Uppsala University Culture and Heritage

Scientific collections and cultural sites

Uppsala University’s scientific collections contain some 10 million artefacts from the fields of botany, zoology, palaeontology, archaeology, Egyptology, numismatics, art and the history of science. These scientific collections are at the core of its activities. The scientific nature of the collections means that the artefacts originally constituted material for academic activities that have since been brought to the University for research and/or education. This has occurred continuously since Uppsala University was founded almost 550 years ago, and the collections are to a large extent documented in a scholarly context.

The scientific collections at Uppsala University are an active resource for contemporary research and are used by researchers from all over the world. They are also linked to active networks involving several key research infrastructures, such as SBDI, DiSSCo, SciLifeLab, MaxIV, Ion Technology Centre and SweDigiArk, and are an integral part of the national and international scientific community.

Uppsala University Culture and Heritage also has laboratory resources/environments used for research: buildings and cultural sites as well as research greenhouses, for example. It conducts research in areas such as biodiversity, environmental psychology and technology-enabled encounters with cultural heritage sites.

Knowledge-based value chain

Material cultural and natural resources are made accessible and integrated with research and higher education. This opens up opportunities to address key societal challenges in a multidisciplinary value chain. Fully designed environments provide the opportunity to work on a wide range of cultural, physical and digital expressions, while the identity as a university naturally opens the door to high-tech experimental methods. A flow of researchers, students and external stakeholders enables interdisciplinary meetings and collaborations to take place. Operational activities are carried out in design areas such as museum activities, music/art, gardening, sustainable urban development and cultural conservation. The Sustainable Development Goals provide a natural springboard. Culture and Heritage also serves as a test bed for collaboration and innovation in cultural and creative industries, sustainable urban development and technologies that enhance the usability of sensitive cultural sites.

Knowledge, culture and creativity are also an important driver of encounters between the public and societal stakeholders. The activities provide a “living room in the city”, where quality and sustainability have interacted with scientific excellence for 500 years. The facilities are open to the public and are visited by around 400,000 people each year. As such, they are also a showcase for research-based knowledge in all subject areas – from digital development to Viking culture to plant DNA – and an active participant in the SciFest science festival.

Uppsala University Culture and Heritage currently collaborates with a wide range of organisations and authorities, including:

• Public Art Agency Sweden
• National Property Board of Sweden
• Royal Swedish Academy of Music
• National Museum
• UNESCO
• Distributed System of Scientific Collections
• Swedish Species Information Centre
• Swedish History Museum
• Swedish Biodiversity Data Infrastructure
• Swedish Museum of Natural History
• Uppsala County Administrative Board
• Region Uppsala
• Uppsala Municipality
• Swedish National Heritage Board

Resources to enhance students’ skills and career development

Artefacts, collections and physical places/sites are an active resource to enhance students’ skills and career development. Every year, a couple of thousand students pass through the centre with their teachers, with educational sessions held as part of regular undergraduate studies. Student groups from every disciplinary domain are welcome: pharmacists, biologists, geoscientists, teacher education programmes and arts and humanities programmes are all regular users of laboratory/practical exercise resources. Support and training in teaching and learning in higher education are available through the Division for Quality Enhancement.

As the museums, music and collections are fully operational in their respective areas, there is an active ambition to contribute to the employability of students. Students from Uppsala University are prioritised via “student placements.” Students from all disciplinary domains are welcomed, gaining professional experience, contacts and references that can form the basis of a future career.

Expanding beyond subject studies is also possible, not least in the field of music, which is a meeting place for universities and society. Many students, doctoral students and staff – especially those from other countries – take the opportunity to develop through actively making music. The 132-member European Network of University Orchestras (ENUO) enables exchange students and visiting researchers to enhance their international experience.

Uppsala University: Mission, Goals and Strategies emphasises the importance of complete academic environments in which research and education are integrated and where multidisciplinary cooperation and collaboration are natural elements. This approach is a guiding principle for the infrastructure core facility Uppsala University Culture and Heritage. The organisation provides support to all of Uppsala University’s disciplinary domains and the University Management. The mission and broad interfaces with users from across the University are reflected in the governance and funding:

Governance

As a support function, UU Culture and Heritage is subordinate to the University Director, where most of the operational support is organised. The four platforms have been established by the University Board. Operational issues are handled directly by the head of each platform, while cross-functional, strategic and fundamental issues are dealt with by a management team consisting of the head of department and the heads of the four platforms. Operational support in the areas of law, IT, finance and HR is mainly coordinated together with the University’s common functions.

Funding

The funding model balances long-term responsibility with instruments that ensure quality and relevance for today’s users at the University and across society. The activities have core funding approved by the University Board. It consists of returns from donations and direct government funding for research and doctoral-level education. Funds that represent the return on donations can be used freely and are therefore an important component when integrating educational components with research and external engagement. Furthermore, the activities are funded through various types of external funds on a competitive basis. A small part is funded by fees from the public in accordance with the fee authorisation clause in Uppsala University’s appropriation directions.

Compliance

Culture and Heritage is entirely part of Uppsala University, but has large elements of external collaboration and engagement. The activities are based on a regulatory framework as below:

The Higher Education Act and the Higher Education Ordinance – the government’s instructions for the higher education sector emphasise research, education and external engagement. Uppsala University is a public authority under the Ministry of Education and Research, which also links it to tasks relating to “open access”, internationalisation, equal opportunities and sustainability.

Museums Act – since 2017, the Museums Act regulates museum activities in the public sector. It emphasises three main tasks: management of collections, knowledge-building and outreach/public engagement. At Uppsala University, the resources that are managed are linked to academic activities. Support for knowledge-building is a priority and relates to actions in support of research/education/external engagement and innovation.

Ethics and conservation issues – as a major academic stakeholder, relationships are developed with organisational partners in the areas of culture, conservation and sustainable development. The organisation complies with the Swedish National Heritage Board and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency as supervisory authorities. Most of the premises are listed buildings. The collections also include human remains and large quantities of biological type material. There is a guideline approved by the Vice-Chancellor on the handling of human remains, which is based on support material from the Swedish National Heritage Board.

The activities also comply with the Nagoya Protocol and other ethical frameworks related to the management of artefacts and traditional knowledge and other frameworks aimed at the protection of endangered species and cultural heritage. Culture and Heritage has the expertise to provide support and advice to users of scientific collections and protected sites related to academic activities.

The role as a public authority limits the option to act as a market operator, for example charging for activities aimed at the public. Student, research and external engagement components are common in its activities, while conference activities, for example, are outside its mission. The University owns the facilities and determines which purposes and stakeholders are relevant for external collaboration and engagement. The facilities are accessible to the public at the times and under the conditions decided by Uppsala University. In all collaborations, the University must endeavour to cover its costs in full and may not, for example, sponsor the activities of external stakeholders.