What voice do universities have? How should they communicate with the
wider community? This is the theme of a panel discussion during Almedalen Week,
which is part of Uppsala University’s initiative concerning research into democracy
and higher education. The discussion will be led by Dag Blanck, Professor of
North American Studies.
Nurses who conduct research – how do we get more? This is another theme
of a panel discussion during Almedalen Week. “In Sweden, there is a shortage of
nurses with PhDs,” says Karin Forsberg Nilsson, Dean of the Faculty of
Medicine.
To counteract the current biodiversity crisis, we need more effective monitoring of biodiversity. Can DNA-based analysis be a solution? This is the theme of a panel discussion to be held on 28 June during Almedalen Week in Visby.
VIDEO. At the Uppsala Social Robotics Lab, researchers aim to design and
develop robots that interact socially with humans. Applications with robots
interacting with humans are on the rise. New roles are emerging where robots
provide not only physical support but also social support to people.
AI tool quickly became good at Swedish
The AI tool Chat-GPT has stunned the world with its accurate use of language.
Joakim Nivre, Professor of Computational Linguistics, has been involved in
developing language models based on Swedish texts over the past two years.
A majority of Swedes thinks that our democratic freedoms and rights could need to be temporarily restricted in order to deal with a serious social problem.
This has been shown in a new study.
VIDEO. There is much discussion about gang crime in Sweden – a huge and complex
problem. There are no easy solutions, but there is one thing that we can do according to the researcher Anna Sarkadi:
invest in vital interventions early in a child’s life.
Junk food may impair our deep sleep
In a new study, researchers at Uppsala University have investigated how
junk food affects sleep. After following an unhealthier diet, the quality of
the participants’ deep sleep had deteriorated, compared with those who had
followed the healthier diet.
New study links contraceptive pills and depression
Women who used combined contraceptive pills were at greater risk of developing depression than women who did not, according to a new study from Uppsala University. Contraceptive pills increased women’s risk by 73 per cent during the first two years of use.
RESEARCHER PROFILE. He has 10,000 ticks in a freezer and is one of the media’s frequently hired experts on the subject. Professor Thomas Jaenson has dedicated the last 40 years to studying ticks and the diseases they can pass on to us. He is convinced that they carry many more pathogens than we are currently aware of, and thinks that the authorities ought to step up and warn people about ticks in high-risk areas for tickborne encephalitis (TBE).
Breaking the isolation of Ukrainian university teachers
During the spring, around 80 Ukrainian university teachers have had the chance to take a course on online teaching and learning from Uppsala University. The hope is to give them new perspectives on distance education and to offer a forum in which they can focus on their role as academics and forget the war for a few hours.
Uppsala University has climbed 11 places in this year’s ranking of global
universities produced by the CWUR (Centre for World University Rankings). This
year Uppsala University is ranked 77th, compared to 88th last year.
Summer reading with a Uppsala University connection
Holidays and the summer are fast approaching. And that means more time to read books, hopefully. Here are some reading tips on newly published books, by authors connected to Uppsala University.
Research projects from Uppsala University make IVA’s 100 list
This year’s 100 list has been unveiled by the Royal Swedish Academy of
Engineering Sciences (IVA) and features 79 research projects deemed to have
great potential in terms of benefit to society. Four of them come from Uppsala
University.
In December this year, David Håkansson will become a member of the Swedish Academy. As professor and researcher in linguistics at Uppsala University, he is keen to enhance efforts to promote the Swedish language.
Music Professor Mattias Lundberg receives Royal Medal
Mattias Lundberg is familiar from several series on Swedish Radio’s
channel P2, most recently “Fråga musikprofessorn” (“Ask the Music Professor”). Now
he is being awarded a royal medal.
The recipients of the 2023 Martin Henricksson Holmdahl Prize
Four people are being recognised this year for their efforts related to human rights: Professor Emeritus Ove Bring, Professor Elisabeth Rynning, Senior Lecturer Brian Palmer, and physician Andreas Tolf, a doctoral student at Uppsala University.
