The number of staff researchers over the age of 65 in Swedish higher education institutions has grown several times larger in just a decade. For universities, it is a delicate balancing act to both utilise the skills of retired researchers and to create the scope for renewal and new generations of researchers. A number of higher education institutions have established specific guidelines in this area.
Publishing research in the form of ‘preprints’, before review and publication, is commonplace in certain fields. This phenomenon – which some researchers feel is indispensable and others unnecessary or unthinkable – is now spreading into more areas.
Susanna Rosi’s passion for brain research has taken her from Florence to San Francisco, where her discoveries could restore memories to the elderly or those with brain damage.
Opting out of meritorious travel or paying for the babysitter's flights and hotel room out of your own pocket. These are the options for many researchers with children. Despite increasing expectations in terms of international contacts, there are limited opportunities to claim childcare allowances.
Angela Gui has always had interesting discussions with her father, Gui Minhai. She is now researching his subject - Chinese history - while working to secure his release from within China.
More and more reports are stating that research results cannot be repeated. Professor Anna Dreber Almenberg believes this is a problem for science in general. In several studies, she has examined the reproducibility of results published in high-ranking journals.
Since the 1990s, the number of doctoral degrees awarded in Sweden has doubled. At the same time, the opportunity to continue academic research has decreased. Curie has examined both the value of the title of doctor and the post-doctoral career prospects in the labour market.
Academic freedom is decreasing in several European countries, according to international research project V-dem. Sweden performs well in their rankings but, when it comes to institutional freedom, we are one of the worst in Europe.
Sweden is at the forefront of gender equality. But equality in the proportion of female professors remains a long way off. Sociologist Liisa Husu wonders why Sweden has done so well in so many other areas but not in academia.
To understand our society, we must consider the role of science and technology in our daily lives. So says Massimiano Bucchi, professor of sociology at Italy’s University of Trento. He studies scientific communication from a sociological perspective and emphasises the importance of diversity.