Background & Purpose
To strengthen knowledge exchange and competitiveness between academia and external sectors, the government needed a flexible framework for researcher mobility.
Proposals & Debate
The government proposed allowing higher education institutions to combine academic positions with employment outside the university for any sector. Meanwhile, the opposition submitted various motions, and a follow-up motion led to a parliamentary call to halt a planned investigation regarding the organizational form of state universities.
The Decision
The Swedish parliament approved the government's proposal on joint employment and told the government to stop the investigation into university organization, while denying all other opposition proposals.
Does this affect you?
- Researchers at universities: Given the opportunity to hold combined employment outside academia regardless of their specific field or profession.
- External employers and companies: Gains better access to academic competence and smoother collaboration through joint staffing arrangements.
In Practice
- Universities and colleges can decide to combine academic roles with employment outside the university across all fields, not just medicine and dentistry.
- Researchers can more easily move between academia and external sectors to share knowledge and expertise.
- A planned government investigation into changing the organizational form of state universities will not be carried out following parliament's instruction.
- Around 140 opposition proposals from the 2024 general motion period were denied.