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Work to establish the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences

The Centre for Environmental and Climate Science (CEC), the Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science (INES) and the Department of Geology will be co-organised into a new joint department to be established on 1 January 2026. The new department will be called the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (MGeo) and will move into premises at the Geocentre. On this page you will find general information about the process of creating the new department.


Timetable for the work

Milestones will be added in the timetable in due course.

  • June 2025: Election of the head of department and deputy head of department is completed.
  • During 2025: Election of the department board is completed (the exact time of the election has not been decided yet).
  • September 2025 (preliminary): Co-location to the Geocentre is completed.
  • 31 December 2025: the Centre for Environmental and Climate Science, Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science and Department of Geology cease to exist in their current form.
  • 1 January 2026: the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences is established.

Elections

Several elections will be organised for the creation of the new department.

Election of the Nomination Committee

The Nomination Committee of the new department will submit proposals for the head of department, deputy head of department and members of the Department Board. The Nomination Committee's term of office is from 14 November 2024 to 30 June 2026.

Elected members of the Nomination Committee

Scientifically competent teachers:

  • Ullrika Sahlin, CEC
  • Harry Lankreijer, INES
  • Dan Hammarlund, Department of Geology 

Other staff:

  • Caroline Unmack, CEC
  • David Wårlind; INES
  • Gisela Caesar, Department of Geology

Timetable for the election

Proposed candidates

The head of the faculty office proposes the candidates below based on the submitted nominations.

Scientifically competent teachers:

  • Ullrika Sahlin, CEC
  • Harry Lankreijer, INES
  • Dan Hammarlund, Department of Geology 

Other staff:

  • Caroline Unmack, CEC
  • David Wårlind; INES
  • Gisela Caesar, Department of Geology

Motivation:

They are well versed in the relevant areas of activity in education, research and external engagement, and have a broad operational base and contacts. There is good knowledge and experience of academic leadership, board work, regulations and financial management systems. Some of them also have experience of nomination committee work at both departmental and faculty level. 


Who is entitled to vote?

Employees at Lund University whose employment constitutes at least 50 per cent of full-time at the Faculty of Science. The employment must be a permanent position or include at least two years of continuous employment at the faculty.

Doctoral students with a doctoral studentship are not entitled to vote as they are considered students according to the Higher Education Ordinance (Chapter 1, Section 4).


Who can be elected?

Teaching staff representatives must be employed at the faculty and be members of the teaching staff with research expertise.

Representatives of other staff must be employed at the faculty and not belong to the category of member of the teaching staff with research expertise.

Election of the head of department and deputy head of department

The new head of department and deputy head of department shall be proposed via election by those entitled to vote. The head of department and deputy head of department shall be appointed by the dean, in accordance with the current rules of procedure. 

Timetable:

  • 13 December – 12 January: Nomination period.
  • January – April: The Nomination Committee interviews candidates who are eligible and fulfil the requirements profiles.
  • April: The election is planned to be held.
  • June: The election of the head of department and deputy head of department is completed.

The Nomination Committee develops requirement profiles for the positions of head of department and deputy head of department. The requirement profiles are based on Lund University's policy for academic leadership and views from current management. The requirement profiles must also be approved by the faculty's dean. Students and representatives from the trade unions are invited to all meetings.

Lund University's policy for academic leadership (PDF, 711 KB, new tab)

To be eligible to nominate and vote, you need to be employed at least 50 per cent of full-time at one of the departments concerned. Your employment must be a permanent position or include at least two years of continuous employment.

Doctoral students with a doctoral studentship are not entitled to vote as they are considered students according to the Higher Education Ordinance (Chapter 1, Section 4).

Who can be nominated?

To be eligible for nomination as head of department or deputy head of department, the candidate must be a scientifically competent teacher, i.e. a person holding an academic position requiring a doctorate or equivalent qualification.

Nominate candidates via form

Those eligible to nominate have received an email from the Nomination Committee explaining the process and providing a link to the nomination form. The deadline for nominations is 12 January 2025.

Election of the Department Board

Members of the new Department Board are appointed directly via election by those entitled to vote.


Meeting notes

Discussions on the preparatory work for the establishment of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences were started, focusing on identifying and prioritising the most critical areas that require attention and planning. A key topic was the setting of timelines for the completion of the various parts of the preparatory work, to ensure a well-coordinated process leading up to the establishment of the department on January 1, 2026.

At the meeting, it was informed that the faculty office at the Faculty of Science is currently working on drawing up assignments and job descriptions for the coordination group that will lead the preparatory work for the co-organisation. In parallel, the faculty office is also preparing assignments and job descriptions for a House Forum, which will play an important role in the work on the co-location of CEC, INES and the Department of Geology at the Geocentrum. Once these assignments and job descriptions are finalised, they will be shared on this website.

A joint staff meeting for CEC, INES and the Department of Geology will be held on the afternoon of November 28. The purpose of the meeting is to provide all staff with an update on the ongoing planning process and to engage staff in discussions on the preparatory work for the establishment of the new department. The invitation to the staff meeting will be sent out later.

Coordination group’s mandate 

The faculty office is working on defining the mandate and job description for the coordination group that will lead the preparatory work for the merger of CEC, INES and the Department of Geology. Pending the final mandate, heads of department along with vice-dean Karin Hall and others, will continue to meet on Wednesdays as before to drive the process forward.

Interim report from the directors of studies

At the meeting on 23 October, the directors of studies Johanna Alkan Olsson, Ulrik Mårtensson, and Karl Ljung presented an interim report on issues related to first and second-cycle studies that need addressing in connection with the co-location and co-organisation. Topics discussed included scheduling, administration, and student guidance. The directors of studies will present a final report in December.

Mandate for administrative managers

The group of department heads has tasked the administrative managers at CEC and the CGB office with preparing a joint plan for the upcoming co-location and the formation of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. The goal is to develop a framework for a coordinated administration. The working group is expected to give an oral status update in November 2024 and submit a brief written report, along with an oral presentation, in January 2025. The ambition is for the joint administration to begin implementation in spring 2025 and gradually progress towards full integration by 1 January 2026. The mandate for the administrative managers may be revised once the coordination group receives its instructions from the faculty.

Save the Date – 28 November 

An all-staff meeting is planned for the afternoon of 28 November. More information and an invitation will follow.

Continued process towards a joint department

The faculty has presented a proposal on how to continue the process towards a joint department. The intention is to appoint a project manager to run the non-academic parts of a joint organisation, such as co-location, IT, administration, finance and rules of procedure, in a special project. The project will have a steering group consisting of dean Per Persson, the heads of department, student representatives, etc. The project manager will be assisted by several sub-project managers who will work on various sub-issues. The intended overall project manager is Daniel Kåreda, currently administrative manager at the Department of Physics. The project plan and details are not yet finalised, but we will return when we have new information. The process towards a joint department that concerns the academic core activities, such as first, second and third cycle education, research and collaboration, is expected to be driven forward by the heads of department. Close collaboration between the project group and the heads of department group will be needed and several issues relating to the co-organisation will be handled jointly.

We're leaving CIG and switch to MGeo

After consultation, the heads of department have agreed on the acronym MGeo for the new department, to be used in both Swedish and English. We recommend that everyone starts using the new acronym from now on. 

Continued work to promote a good scientific environment

The departmental representatives Martin Berggren, Raimund Muscheler and Yann Clough have been tasked with proposing activities to promote a good scientific environment in the new department. The group will report to the heads of department early next year.

Joint information meeting and staff activity on 28 November

On 28 November at 13:00, there will be a short joint information meeting for all staff at CEC, INES and the Department of Geology. Afterwards, the students have promised to take over and lead us through a few, for us yet unknown, social activities. We expect to finish by 16:00 at the latest. The location is LUX and Geocentrum. More information and registration form coming soon.

CEC networking organisations/activities

Henrik Smith has been tasked with forming a working group on the future organisation and development of CEC's network organisations/activities. The working group consists of: Henrik Smith, Juliana Dänhardt, Ann Åkerman, Marianne Hall, Paul Miller, Edith Hammer and Tyra Behre. Henrik has met with the dean and the heads of department for a first progress report, and the group is now working further according to the mandate and will submit a new progress report in December.

The administrative managers at CEC and CGB, Anna Ekberg and Gisela Caesar, have given a progress report of their work on a coordinated administration within MGeo. They have begun an inventory of the current administration and technical support, and initiated discussions on how the coordination could be formed. Cooperation is taking place with working groups within, for example first and second cycle studies, and the KIA consultant is involved in the process. Anna and Gisela will return in January.

The heads of department have made a joint decision on guidelines for co-financing decisions on external funding that apply until 31 December 2025. The decision implies that applications with a co-financing of more than 25 per cent must be anchored and decided jointly within the head of department group. This is to ensure a fair and equal assessment and a more sustainable future economy within MGeo. In practice, this means increased processing times for applications, which each head of department will inform about in their respective departments. 

Guidelines for co-financing decisions on external funding at CEC, INES and the Department of Geology until 31 December 2025 (PDF, 244 kB, new tab)

We look forward to meeting as many of you as possible on the staff meeting on 28 November. It is especially nice that our students are involved in organising some social activities so that we get to know each other a bit more.

Thank you everyone who participated in the joint staff day on November 28, and a special shout-out to the students who organised the great social activities. We left knowing a little bit more about our future colleagues, for example their diverse interests, hidden talents, and shared hobbies that added a personal touch to the day and made it easier to connect on a more informal level. It was a much appreciated start to building stronger working relationships as we move forward together.

Dean Per Persson informed about the coming process towards a joint department from 1 January 2026. In short, the Faculty will support in the following way:

  • An acting vice dean during the transition period before a new head of department is appointed
  • Project manager and coordinator (2025)​
  • Extensive support from faculty office in areas that need to be in place before the formation of the new department e.g. co-localization, financial management, communication, administration​
  • Deputy dean and vice dean​

The dean's presentation (PDF, 873 kB, new tab)

The incoming head of INES, Petter Pilesjö, and project manager Daniel Kåreda were welcomed. Departmental representatives Martin Berggren, Yann Clough and Raimund Muscheler were thanked as their assignments end at the end of the year, and student representative Pontus Rabe was thanked for his work, and was welcomed to continue contributing in the coming year.

Organisation of the work in 2025

Dean Per Persson has appointed Daniel Kåreda as project manager with the task of coordinating the work during 2025 to ensure that the new department can be established on 1 January 2026. The dean is the client and makes decisions. There is an advisory group whose function is to contribute with operational knowledge regarding the direction of the project and to provide advice and act as a sounding board for the client regarding the project. The group consists of heads of department, directors, incoming head of department, vice-dean, project manager, head of office and student representatives. The project is described in a project plan, and has five sub-projects, see below.

At the same time, the dean has extended Karin Hall's appointment as vice-dean with a special assignment to coordinate the new department until June 2025. Karin will also be subproject leader as below until the incoming head of department is appointed.

The five subprojects (subproject leaders): 
  • Financial conditions (Monika Bengtsson). The sub-project will coordinate financial management in 2025 for a smooth transition to the new department.
  • Communication channels (Cecilia Schubert). The sub-project will coordinate and create clear internal and external communication channels.
  • Organisation and governance (Karin Hall, incoming head of department). The sub-project will develop proposals for the incoming head of department regarding the institutional structure of the new department.
  • Co-location (Hanieh Heidarabadi). The subproject will carry out co-location and adaptation of premises at Geocentrum I and II.
  • Support functions (Catrin Malmström). The subproject will develop a structure and working methods for an efficient and cohesive organisation for administration, including first, second and third cycle education administration, financial management, premises, building issues, IT and HSE, and carry out practical steps for co-organisation in these areas.

More information about the project and sub-projects will be available after the Christmas holidays. Contact person is Dean Per Person.

Progress report from the Directors of Studies

Johanna Alkan Olsson and Ulrik Mårtensson, directors of studies in first and second cycle education, presented a progress report focusing on the scheduling work carried out for the autumn semester 2025. The directors of studies will return with a written report in January, and during the spring will continue to work on developing a proposal for a future organisation and management structure for first and second cycle education within the new department, and in close consultation with the administrative managers at CEC and CGB office, submit proposals for an organisation and management structure for a coordinated first and second cycle education administration.

Progress report on CEC network organisations/activities

Henrik Smith gave a progress report on the preparatory work of the working group with the aim of maintaining, strengthening and further developing CEC's network organisations/activities. The focus of the work so far has been on vision, organisation and management. Dean Per Persson and head of office Catrin Malmström took part in the report. The working group is now continuing its work and will submit its final report in the spring.