New international staff members and their families were recently welcomed to the new academic year at an event in the Main University Building. Specially invited staff members enjoyed a get-together and refreshments with music by Albin Rickman’s Trio and students from the Malmö Academy of Music, while the children (large and small) were offered sweets and soft drinks.
The event was the first within the project “International Faculty Programme at Lund University”. The project aims to create a meeting place and a context with cross-faculty connections for newly employed international teaching staff and researchers.
Vice-Chancellor Erik Renström read out the names of all the international researchers in attendance who had taken up their positions in Lund after July 2023. Each one received a greeting and thanks for their involvement and contribution to Lund University’s activities.
Lund University employs a large number of international researchers and teaching staff each year. The International Faculty Programme has now kicked off as a part of the University’s work to increase international impact. The aim is to create a deeper understanding of Lund University’s research and education, and the values the University stands for, so that our international colleagues with families can be important ambassadors for the University.
Tornike Metreveli, a new international colleague, has joined the European Studies Department at Lund University's Joint Faculties of Humanities and Theology as an Associate Professor. Tornike has been at Lund University for two years, starting at the Centre for Theology and Religious Studies (CTR) where he completed his docentur in sociology of religions.
"I've felt very welcomed by my colleagues and the University," says Tornike Metreveli.
He came to Lund after a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University, drawn by Lund's strong research profile.
"I was attracted to Lund's research environment, the people I'd worked with here, and the quality of life. My two postdocs at Harvard were both competitive and demanding," Tornike Metreveli explains.
He recommends Lund to other colleagues, praising its "hospitable research environment and healthy work-life balance." He also appreciates "Lund's openness to innovation and experimentation."
When not conducting research, Tornike Metreveli focuses on sharing his work with a wider audience and teaching master's students. Notably, his project on the Territoriality of Orthodox Churches was recognized with the EU Prize for Journalism in 2023 for the most innovative and original piece of work in print, broadcast, or online media.
Tornike Metreveli also hosts the podcast "Religion in Praxis," which is broadcast in 39 countries.
Listen to Tornike Metreveli's podcast: Religion in Praxis Conversation Series
Anja Felmy from Switzerland has been in Lund for a year and before that she has been at ETH Zurich, Oxford University, and the University of Zurich. She has been given a BUL position at the Department of Biology to do research on fast, contemporary evolution using fishes as a model species. Right now, she is organising for her guppies to arrive from the rainforest in Trinidad where she will catch them herself, which is a complicated process. Anja Felmy enjoys life in Lund and hopes that she and her family can stay here forever.
But the move has not been without problems. Anja's second child, a now 21-month-old girl, was born extremely prematurely weighing only 545 grams. Although she beat all the odds and survived, she cannot yet eat in the usual way and must be fed via a button in her stomach. When the family moved to Lund, their daughter was dependent on oxygen tubes. Since Switzerland is not part of the EU, the transition to Swedish healthcare has been challenging, especially as the two countries’ healthcare systems are very different.
Today, her daughter goes to preschool in Lund but is still dependent on round-the-clock medical care. It has been difficult to learn how the Swedish healthcare system works. She wishes she had received more support in this.
But Anja Felmy is very pleased with the warm reception from colleagues and the university.
"Lund University have been fantastic, and my colleagues have been extremely helpful" says Anja Felmy.
More activities are planned
The next opportunity will be held in November and is an "after work" with five speed lectures from different faculties. After that, a visit to one of the university's outreach activities, such as the Swedish History Museum, Odeum, Vattenhallen, Skissernas museum or the Botanical Garden, is planned.
The Office of Special Events and Protocol arranges the four annual activities.
The Department ofHuman Resources, with the help of the faculties, is responsible for producing contact information for the target group.