Handshake

Linnaeus University strengthens collaboration with higher education institutions in southern Sweden

The higher education institutions in southern Sweden have a long tradition of collaborating within education and research to achieve a better utilisation of resources and higher quality. Today, the network Universities in South Sweden strengthens its position further as Linnaeus University joins the collaboration.

The university colleges and universities in southern Sweden* have a long tradition of collaborating within education, PhD programmes, research, and administration. The aim is to achieve higher quality, better utilisation of resources, and improved contacts with the trade and industry and society, benefiting students and higher education institutions as well as the wider society.

Combined, the Universities of South Sweden have 71,000 full-time students, roughly 15,000 members of staff and about SEK 18 billion in revenue (figures from 2019). This corresponds to roughly 25 percent of the whole sector within these three areas.

Linnaeus University joining today

As from 8 December, the network is extended as Linnaeus University joins the network.

“Linnaeus University will now have a stronger voice, both nationally and in Brussels via our shared Brussels office. We can also increase our collaboration and the coordinating of our activities; for instance, development of pedagogy, common PhD courses, and networking within joint programmes”, says Linnaeus University’s vice-chancellor Peter Aronsson.

The aim of the collaboration is that it should be beneficial for our students. An example of this is that the higher education institutions work together to develop the pedagogy for online teaching, a highly topical subject today.

For specialist nursing programmes, the higher education institutions plan to collaborate concerning student placement and to offer students different activities across county borders.

Research-related collaboration

The higher education institutions also collaborate on research-related questions, one example being the EU programme for research and innovation. Another objective of the network is to promote questions of common interest in a regional, national and international context, where the higher education institutions can make a difference and contribute to even better and stronger regions.

*In addition to Linnaeus University, the network consists of Lund University, Malmö University, Halmstad University, Kristianstad University, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, and Blekinge Institute of Technology.