Quality assurance: Skills and careers

Laws and rules, including internal appointment regulations, regulate the recruitment and employment of staff. Core rules on employment, gender equality and equal opportunity are found in the Employment Protection Act (LAS) and the Discrimination Act.

The fundamental regulations for teaching appointments are defined in the Higher Education Act and the Higher Education Ordinance, though the ‘autonomy reform’ in 2011 brought greater freedom for higher education institutions to decide on requirements for the appointment of academic staff, and the academic career system. The Higher Education Act specifies that each higher education institution is to employ professors and senior lecturers and the Higher Education Ordinance’s regulatory framework provides the basis for employment of teachers.

Uppsala University’s appointment regulations regulate the teaching appointments existing at the University: professors, visiting professors, adjunct professors, senior lecturers, associate senior lecturers, lecturers, adjunct senior lecturers and adjunct lecturers. As a general rule, teachers are permanently employed in competition and after external expert assessment, which includes a careful assessment of both research and teaching skills. Newly employed teachers are to have taken a 10-week course in teaching and learning in higher education (or must do so within two years of appointment) or have equivalent qualifications.

As a rule, positions are to be advertised in open and, preferably, international competition, which is particularly important for promoting external recruitment, gender equality, diversity and internationalisation. International recruitment is facilitated through a special function intended to support both the recruiting department and the new employee.

It is also possible to employ researchers as T/A staff, using a predefined recruitment process. In this category, post-doctoral researchers can be employed for up to two years, in accordance with a central collective agreement. The appointment may be extended under special circumstances. Though most researchers primarily focus on research, some also teach.

The appointment regulations also regulate the University’s recruitment and promotion of teachers to positions as senior lecturer or professor.

Guidelines and criteria for recruitment and promotion within disciplinary domains and faculties

Each disciplinary domain/faculty at Uppsala University also has its own guidelines and criteria for recruitment and promotion, which are designed to meet the needs of the University with regard to research and teaching.

In the Disciplinary Domain of Science and Technology, all recruitment is to follow the faculty’s Guidelines for the Appointment and Promotion of Teachers and for Admittance of Docents and of Distinguished University Teachers at the Disciplinary Domain of Science and Technology.

The Disciplinary Domain of Medicine and Pharmacy emphasises that qualifications are to be presented in accordance with the Rules and guidelines for compiling career portfolios.

Within the Disciplinary Domain of Humanities and Social Sciences, each faculty has its own specific criteria.

The disciplinary domains/faculties define criteria for promotion to docent. They have also defined criteria for being designated a Distinguished University Teacher. The term Distinguished University Teacher is used for teachers who have achieved a high level of teaching expertise.

To encourage strategic discussions on talent attraction, the domain/faculty boards are to submit annual plans for talent attraction, retention and development to the Vice-Chancellor. Talent attraction is also covered by the annual quality dialogue between the Vice-Chancellor and the vice-rectors.

Uppsala University also provides recognition through awards. There are several awards for scholarly efforts in specific scientific fields, and awards for more overarching accomplishments and for accomplishments in external collaboration.

The Distinguished Teaching Award is an internal award given annually for outstanding efforts in education. Four regular awards are given to teachers in the disciplinary domains, and a fifth award is themed, focusing on a different prioritised area every year. The regular nomination criteria include valuation of scholarly approach, approaches to teaching, progression, external collaboration, educational leadership, feedback and collaboration with colleagues and students. Some student unions also provide teaching awards.

Professional development and career support within the disciplinary domains

Scholarly development mainly occurs in direct connection with research and teaching, and through scholarly discourse. This includes informal collegial support in the research team, in departments, within the faculties and in the wider scientific community. Senior teachers/researchers have a particularly important role as models and by assisting junior colleagues. Junior researchers support their senior colleagues’ development by providing new perspectives and networks.

More systematic support for an individual’s professional development is provided in annual employee dialogues with the head of department, or someone else with management responsibility. Many departments also have systematised onboarding of new employees, and some departments have designed special career development programmes for associate senior lecturers. Others provide mentors to junior researchers, regardless of their employment category.

University-wide support for professional development and career support

Professional development and career support – teachers and doctoral students

In addition to subject-related support for professional development, there is also university-wide support for teacher development, leadership development and group development through courses and individual coaching.

University-wide activities promote exchanges of experience across departments, faculties and disciplinary domains and provide insights beyond one’s own academic environment. They also mean that everyone has access to support regardless of their particular circumstances in the local academic environment.

Uppsala University offers several university-wide professional development options. Some are aimed specifically at teachers, researchers or academic leaders, e.g. leaders of research teams or pedagogical leaders. Others are aimed at managers with employer responsibility, like vice-rectors, deans and heads of department.

Uppsala University offers a range of activities aiming at professional development in teaching, both university-wide and in disciplinary domains/faculties. These include courses, seminars, consultations and conferences on university teaching and learning, see Support and Infrastructure.

Career support and continuing professional development are not regulated in Swedish legislation, but these activities are influenced in their focus and design by the University’s commitment to HR Excellence in Research. This distinction, awarded to Uppsala University by the EU Commission, requires Uppsala University to implement the Charter & Code for researchers see the EU Commission's site about the European Charter & Code for Researchers. In doing so, the University uses the tool Human Resources Strategy for Researchers (HRS4R). An important aspect of meeting the requirements is to offer teachers/researchers active career support and professional development opportunities. In consequence, Uppsala University has started a career centre offering supervision and career coaching.

Doctoral students are university employees and, as such, have access to the same range of services as other university employees, and to specific career support in the form of online training. They also have access to support offered to the University’s students, see Support and Infrastructure.

Professional development and career support – heads of research and managers

Within the framework of leadership development, the University offers leadership programmes for both junior and senior academic leaders. Managers with staff, financial and operational responsibility also have the opportunity to attend a head of department and manager programme.

Professional development and career support – other staff

Staff working in the University Administration and other support functions face increasing and increasingly complex demands. A growing proportion of staff in this category have experience of their own of teaching and research, or work at the interface between core and support activities. Clear career paths and good opportunities for professional development are required to recruit and retain talent in this category as well. Some university-wide professional development offers are aimed at all staff, including this category. This includes such training as language training and computer skills.

The quality of the students depends on entry requirements for academic programmes, but also on the University attracting the most motivated and committed students, regardless of background. Uppsala University actively works to widen participation by recruiting underrepresented groups and making entrance to the University more attractive for them.

The University conducts a range of marketing and communication initiatives to recruit students and to market our courses and programmes. University-wide recruitment initiatives are primarily aimed at creating personal meetings with prospective students. Other types of marketing are traditional printed material and advertising, and online communication is under constant development. The Student Recruitment Unit is responsible for university-wide marketing and recruitment to bachelor’s and master’s courses and programmes.

Once students are accepted for studies at Uppsala University, we work to give them a warm welcome when they arrive on campus. During this process, there are various communication initiatives to allow prospective students to gain a sense of the University and of Uppsala as a university town. These efforts often take place in direct collaboration with departments, faculties, student unions and student nations (associations).

Students are supported throughout their studies. This includes student health services, support for students with disabilities, and study and career guidance, see Environments for research and education.