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Crisis monitoring

University-wide crisis monitoring

Management of crisis situations is required regardless of whether the crisis arises in Lund or at a study location abroad. The information on this page is for employees at Lund University who deal with inbound or outbound students in a crisis situation.


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University-wide crisis monitoring for outgoing students 

External Relations conducts daily monitoring of crises and coordinates information sent to students who are involved in study-related activities in a country or region affected by a crisis. Here you will find information about university-wide crisis monitoring and how you can help a student in crisis.

External monitoring is done once a day from Monday to Friday during office hours. This covers Swedish and international news channels, relevant embassies and universities, and the travel advisory provided by the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

When some kind of crisis arises, an initial crisis assessment is conducted:

  • How likely is it that we have students at the location?
  • How serious is the event? 
  • Where is the university campus/internship/field study area in relation to the event?
  • Is the crisis geographically widespread? 

Examples of crises in which we have previously intervened and contacted students: 

  • Terror attacks, shootings and bombings
  • Tsunamis, typhoons, storms, flooding, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes 
  • New advisory from the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs
  • Violent protests
  • Other major accidents such as bus accidents or fires

We monitor the countries where we know that we have students. If students are in locations that we are not informed about, they are not covered by our crisis monitoring. 

In order to find out if we have any students on the ground when a crisis occurs, External Relations conducts a search of students in Ladok and SoleMove, by country. An additional list of all mobility categories is also checked.

External Relations collates this list of students who belong to other mobility categories following input from the University. We can only monitor areas if we know that we have students in these locations. External Relations is completely dependent on input from the University’s various units.

At the start of each semester, External Relations reminds Interhand to send lists of other mobility categories. Updates of these lists are received on a continuous basis.

Examples of other mobility categories that are not registered in Ladok or SoleMove by country: 

  • MFS grant recipients
  • Crafoord scholarship recipients
  • Erasmus traineeship grant recipients 
  • Students doing internships abroad
  • Students doing degree projects abroad
  • Students conducting field studies/data collection abroad
  • Students who are on a study trip abroad
  • Students on exchanges abroad as “free-movers”

1. Are there any students in the area in question? We search by country in Ladok and SoleMove and start with the existing lists (see section above “Whom do we contact?”).

2. Email messages are sent to the students concerned.

The email contains the following:

  • Brief information about the situation
  • Link(s) to information about the event/crisis
  • A reminder about Student OUT insurance and Falck Global Assistance. Not all students on the lists are covered by Student OUT insurance. If the student is not covered by Student OUT, this information is not included in the email to that particular student.
  • A request that the student follow the instructions given by local authorities and the host university, contact the Swedish embassy and sign up on the list of Swedish citizens.

Example of communication sent in connection with the typhoons in Japan autumn 2022 (PDF)

3. Follow up the situation (continue to monitor the media, wait and see whether any students reach out with questions).

4. Contact the Chief Security Officer Fredrik Bexell if a student requires further help in a crisis situation.

When an outgoing student in crisis contacts you

When a student abroad finds themselves in a crisis situation and contacts you for assistance, you must first find out if they are covered by the Student OUT insurance.

Students who travel abroad via Lund University are recommended to check whether they are insured. As someone with responsibility for sending students abroad for exchange studies, field studies or an internship, you must also keep track of insurance that is available for the student.

All outgoing exchange students at Lund University who are registered on an exchange in Ladok and SoleMove are automatically covered by Kammarkollegiet’s (the Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency) insurance Student OUT. Note that to be registered in Ladok as an exchange student, there must be an agreement with the partner university and it must be possible for credits studied to be counted towards a degree at Lund University.

The student can download the insurance certificate from SoleMove themselves.

Students who are on other types of trips abroad are only covered by Student OUT if their faculty has signed an individual Student OUT insurance policy on their behalf.

Read more about insurance for outgoing students here

If a student contacts you for assistance with something that has happened abroad, you are to first investigate if they are covered by Student OUT (see the point above).

If the student is covered by Student OUT
Tell the student to contact Falck Global Assistance. Falck is the first point of contact for the management of crises abroad. As the student’s academic coordinator, you might be required to sign an insurance claim further down the line.

Falck helps students find medical care at the location and with transport home in cases of illness or evacuation.

If the student is travelling to a somewhat high-risk area abroad, far from main infrastructure and embassies, the student is recommended to contact Falck before they travel and inform them of where they will be staying. This is to ensure that the student is well prepared and has information about where to turn should anything happen.

Read more about Falck Global Assistance on Falcksverige.se

If the student is not covered by Student OUT 
Find out if the student has any other type of insurance and if so, tell them to contact their insurance company.

Management of crises for incoming students in Sweden

In the event of a crisis in Sweden, international students in Sweden are a particularly vulnerable group since they are far away from their usual network of personal contacts and family.

Crises that could impact an international student in Sweden require various types of management depending on where the crisis occurs:

  • at the campus in Lund, Malmö or Helsingborg
  • in Sweden
  • in the student’s home country
  • personal crisis related to study situation and mental health

Crises that take place on the University’s campus in Lund, Malmö or Helsingborg are managed where they occur and by those who are immediately impacted and responsible. As an administrative officer, you may need to act:

If it is an emergency:

  • Call SOS Alarm: dial 112
  • The University has its own security service, security guards and emergency staff who can be reached by telephone on +46 46 222 07 00 (Internal extension 20700)

If it is not an emergency:

External Relations does not have specific procedures in place for managing events involving international students or national crises. 

The individual responsible for activities in normal circumstances is responsible in the same way for the activities in the event of a crisis or disaster. Crises are managed where they occur and by those who are immediately affected and responsible. Start by informing your manager.

Read Lund University’s Crisis Management and Contingency Plan

Remember that crisis situations that arise in another part of Sweden and that do not directly impact incoming students may need to be managed nevertheless. Consider whether partner universities and the relatives of students need to be informed that Lund has not been affected.

International students who experience a personal crisis, perhaps related to their study situation or mental health, are particularly vulnerable when they are in Sweden without their regular network of personal contacts. If you in your role as administrative officer for international students see signs that a student may not be doing well, it is recommended that you ask the student how they are feeling and refer them to the help and support offered by the Student Health Centre.

The Student Health Centre has English-speaking staff and offers students help and support on issues that can impact students. Examples of the available support include advice and the opportunity to talk. For other types of issues or care needs, the student needs to contact the healthcare professionals in primary care. 

Find out what the Student Health Centre can offer on lunduniversity.lu.se

It might be appropriate to contact the student’s home university in the event of a serious situation. Examples of this type of situation might be if the student: 

  • does not show up for courses they are registered on
  • does not complete any credits 
  • has a serious health condition
  • is found guilty of cheating
  • is accused of e.g. being disorderly in their accommodation
  • has committed a crime such as drug use

General guidelines for crisis management

Regardless of which type of crisis you need to manage, the following guidelines can be used:

  • Determine that it is a crisis and what type 
  • Summon the crisis and support functions at your department/faculty (ask your manager if you don't know whom to talk to)
  • Make an overall assessment – analyse the situation
  • Compile information for both internal and external counterparties
  • Inform those concerned
  • Find ways out of the crisis and return to normal operations as soon as possible
  • Follow upend analyse the situation afterwards
  • Feedback strengths and weaknesses in management

Read Lund University’s Crisis Management and Contingency Plan

Keep in mind!

As an administrative officer for students in a crisis situation, you should avoid working alone on the case. Remember to inform your manager at an early stage of the crisis management process. 

Crisis management can cause stress for the individual administrative officer – seek support from both managers and colleagues.

University-wide crisis monitoring

Dimardo Dean and 
Oskar Hansson
Email: crisismonitoring [at] er [dot] lu [dot] se (crisismonitoring[at]er[dot]lu[dot]se)

Keep in mind!

As an administrative officer for students in a crisis situation, you should avoid working alone on the case.