NEWS In mid-October, the spotlight will be on Umeå University’s new professors, honorary doctors, scientific award recipients, teaching award recipients and distinguished university teachers. For several days, the focus will be on knowledge, dialogue and recognising important research contributions that benefit both our society and the wider world. It is time for the Annual Celebration.
Improved investigative work for the police, greater understanding of dementia and stroke, more sustainable design, reduced antibiotic resistance, more reliable AI systems, cleaner air and increased knowledge about democracy among young people.
Peter Sköld, master of ceremonies.
ImageMattias PetterssonThese are some of the goals pursued through the research of Umeå University’s new professors. During the Annual Celebration, all new professors will be recognised and celebrated together with the University’s new honorary doctors, scientific award recipients, distinguished university teachers and teaching award recipients.
“We are incredibly proud of the important knowledge and achievements that our researchers, teachers, award recipients and honorary doctors contribute to society and the world. They truly deserve to be in the spotlight, and during the Annual Celebration they will be,” says Peter Sköld, master of ceremonies at Umeå University.
A range of Annual Celebration events will take place between Thursday 15 October and Saturday 17 October.
On Thursday, 9.00–12.00, the Teaching awardee panels will be held. During the event, teaching award recipients and newly appointed distinguished university teachers from Umeå University will discuss important and topical issues relating to learning and student support.
The panels will be held in Swedich, take place in the Teacher Education Building and are open to anyone interested. During the event, the award recipients will receive their diplomas from Cathrine Norberg, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for first- and second-cycle education.
Read more about the participants, as well as the time and venue (in Swedish).
The Annual Celebration opens on Friday morning, 16 October. On this occasion, Umeå University Library will present an exhibition featuring the new professors, honorary doctors and scientific award recipients. The exhibition consists of photographs and publications.
The opening will include live music, light refreshments and a short lecture by Karin Neutel, Professor of Theology and one of the professors who will be inaugurated during the Ceremony. Her lecture is entitled Fleshing Out Humanity: Death, Intelligence, and Space Travel. The lecture will be held in English.
As Umeå University Library is currently being renovated, the opening, as last year, will take place in Vardagsrummet in Humanisthuset. The exhibition will remain on display throughout the weekend.
See the calendar event for the exact time.
This autumn, Umeå University is taking centre stage along Rådhusesplanaden in central Umeå. The display features portraits of eight of the University’s new professors who will be giving lectures during the Annual Celebration, accompanied by quotations reflecting the goals of their research. One of the featured professors is Johanna Björklund, Professor at the Department of Computing Science.
ImageJohanna FredrikssonOn Saturday morning, all new professors, honorary doctors and scientific award recipients will give short popular science lectures that are open to the public.
A wide range of research will be presented. Examples of lecture titles include "The Internet as a crime scene: Police efforts to combat online child sexual abuse", "Design in a world of fakes: When robots pretend, prototypes promise and the unreal takes shape", "When everyone wants everything at once: Multilevel governance and goal conflicts" and "The ruthless carpenter: How viruses remodel an infected cell".
In total, there will be 36 lectures, each lasting 20 minutes.
“This is a perfect opportunity for anyone with even a small curiosity about research, or who would like to learn more about what our leading researchers are working on. I hope many people will take the opportunity to explore the knowledge being presented in an accessible format,” says Peter Sköld.
The lectures will be held in lecture halls on Campus Umeå between 09:00 and 12:00.
See the programme for the day.
The highlight of the Annual Celebration takes place on the afternoon of 17 October: the Ceremony. In a festive setting, new honorary doctors will be conferred, new professors will be inaugurated and scientific award recipients will receive their diplomas.
Live music will be performed during the Ceremony by the Umeå Student Choir and a guest artist.
The Ceremony, which is open to the public, begins at 15:00 and takes place in Aula Nordica on Campus Umeå. It lasts approximately two hours and can also be followed online via umu.se.
The Ceremony is followed by the banquet for invited guests. This year, the banquet will be held at Äpplet, located in Folkets Hus in central Umeå, as Universum on campus is currently undergoing renovation.