2025
A STEM strategy for Sweden - from preschool to postgraduate education
The government's STEM strategy contains goals to strengthen STEM education in Sweden. In addition, a new STEM delegation will work to ensure that more people are educated in mathematics, science and technology.
It is in the science and technology programmes in upper secondary school that the foundation for further study in STEM is laid. The proportion studying in these programmes has decreased in recent years. The government's goal is therefore to increase the proportion of students studying in science and technology programmes, reaching 25 percent of students in national programmes by 2035.
Today, not enough people are studying a STEM education at university level. The number of full-time students in these fields currently stands at just over 80,000. The government's goal is for the number of full-time students in higher education to reach at least 90,000 in science and technology, including foundation year programmes, by 2035.
Improved opportunities for credit transfer in higher education
The regulations for credit transfer within higher education have long been unchanged, which has led to few credit transfers actually being made. The current system makes it difficult for students to transfer their knowledge and shorten their time in education. The change that is now being made simplifies and makes credit transfer between higher education institutions more equivalent.
The government is now implementing amendments to regulations to improve the opportunities for credit transfer within higher education. A more flexible and equivalent system is considered to promote mobility in the labor market and reduce the costs of education, both for the individual and for society.
The changes are based on the Validation Delegation's interim report, Validation in higher education – for credit transfer and lifelong learning (SOU 2018:29).
Extended time limit for employment as an associate senior lecturer
The government has decided on an amendment to the Higher Education Ordinance. The amendment means that the time limit from doctoral degree to employment as an associate senior lecturer will be extended from the current five years, to five to seven years. With the amendment, the higher education institutions themselves may decide on which time limit should be used.
The employment form of associate senior lecturer is an entry-level position to the academic career path. The aim is for the associate senior lecturer to qualify to meet the requirements for a permanent employment as a senior lecturer. Currently, the time limit from doctoral degree to be considered for employment as an associate senior lecturer is a maximum of five years. This means that researchers who have, for example, completed several or longer postdoctoral stays abroad will have difficulty in applying for these positions.
The hope is that the amendment will lead to greater flexibility within the sector and a greater exchange of doctors between higher education institutions.
The amendment to the ordinance will enter into force on 1 November 2024.
2024
Attracting and retaining highly qualified international competence, improving conditions for foreign doctoral students and researchers and safer assessments of residence permits for studies
The Government instructs Swedish Public Employment Service (Arbetsförmedlingen), Business Sweden, Swedish social insurance system (Försäkringskassan), The Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationverket), Statistics Sweden (Statistiska Centralbyrån), The Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket), The National Government Service Centre (Statens servicecenter), Swedish Institute, the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth (Tillväxtverket), Swedish Council for Higher Education (Universitets- och högskolerådet) and the Sweden's innovation agency (Vinnova) to jointly identify and address problems linked to attracting, establishing and retain highly qualified international competence and other foreign labor that is important for Sweden's competitiveness in Sweden, as well as to strengthen the coordination of state authorities' processes and work in this area. The assignment and its reporting will be coordinated and reported by the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth.
The Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth will submit partial reports to the Government Office (Ministry of Climate and Enterprise) by 31 January 2025 and 31 March 2026 at the latest. Furthermore, the Agency will submit a final report, including a financial report, to the Government Office (Ministry of Climate and Enterprise) no later than March 31, 2027.
In addition, an investigator is tasked with submitting proposals for measures that improve the possibilities of attracting and retaining foreign doctoral students and researchers in Sweden. The aim is, among other things, to strengthen Sweden's competitiveness as a research and innovation nation. The investigator will also review the regulations regarding residence permits for studies, with the aim of countering abuse of student permits. The assignment will be reported by 9 December 2024 at the latest.
For more information (in Swedish)
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Reducing the administrative burden at universities
The administrative superstructure needs to be reduced in order to give time to the universities' core tasks, which are education and research. Researchers' time should be freed up to focus on conducting research. The Swedish Agency for Public Management (Statskontoret) is now tasked with analyzing the consequences of administrative tasks that the higher education institutions are obliged to perform.
The core activities at universities are education and research. The operation differs from other state administrative authorities, not least in light of the principles of research freedom and academic freedom. The universities have a higher degree of independence than other administrative authorities, both in terms of how the activities can be designed and how financial resources can be used.
The Swedish Agency for Public Management will analyze the consequences of the administrative tasks that state universities are obliged to perform as a result of general regulations and government decisions that apply to state administrative authorities. Based on the analysis, the authority shall, if necessary, propose measures that the government can take to reduce the administrative burden of the state universities.
The assignment includes that universities will be given the opportunity to submit information about which administrative tasks are particularly burdensome and to make suggestions for efficiency measures. If necessary, the Swedish Agency for Public Management will also obtain opinions from the Swedish Higher Education Authority (Universitetskanslersämbete) and other relevant authorities and actors.
This assignment is part of a larger effort to reduce universities' administrative burden. The assignment will be reported in September 2025.
On the other hand, the Swedish Higher Education Authority will carry out a mapping of the impact of evaluations on the administrative burden on universities. The mapping must include an assessment of which parts are most important and suggestions on how the administrative burden can be reduced.
The assignment will be reported to the Government Office (Ministry of Education) no later than 13 December 2024.
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Increasing university - industry mobility early in the academic career on referral
There is a great and growing need for mobility between universities and other sectors to increase the supply of skills in society. For example, it needs to be easier to combine work as a researcher and teacher at a university with work in healthcare or industry.
A memorandum proposes changes to the Higher Education Act that enable joint employment between the university and other sectors, which has previously been possible only for certain categories of employees at health care units that are assigned to medical education and research. This means that the regulation relating to combined employment in the case of specific occupational categories is removed. The proposals also make it possible to combine an employment as an associate senior lecturer or another employment as a teacher with an employment in another sector, which is currently only possible for senior lecturers and professors. The purpose of these proposals is to increase mobility between the university and other sectors, also early in the academic career.
The changes regarding the time limit between the doctoral degree and the application for employment as an associate senior lecturer are proposed to enter into force on July 1, 2024, and the changes concerning combined employment are proposed to enter into force on July 1, 2025.
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More people will have the opportunity to pursue EU studies with a scholarship
The Government has decided to increase the scholarship amount for studies at College of Europe. The increase means that the tuition fees for seven students can be fully financed with scholarships from 2024. This is one of the investments the Government is making to encourage more Swedes to apply to EU institutions in the future.
The scholarship is administered and applied for via the Swedish Council for Higher Education and is aimed at people who want to study at one of the University's three locations in Bruges, Warsaw and Tirana.
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Security competence must be taken into account when the educational institutions' new boards are nominated
The Government has decided on an adjusted assignment to the nominators who have previously been appointed to propose chairmen and external board members for state universities. The change means that they must take into account that the board as a whole has general competence in security matters.
In recent years, the security situation has deteriorated and become increasingly serious. Universities are interesting to foreign powers and therefore need to be more prepared for risks in the new security situation. This is an important step to ensure that the boards have the collective competence required to be able to handle overall and strategic questions about safety.
What is new in the assignment is that the nominators, when they propose new members for the upcoming appointment period, must take into account that the board as a whole has general competence in security matters. In other respects, the nominators' proposals must, as before, be preceded by consultation within and outside the university, and the persons who are nominated must have competence and experience from activities of importance to the university's mission. The members will be proposed for the period October 1, 2024 through April 30, 2028. The nominators must submit their proposals by June 14 at the latest, and the Government is expected to appoint the new boards in September.
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2023
Authorities to draw up guidelines for responsible internationalization
The Government gives the Swedish Council for Higher Education, the Swedish Research Council and Vinnova (innovation agency) the task of proposing how the work with responsible internationalization in higher education, research and innovation conducted at universities, with state research funders and other authorities can be promoted.
International collaborations in higher education and research are in many cases decisive for excellent research and innovation. The Government wants to create good conditions for making use of research results in both the public sector and business, as well as to contribute in a safe way to Swedish competitiveness and resilience. At the same time, openness in, among other things, research risks being exploited.
We live in an increasingly insecure world and there are major challenges with foreign powers exploiting the openness and collaboration that are cornerstones of excellent research and innovation. Openness should form the basis of international cooperation, while there needs to be an awareness of the need to protect national interests, knowledge and technology.
The Swedish Council for Higher Education, the Swedish Research Council and Vinnova are therefore tasked with producing indicative national guidelines for international collaborations which should be a tool for making assessments of ongoing and potential international educational and research collaborations. The authorities must also propose how additional forms of support for, among other things, the exchange of knowledge and experience between universities and state research financiers, as well as other relevant authorities and organizations can be developed and designed.
The assignment must be partially reported no later than March 31, 2024, and a final report no later than December 15, 2024. The assignment is coordinated by the Swedish Council for Higher Education.
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The government gathers forces to strengthen Sweden, the country of engineers
Sweden's prosperity has historically rested on a strong innovative power in the individual and in the business world. In the budget bill for 2024, the government proposes several different investments in education and research that will strengthen Sweden as a country of engineers and meet the great skill needs, including an expansion of the education of Master of Science in Engineering and an increase in the compensation amounts for education in science and technology.
The government is proposing a targeted investment to expand the education of Master of Science in Engineering in the coming years. In order for more people to be able to study as engineers, the base year courses at these universities are also being expanded.
The government also proposes a strategic investment in increased research grants. The aim is to strengthen the research and educational environments in electrification and battery technology. Through this investment, the government quickly creates the conditions for the universities to be able to recruit more researchers and teachers with key competence in an area where international competition is high.
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Swedish Higher Education Authority (UKÄ) shall conduct case studies on academic freedom – a reaction to cancel culture
The Government commissions the Swedish Higher Education Authority (UKÄ) to conduct case studies on academic freedom.
UKÄ will conduct case studies with the aim of providing a deeper understanding of the work of universities and university colleges in promoting and protecting academic freedom in accordance with the provisions of the Higher Education Act and a culture that allows the free search for knowledge and the free dissemination of knowledge. The authority must also compile the work of the higher education institutions in promoting and protecting academic freedom and a culture that allows the free search for knowledge and the free dissemination of knowledge. The compilation must include a summarising national picture and an international outlook.
The assignment on case studies must be reported no later than February 15, 2024, and other parts must be reported no later than May 15, 2024.
The issue of academic freedom came up during the autumn 2022 in the debate about the existence of a so-called cancel culture at Swedish universities.