Work to establish the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences

Timetable for the election

• 2–14 October: Nomination period.
  Invitation to nominate candidates (PDF, 143 kB, new tab)
• 28 October –13 November at 13:00: Those who are entitled to vote can vote once during this period. Your vote is anonymous.
• 14 November at 13:00: Public vote counting in room Palmer Astro: B230, Astronomihuset, Sölvegatan 27.

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 nominating 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.

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 undergraduate education, postgraduate 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.