The Young Academy of Sweden (YAS) has announced the publication on 14 September of a free digital beginner’s guide aimed at helping newcomers to navigate the Swedish academic and research systems and remove time-consuming obstacles.
Explaining the motivation behind A Beginner’s Guide to Swedish Academia*, the YAS stated: “As a newcomer to the Swedish research system, one is faced with a series of questions about qualifications, networks and practical issues. To make things easier, YAS has developed a guide to help navigate Swedish academia and remove time-consuming obstacles”.
The Swedish guide, authored by 10 members of YAS, and available in a printed edition from Wednesday 19 October, is modelled on a similar publication produced by the Young Academy of the Netherlands in 2018, which has proven to be of great use for both newly arrived young researchers and for the public at large.
Two of the Swedish guide’s authors – Ewa Machotka, a researcher in Japanese art history at Stockholm University, and Philippe Tassin, a physicist at Chalmers University of Technology – said the fact that the authors came from “many different fields and universities in the country, and several of us have also had the experience of establishing ourselves as newcomers to the Swedish academic system, [has meant that] we have both insight and good qualifications”.
“When we saw the guide developed by the young academy in the Netherlands, we felt that this is something we really wanted to do,” they said in a statement.
YAS is an interdisciplinary academy founded in 2011 as an initiative of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for the most prominent younger researchers in Sweden. The academy is an independent platform that provides young researchers with a strong voice in policy debates and promotes science and research often focusing on children and young adults.
Unwritten rules and information
Sigrid Schottenius Cullhed, associate professor in the department of literature at Uppsala University, who also contributed to the guide, told University World News the aim was to “collect and address unwritten rules and pieces of information that may be difficult to access” upon arrival in Sweden as a researcher or student from abroad.
“For instance, although most Swedes speak English quite well, many [newcomers] have experienced that learning some Swedish is crucial both from an academic and social point of view,” she said.
“In the beginner’s guide, we introduce our readers to important aspects of research funding in Sweden. Researchers will eventually find that there are many such opportunities, but it takes time to understand the funding systems and their regulations.
“It is important to plan ahead since it might take time to get a visa and residence permit. One of our recommendations is that you apply for a personal identification number on day one, since you will need this for everything else!”
The guide contains information about temporary academic positions and gives important information on how the working conditions in these positions are regulated between the universities and the trade unions.
For many international readers it is important to know that PhD positions in Sweden constitute both employment and studies, and that these positions have salaries that can vary between fields of study and funding sources.
While international students pay tuition fees for studies at the bachelor and masters degree levels, doctoral studies are exempt and, together with the salary, this makes Sweden one of the most attractive doctoral study destinations in the world.
It also means that competition for many of these positions is tough and has led to a strong representation of international students in many fields of research, notably in the technological fields and natural sciences.
Chapter four of the guide deals with how to carry out research projects, providing information about more than 20 research funding sources in Sweden, notably including several private foundations which have a stronger funding function in Sweden compared with other Nordic countries.
The two last chapters deal with rights, social benefits, practical information and language. The guide also provides information on possible support systems for the partner of a young researcher seeking work in Sweden since that is an important factor for those arriving in Sweden with a family.
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