Our basic values rest on the academic core values

I have the luxury of chairing the steering committee of the project called Levande värdegrund (Living core values). The project has a broad representation and an ambitious plan for how to implement its work within the organisation.

A part of the project is aimed at progressing and clarifying the meaning of our academic core values, to allow them to guide and inspire us in our everyday work. At the same time, they must match our commitments to Magna Charta Universitatum (MCU). MCU is an international declaration that Umeå University has signed and which stipulates higher education institutions' core values such as principles of academic freedom and institutional autonomy.

As a university, we strive for institutional autonomy and academic freedom to – independently of other forces – decide the direction of our activities, and to ensure that education and research is free from political interference. These aspects are basic requirements for universities to carry out their mission with high quality and credibility at a point in time when these fundamental values are being challenged.

I hope that we can strengthen our internal affinity and cohesion by actively clarifying and exemplifying these values and that we, at the same time, take a clear stand for the importance of academic integrity and autonomy.

I'm looking forward to this project taking shape and becoming more tangible over the course of this spring and autumn. I'm also looking forward to the product of this project – resources that will simplify for and encourage discussions on core values within our organisation.