.2m for the University of the Arts Helsinki to €30.1m for the University of Helsinki.

“One of the typical profiling measures for which funding was applied for was the recruitment of researchers,” the academy said. “For universities, recruitment is a way to strengthen the research environment by, for example, bringing in new expertise, and increasing and diversifying domestic and international networks.”

Thematic priorities

The priorities under which the funding was awarded, as set out in the proposed strategic profiles, are often thematic and multidisciplinary research areas that combine several disciplines. Sustainable development and resilience were among the most popular topics, as well as security, health, nature and materials.

A panel of heads of European universities reviewed the applications, the academy said.

“Regardless of the size of the university, applications that presented a credible, insightful and well-structured plan did very well in the peer review carried out by the international panel,” said Johanna Myllyharju, the chair of the Academy of Finland’s board.

The final decisions were made by the academy’s general subcommittee.

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This week: Danish holiday cancellations, layoffs at Tampere and controversy over an internship refusal

In depth: Norway’s research ministry has proposed to permanently reduce the number of board members at the country’s research council—the Forskningsrådet—to improve the body’s governance.

Full story: Norway moots permanent cuts at research council board

 
Also this week from Research Professional News

Academy issues €100m to bolster Finland’s universities—Helsinki is biggest winner in push to define research profiles and boost international competitiveness

  
Here is the rest of the Nordic news this week…

Danish academics oppose holiday cancellation plans

A group representing Danish academics has spoken out against plans by the country’s government to abolish the Store Bededag, a public holiday on the fourth Friday after Easter. Under the proposal, public servants would have to work that day, but their salaries would be increased by 0.45 per cent—the equivalent of one day—to reward the extra work. Lisbeth Lintz, president of interest group Akademikerne, said the move would add to work pressure on academics. “It doesn’t get any better if you now have to work on General Prayer Day,” she said.

Tampere announces possibility of 30 layoffs

The Tampere University of Applied Sciences (TAMK) will start negotiations with staff on 19 January to adapt the institution “to changing conditions”. The talks will concern the university’s support services and principal lecturer positions, some of which may have to be cut to deal with a budget shortfall at the institution. The estimated need for redundancies is a maximum of 30 persons, the university said. 

Stockholm reprimands professor over internship refusal

Stockholm University has confirmed it has dealt with the case of a professor who was found in an internal investigation to have acted in an “unprofessional and unacceptable manner” against a student. The university admitted the professor linked the refusal of an internship to a Turkish student to Turkey’s government voting against Sweden’s application to join NATO. The university did not specify the measures taken but said the professor was “remorseful”. It also confirmed the student had been supported in finding another internship.

The post Nordic news roundup: 17-23 January appeared first on Research Professional News.

Process hoped to help small institutions issue PhDs and simplify bureaucracy

An expert committee has recommended that higher education institutions in Norway should be able to get university status, even if they run fewer than four doctoral degree programmes.

The committee, which was convened by research and higher education minister Ola Borten Moe, said that the current rules on accreditation were out of date. It said that universities should be allowed to count joint degrees towards accreditation, which, it added, would help smaller institutions and those in rural areas to award PhD titles.

“As long as the institution has the independent right to award doctoral degrees within significant parts of its subject areas, parts of the doctoral education can take place in collaboration with other institutions,” the committee said.

Four degree rule

At present, higher education institutions have to offer at least four different doctoral degrees to be given the right to award PhD titles. The committee, which was convened in May last year, was asked to investigate whether accreditation procedures in Norway are still appropriate, and how the process could be made less bureaucratic.

“Norway stands out in terms of the requirements to become a university,” the minister said. “We need to avoid spending a lot of time and resources on the wrong things, and these recommendations can clean this up a bit.”

The head of the committee, Ingvild Marheim Larsen, said that an update to the rules was necessary.

“We have gone from four to 10 universities and the number of colleges has almost halved,” she said. “At the same time, most of the rules for being accredited as a university have remained unchanged. This is the reason why we are now proposing a number of changes.”

Research training

Higher education institutions who want to become a university will still need to prove that they provide continuous, “stable” research training. This would be measured via the number of doctoral students, the committee proposed.

An institution must have admitted at least 60 doctoral students in the past five years to qualify for PhDs, the committee said. In addition, at larger universities, at least 15 candidates a year must have graduated from the institution over a three-year period.

For smaller institutions, 15 admitted doctoral students over five years and five graduated candidates a year over a three-year period will be enough, the committee clarified.

Trine Meza, rector of Kristiania University College, said this was still quite a high target to achieve for small or specialist institutions.

“This is still a big requirement,” she said. “It is less than the current rules, but still fairly high requirements for admission of doctoral students.”

Meze, however, told the Forskerforum, a news outlet for researchers, that she was feeling positive about the possibility of including joint degree programmes in the accreditation process. “It is beneficial for society that we collaborate,” she said.

Nokut’s role

Apart from the proposals for universities, the committee said that Nokut, an independent expert body under the Norwegian ministry of education and research, should have the final say in decisions about the status of universities.

But Borton Moe said this would not mean that the government would make any decisions about which universities get accredited, and would not review Nokuts decisions on whether university accreditation is to be granted or not.

Borton Moe said the government would recommend that the committee’s report be sent out for consultation, after which it would assess how the recommendations can be implemented.

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Cybersecurity problems are forcing Nordic countries to review how they handle research data

The Nordic countries have a joint new year resolution: to better protect universities and research data from cyber attacks.

The audit offices of both Sweden and Denmark have said they would pour extra resources into monitoring the data security of universities in 2023, calling institutional efforts in this regard “insufficient”. At the same time, the Nordic Council will set up a common security strategy on data and online activities to protect Nordic innovation.

The Nordic Council, an organisation for regional cooperation in the Nordics, agreed at its December meeting that the Nordic countries need a common cybersecurity strategy. Iceland’s minister of higher education, science and innovation, Áslaug Arna Sigurbjörnsdóttir, emphasised that online security and data protection would be a cornerstone of the region’s future competitiveness.

“Cybersecurity is not just a security issue; we also need it so that we can fully harness the power of Nordic innovation,” Sigurbjörnsdóttir said. “There needs to be awareness, expertise and regulations regarding cybersecurity so that we can future-proof our society.”

Worth protecting

In one of its first communications of 2023, Sweden’s National Audit Office warned that “foreign actors” had shown an undue interest in Swedish research and innovation last year. This problem is compounded by the fact that universities in the country have neglected information security work and have little knowledge of what is worth protecting, the office said.

“According to the police, intelligence activities against universities and colleges have intensified recently,” the audit office stated. “Information and knowledge that is unlawfully obtained from the sector every year is valued at high amounts.”

The Swedish audit office is conducting a review of how universities protect research data, with results due in September this year.

Meanwhile, the Danish National Audit Office has concluded that the five biggest universities in the country are struggling to protect their research data. A report out in May 2022 found that institutions are also “too slow” in rectifying critical IT security gaps.

In 2023, the Danish audit office will undertake IT audits at each of the five universities and issue recommendations for better data protection.

The post New year, old trials appeared first on Research Professional News.

This week: a deal with MIT, sport science rankings and record application numbers at Helsinki

In depth: An expert committee has recommended that higher education institutions in Norway should be able to get university status, even if they run fewer than four doctoral degree programmes.

Full story: Norway to revamp accreditation rules

 
Also this week from Research Professional News

New year, old trials—Cybersecurity problems are forcing Nordic countries to review how they handle research data

  
Here is the rest of the Nordic news this week…

Denmark renews deal with MIT

The Danish Agency for Education and Research has renewed a research and training agreement with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), one of the world’s leading universities. From now until December 2025, Danish PhD students and postdocs employed at Danish universities and research institutions can apply for a research stay at MIT. These stays can take the shape of fellowship positions.

Nordic universities dominate sport science ranking

The list of the world’s top universities and divisions in sport science in 2022, published by Academic Ranking of World Universities, also known as the Shanghai Ranking, contains four Danish, one Finnish, three Norwegian and six Swedish institutions. The Norwegian School of Sport Sciences and the University of Copenhagen did particularly well, earning respectively second and third place worldwide.

Record number of applications for Helsinki Master’s

The University of Helsinki received 8,506 applications for its international master’s programmes—a record high. The application period ended on 4 January, with the most popular degree programmes computer science and data sciences. Only 835 places are available for the programmes beginning in autumn this year.

The post Nordic news roundup: 10-16 January appeared first on Research Professional News.

Minister warns that country lacks “driving force” in this field, creating vulnerabilities

The Finnish government will spend €4 million on creating a network for cybersecurity education and research, and the study of information psychology, the government has announced.

The network is meant to “accelerate competences” in these fields, including by promoting education, research and knowledge transfer.

Finland’s minister of science and culture, Petri Honkonen, said that cybersecurity research could help protect critical infrastructure and individual citizens in Finland. However, he added that Finland currently has a shortage of educated people in this field, despite a growing need for qualified staff, adding that this has created a “lack of a driving force”.

As part of the network, a research project on cybersecurity will be launched at the University of Jyväskylä and the Jamk University of Applied Sciences, which have received €2.3m and €1.2m respectively. Around 20 higher education institutions are expected to participate in the network.

As a result of this collaboration, the Finnish government hopes to increase the number of available study programmes and degrees in cybersecurity. There is also a plan to collaborate with international institutions, Honkonen confirmed.

On top of the cybersecurity funding, the University of Jyväskylä has received €450,000 to boost research and the teaching of information-psychology. Honkonen said issues related to cybersecurity and psychology were closely linked, and the money will finance a cooperation between information psychology researchers and the cybersecurity network.

The post Finland boosts funds for cybersecurity research appeared first on Research Professional News.

Government proposals to cut student grants and master’s education face fierce opposition

Universities, academics and students have expressed criticism of the newly established Danish government’s plans to reform higher education—including proposals to shorten master’s degrees and cut student grants.

Denmark’s student union DSF said the government, which was formally established on 15 December, was “historically tough on students”. The group slammed plans to reduce the availability of the state student grant, which supports students from lower income families, to five years instead of the current six.

This, the group warned, would make it impossible for students to repeat a year or take on longer degree programmes.

“It is completely, completely incomprehensible that a new government—in a time of massive dissatisfaction among young people—chooses to cut the state student grant and education programmes, thereby stressing thousands of students, who are already historically vulnerable after the time with corona,” said DSF’s chairwoman, Julie Lindmann. “The state student grant is an investment. It is important that the students have a safe environment to be able to become skilled and to focus on their studies.”

Shorter programmes

The new Danish government consists of a coalition of Social Democrats, Moderates and Liberals. As part of the change, previous Social Democrat science minister Jesper Petersen was relieved of his post, to be replaced with Christina Egelund, a member of the Moderate party.

Egelund worked at lobby body Dansk Industri, which represents Danish businesses, before taking the government post.  From 2015 to 2019, she was a member of parliament for Liberal Alliance.

Egelund backs the government’s proposal to shorten around half of master’s degree programmes in Denmark to one year instead of two, an idea first proposed by the previous government. In a statement, the science ministry said this would improve the student experience.

“The restructuring must go hand in hand with raising the quality of the programmes with more teaching, smaller classes and better guidance,” the science ministry said.

Disruption

But Universities Denmark, the organisation that represented the eight Danish universities, said the proposal was “very disruptive”.

“There is no indication that business is in demand for university graduates with shorter degrees, and no nation has been strengthened by lowering the level of education,” said chairman Brian Bech Nielsen. “In short, the proposal sets up an experiment that risks damaging the whole of Denmark.”

Akademikerne, an umbrella organisation of 28 professional organisations in academia and the sciences, also expressed displeasure with the continuation of the reforms.

“When the former Social Democratic government presented the proposal to reduce master’s programmes, the Danish Economic Council assessed that halving the number of master’s programmes could result in a large loss of productivity,” said Akademikerne’s chairwoman, Lisbeth Lintz. “We do not believe Denmark needs measures that reduce productivity.”

Minister Egelund said on social media website Twitter that she was aware of the criticism of the reforms and would consult with all parties involved.

“We have set out to reform both SU and education. We will do this in dialogue with the sector and especially the students,” she wrote. “It’s good to feel the commitment out there.”

A version of this article appeared in Research Europe

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This week: Forskningsrådet board stays longer, Karolinska launches nutrition centre and Finland issues wind permits

In depth: Universities, academics and students have expressed criticism of the newly established Danish government’s plans to reform higher education—including proposals to shorten master’s degrees and cut student grants.

Full story: Danish universities slam plans to shorten degrees

 
Also this week from Research Professional News

Finland boosts funds for cybersecurity research—Minister warns that country lacks “driving force” in this field, creating vulnerabilities

  
Here is the rest of the Nordic news this week…

Norwegian Research Council board to stay on six months longer

The Norwegian government has decided to extend the mandate of the temporary board of the Norwegian Research Council, the Forskningsrådet, for six months. The board is now expected to step down on 30 June. The decision was made to ensure stability at the council, after the Forskningsrådet’s whole board was fired by the government last year. This was because the council faced a budget hole of 2 billion Norwegian krone, which the board had failed to address.

Karolinska Institutet establishes nutrition centre

The Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet has inaugurated a Centre for Nutrition. The research centre is part of the Department of Biosciences and Nutrition at the university. It will explore how diet composition, dietary regimes and nutritional supplements can be used to improve human health and longevity, the university said.

Finland issues wind power research permits

The Finnish government has granted research permits for the purposes of offshore wind power farm projects in four open sea areas in Finland’s exclusive economic zone. The research projects will be located off the coasts of Jakobstad, Kaskinen and Pori. The companies holding the permits will be allowed to do sea area and seabed research to find good locations for future wind farms.

The post Nordic news roundup: 13 December to 9 January appeared first on Research Professional News.

Non-Danes could remedy scarcity of highly trained labour, society points out

The Danish Society of Engineers, the IDA, has said that international students are “worth gold” to Denmark’s society, and that more need to be allowed into the country.

The IDA presented calculations showing that each non-Danish graduate contributes more than 2m Danish kroner (€270,000) to the economy in the 13 years after completing their degree. The organisation called on the government to remove a cap on international student numbers in master’s programmes at a time that the Danish economy is in desperate need of skilled labour.

It added that it was time to stop seeing international students as a financial burden for Danish society.

“The situation is critical,” said the IDA’s acting head Aske Nydam Guldberg. “In recent years, a political majority has put a cap on how many international students can come here and do their master’s. State educational grants for international students—especially for the engineering and IT programmes—are seen as an expense rather than an investment.”

English-taught cut

Denmark’s outgoing social democratic government, under prime minister Mette Frederiksen, decided in June 2021 to reduce the number of courses offered in English at higher education institutions. This was partly to reduce the ever growing numbers of students from EU countries coming to Denmark, where they do not have to pay tuition fees and can receive education grants.

At the time, the government said that only a low percentage of students who were taught in English stayed in Denmark after completing their degree to find employment.

However, analysis commissioned by the IDA and undertaken by Damvad Analytics showed that, in the years 2007 to 2020, the average international graduate who has completed their education made a contribution of DKr2.06m to the country’s economy after all costs for education, health and social benefits had been deducted.

Science and engineering graduates contributed an average of almost DKr2.45m—one of the highest figures. The IDA said that international students were very much needed in the Danish labour market.

Talent deficit

“In the areas of engineering, technology and IT alone, we will lack 13,000 graduates in 2030,” said Guldberg. “If we are to solve that situation, it will require a significantly higher intake of engineering courses, which is hardly realistic in a time of declining youth cohorts.”

He said it was essential for Denmark to allow many more international students into its universities. He called on the incoming government, which is currently being formed after elections on 1 November, to remove the cap on international students, or at least put it on hold in disciplines where there is a high demand for professionals.  

Pharmadanmark, a trade union for academics working in the life sciences, supported the IDA’s position.

“We must have the ceiling removed, and learn how to get young people from abroad to choose Denmark—and not least to stay here after finishing their studies,” said chairman Tanja Villumsen.” I really hope that the new government will think along those lines.”

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More rented campus accommodation hoped to secure competitiveness as research nation

From next year, Swedish state universities can rent out more housing to students and researchers, the government has announced.

The move is to ensure that Sweden can attract enough international students and researchers. The government confirmed that, from next year onwards, public universities can rent out housing to fee-paying students, doctoral students and researchers early in their careers.

At present, student housing run by universities is available only to undergraduate students, exchange students and visiting researches for a limited period.

R&D competitiveness

With an R&D intensity of more than 3 per cent of its GDP, Sweden prides itself on being a prominent research nation, said prime minister Ulf Kirstersson. In October, he proposed that, to strengthen Sweden’s competitiveness as research nation, municipalities with universities would have to make more housing available to international students and researchers.

An absence of adequate housing makes it difficult to recruit international students and employees to the university, the government said. Being able to offer housing could be a prerequisite for winning them over when competing with universities in other countries, it added.

“The lack of housing often becomes an obstacle to the internationalisation of higher education institutions and the mobility of researchers,” said Sweden’s education minister Mats Persson. “By improving the ability of higher education institutions to rent out housing, the government wants to remove these obstacles.”

The post Sweden permits more academic housing appeared first on Research Professional News.

This week: drop in Norwegian R&D share, Stavanger’s latest partnership and Finnish open access

In depth: The Danish Society of Engineers, the IDA, has said that international students are “worth gold” to Denmark’s society, and that more need to be allowed into the country.

Full story: Danish engineers demand removal of foreign student cap

 
Also this week from Research Professional News

Sweden permits more academic housing—More rented campus accommodation hoped to secure competitiveness as research nation

  
Here is the rest of the Nordic news this week…

Norwegian R&D density drops

R&D spending as a share of the gross national product (GDP) decreased last year in Norway to 1.97 per cent. The data from Statistics Norway, reported by trade journal Forskningspolitik, showed that R&D had accounted for 2.28 per cent of GDP in 2020. R&D expenditure in the university and college sector had almost zero growth, the journal said, although the overall fall is thought to be the result of strong national GDP growth.

Stavanger and Norce strike cooperation deal

Norce, one of Norway’s largest research institutes, has signed a collaboration agreement with the University of Stavanger. The partner institutions will establish several formal meeting points to increase their scientific cooperation. According to Stavanger’s rector Klaus Mohn, the move means the university and Norce can now jointly apply for EU funds, which will put them in a more competitive position.

Tampere pays open access publishing costs

The library of the University of Tampere in Finland will pay the costs associated with publishing in open access format for everyone affiliated to the institution. The scheme will run for the whole of 2023. To be eligible, a publication has to be labelled a Tampere University or Tampere University of Applied Science publication in the publication data collection of Finland’s education ministry.

The post Nordic news roundup: 6-12 December appeared first on Research Professional News.

Minister offers one-off grant to prevent further cuts at financially imperiled Forskningsrådet

The Norwegian government has come to the aid of the Forskningsrådet, the country’s public research council, with a one-time extra grant of 1.64 billion Norwegian krone (€160 million).

The money will plug a funding hole in the council‘s budget and serve to avoid any further cuts to research funding to put the outfit on secure financial footing, the minister for research and higher education, Ola Borten Moe, said. The council’s newly staffed board said in June that it had already made cuts worth around Nkr2bn, but that further cuts would be unavoidable without extra funding.

“Without this money, the research council would have had to reduce the calls for new research projects by around 60 per cent next year, despite an approximately unchanged level of funding from the parliament,” Borten Moe said.

Good and justifiable

In May this year, Borten Moe fired the council’s entire board after it emerged that the council was heading for a minimum of Nkr1.9bn in losses by 2023—a number that was revised to a potential maximum of Nkr2.9bn. After this announcement, the board members said that their management had been good and justifiable.

According to Borten Moe, the financial injection for the Forskningsrådet will be particularly beneficial for early-career researchers as it secures the continuation of the FRIPRO grants, a scheme to fund excellent projects by researchers who have just gained their doctorate. The programme was among those deemed most worthy of protection following the council’s initial funding trouble.

“Today I am particularly pleased on behalf of all the younger researchers who now again have good and stable opportunities to apply for funds through the research council,” said Mari Sundli Tveit, the CEO of the Forskningsrådet. “This is incredibly important and makes these young researchers get the conditions they need to continue a career in research.”

Stability and predictability

Universities Norway (UHR), a cooperative body uniting 32 higher education institutions, thanked the government for listening to the calls from universities to protect the Forskningsrådet and ensure it was financially stable. “This is a very important contribution to Norwegian research in the future and will contribute to more stability and predictability for the sector,” said the UHR chair, Sunniva Whittaker.

Nevertheless, the research council will still have to implement previously planned measures to cut costs. Borten Moe said he would emphasise the importance of good financial management on the research council to avoid any issues in the future.

“The one-off grant of Nkr1.64bn, in combination with downgraded activity in the research council of approximately the same amount, does not leave room for further growth in activities,” he said. “This shows the gravity of the situation we have had to deal with.”

This article also appeared in Research Europe

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Academics plead to spare soft sciences from proposed reductions in per-student support

Danish industry and academic leaders have asked the Danish government to reverse a decision that would abolish extra funding for the humanities and social sciences.

Four organisations, including university union Danske Universiteter and academics representative body Akademikerne, warned that the abolition of the taximeter system for social sciences and humanities departments would have serious consequences for students and Danish society. The taximeter system pays extra money per student to departments with smaller, less popular degree programmes.

In 2010, the taximeter rate for degree programmes within humanities and social sciences was raised by 5,000 Danish krone (€670) a year per student to recognise that such programmes were often underfinanced. But the Danish Finance Act 2023—effectively the country’s budget—contains a clause abolishing this extra funding.

Expiration

“This would impact the financing of the programmes chosen by half of university students, which is due to expire in just a few weeks,” the four organisations said. “As of 1 January, 2023 the universities will lack DKr280 million to create courses for humanities, social studies and economics.”

The cuts were proposed by the government of outgoing social-democratic prime minister Mette Frederiksen. The four groups asked Denmark’s political parties, which are in the process of negotiating a new government, to continue the taximeter system.

“Danish companies need universities to deliver quality, in the form of competent economists and linguists who can support our exports,” the groups said. “As a society, we need, for example, skilled historians who can teach us about where we come from, and psychologists who can help us learn more about ourselves.”

The post Danish government urged to revert social science cuts appeared first on Research Professional News.

This week: the incoming SULF leader, longer visas in Finland and funds for children’s research

In depth: The Norwegian government has come to the aid of the Forskningsrådet, the country’s public research council, with a one-time extra grant of 1.64 billion Norwegian krone (€160 million).

Full story: Norwegian government bails out research council

 
Also this week from Research Professional News

Danish government urged to revert social science cuts—Academics plead to spare soft sciences from proposed reductions in per-student support

  
Here is the rest of the Nordic news this week…

New general secretary for SULF

The Swedish Association of University Teachers and Researchers has elected its next general secretary, who will take on the role next year. Lars Geschwind will replace Git Claesson Pipping, who retired in autumn. Geschwind is a professor of engineering education policy and management at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, where he has worked for the past 10 years.

Finnish lecturers welcome longer stay for foreign researchers

The Finnish Union of University Researchers and Teachers has expressed its satisfaction over a government proposal on 17 November to extend the length of first-time residence permits for international researchers to a maximum of five years. At present, residence is only granted for a maximum of two years to academics moving to Finland—after which they will have to reapply. The union said the extension would help to attract and retain international talent. The reform is planned to enter into force 1 July 2023, but will first have to be voted through parliament.

Windfall for Swedish research on children’s movement

Daniel Berglind, a public health professor at Sweden’s medical research institute, the Karolinska Institutet, has been awarded around 7.2 million Swedish kroner (€600,000) for two projects on the physical activity of preschool and school children. Berglind will investigate how levels of physical activity can be increased among kids. The funding comes from the Swedish Cancer Society and sustainability research funder Forma.

The post Nordic news roundup: 29 November to 5 December appeared first on Research Professional News.