On 22 November, the Association of Swedish Higher Education Institutions arranged a seminar called “Sharing experiences around the higher education institutions’ work on profile areas,” in which most universities participated. No one had any more information about the national call for profile areas than we do at Lund University. It was interesting to note that most higher education institutions had reached decisions about profile areas or had come a long way in the process of doing so.
Another fascinating observation was that 25 of the 37 participants responded that “the process around the application has been useful regardless of whether it brings results” with the remaining ten replying that it was “good if something comes of it” or “only good if it ends up being a lot of money.” Only two participants considered the process a waste of time and resources.
Since Vice-Chancellor Erik Renström made the decision about Lund University’s five profile areas, a lot of work has been done. Thus far, most of it has not been visible from the outside, but this is about to change.
During the autumn, a lot of discussions have taken place about how the profile areas are to be led and managed. These discussions resulted in 16 Vice-Chancellor’s decisions on 1 December.
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