Academic freedom and institutional autonomy are questions that are truly top of mind at present. Over the course of the last two weeks, I have participated in two international meetings in which this particular theme has been vividly discussed.
Hans Adolfsson, Vice-Chancellor
Photo: Mattias Pettersson
One of these occasions was when I participated in the Nordic University Days 2022 (NUD-22) in Brussels together with over 60 vice-chancellor and deputy vice-chancellor colleagues from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. For two days, we discussed the EU agenda for research, education and innovation together with Swedish EU ambassadors, members of parliament and leader representatives of the EU directorates-general for education and research. A common theme for the various sessions was academic freedom, academic values and global positioning of the EU. Everyone agrees that academic freedom in particular is the foundation for ensuring the universities' role as a critical European institution in the upholding of democracy. Freedom of research and education is an insurance to secure an open and democratic society. Simultaneously, academic freedom is noticeably threatened in places around the world, also in our direct vicinity. As a university, we have a clear social responsibility and international exchanges are necessary to stand up for fundamental academic and democratic values.
One of the foundations of the European Commission's strategy for European universities is that the universities should be "lighthouses of our European way of life" and European universities are expected to emphasise the European values in their international collaborations. This eurocentric approach may well work in collaborations with other European universities, but research and education is global – so how do we approach international exchanges with non-European universities where other values might prevail? In those contexts, it is much better to lean against the 2020 Magna Charta Universitatum (MCU), which is an international declaration on the principles of academic freedom and institutional autonomy signed by over 900 universities across the world. As one of the signatory, Umeå University definitely stands behind the principles addressed in the MCU about universities being independent of all political, ideological and economic power and authority. At the same time, universities must take social responsibility, counter intolerance and be open for dialogue, according to the declaration.
The other time the theme came up was during the South Africa Sweden Academic Forum (SASUF) organised as an online conference including over one hundred workshops. Umeå University is one of fourteen Swedish universities that form SASUF together with twenty-six South African universities. I had the privilege of participating in the leadership forum in which I discussed the importance of academic freedom and institutional autonomy with vice-chancellor colleagues from South Africa and Sweden. Interestingly, it turned out institutional autonomy is even stronger in some parts of South Africa than in Sweden.
Furthermore, academic freedom is also high on the agenda within the Association of Swedish Higher Education Institutions (SUHF). In SUHF, we have adopted a position paper clarifying our position on an increased constitutional protection of academic freedom and institutional autonomy. Just over a year ago, the scope of the Higher Education Act was widened from "only" protecting the freedom of research to also include academic freedom. The law states that "higher education institutions must operate under the general principle that academic freedom must be promoted and protected" and further declares that research issues may be freely selected, research methodologies may be freely developed, and that research results may be freely published. SUHF believes that also the freedom of education must be included in the term "academic freedom", that academic freedom must be protected in constitutional law, and also that not only higher education institutions should have the task of promoting and protecting it.
I now have the honour of leading a team of experts in SUHF tasked with these issues. To protect academic freedom, we must increase institutional autonomy. Academic institutes must have the freedom to run their core operations without fear of societal, political or religious interference. This is a prerequisite for universities to take their important social responsibility. It is not without problems to be both an academic institution and a government agency, however.
This is a time when academic freedom cannot be taken for granted, where research findings are being miscredited and the autonomy of universities is being challenged. Therefore, I am convinced that the power created by international experience exchanges strengthens the university's endeavours to further promote and protect academic freedom.