Conflicts, psychological problems and ineffective research work. “Cultural differences can be a major problem for foreign students”, says Reza Salim – a researcher at Mid-Sweden University and vice-chair of SULF’s Association of Doctoral Candidates, which works to improve conditions for international doctoral students.
Greater emphasis should be given to language issues in postgraduate education and more resources are needed to manage multilingual environments at Swedish universities. This is the view of Megan Case, a doctoral student in education at Dalarna University and Örebro University.
There is a great deal of concern among UK scientists as the country prepares to leave the EU. British research receives a lot of funding from the EU and the free movement of labour makes it easier to recruit the best scientists from all over Europe. Swedish-British partnerships may also be affected.
In June, 52 percent of the British people voted for the UK to leave the EU. The results of the referendum came as a shock to the country’s researchers, who have benefited from EU membership. Curie finds out why Brexit won.
Frequently used but fiercely criticised. Curie has looked into how some Swedish research funders and universities use the disputed Journal Impact Factor, a measure that can currently affect who is granted research funds and which journals researchers choose to publish in.
Crucial for researchers' careers, proudly presented on journals' websites, influences grant allocations. The Journal Impact Factor - a method of ranking scientific journals on the basis of how often their articles are cited - is often used and often criticised, especially when it is used to evaluate research and researchers.
Disinformation and conspiracy theories spread quickly by social media. In the case of politics, the aim may be to influence our shared idea of reality. There is a risk, though, that it may fragment society in the long term, according to Martin Kragh.
Fact resistance and denial of knowledge is something that many researchers often encounter. Basic facts are often worth as much as someone's feeling, claims Heléne Lööw, researcher. "We live in the age of emotions," she says.
He blogs about the joys and soul-crushing experiences of life as a scientist. Pedro Velica work in the field of cancer immunology at Karolinska Institutet. On his spare time he enjoys cooking, drawing and wasting time on cat videos.
Interest in global university rankings has grown rapidly. With the results these days being used by funders, students and prospective colleagues, it is important for institutions to rank highly in the listings – whatever one’s view of their quality. Curie asked a number of Swedish institutions to explain their position on the university ranking phenomenon.