A Proud Tradition of Excellence
[Music] [Laughter] [Applause] we can meet the people around the world here I’m very much proud that I’m doing course in this particular [Music] University. It’s a small City but with traditions of taking care of the students well. I’m proud to say that our lab has spun out a number of companies and several of my former PhD students are now working in companies and in several cases directing [Music] companies.
The Historic and Renowned Uppsala University
This is Uppsala in Sweden, a culturally vibrant city with the oldest university in northern Europe. Since being founded in 1477, the university has been one of Europe’s most renowned seats of learning. Many well-known scientists once walked these paths, among its former students elus who created the Latin names for all plants and flowers and Celsius who invented the temperature scale named after him. In modern times, many celebrities, including Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, have been among its students.
International Recognition and Nobel Laureates
Internationally, Uppsala University is recognized as one of the best universities in Scandinavia and the world. Uppsala University is the oldest university in the Nordic countries, and it draws at least some of its strength from its history. The well-established reputation that the university enjoys is due in no small part to the work of earlier generations. Of course, our eight Nobel laureates have all helped make the university. Eight scientists from Uppsala University have been awarded the Nobel Prize.
A Blend of Tradition and Modernity
Vice Principal Nordgren is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. He was a member of the Nobel committee for physics and the committee’s chairman. Uppsala is a bit special in the sense that it is a very old and traditional university. It was founded more than 500 years ago, and at the same time, it is modern. In an evaluation by international experts in 2007, more than 50 research groups at Uppsala University were described as world-leading in their respective fields.
Excellence in Education and Research
We can pride ourselves on having a very high level of quality of education. In the area of biology, which is my field, we recently won an award for the best biology teaching in Europe.
A Hub for International Students
Uppsala is located near Stockholm and boasts a population of 40,000 students, including many international students and professors. The university caters to the international student with over 30 international master’s [Music] programs. Ling Shen is getting a master’s in ecotoxicology. Ever since she was little, she dreamed of coming to Europe. She’s learned a lot both in and out of the classroom.
A Vibrant Student Life
Well, actually, it’s the Italian way, really. She asked me, you see, she’s standing by me, just, you know, watching me controlling the quality of pizza. They have lots of activities here. It’s just so easy for you to make friends. You can meet a lot of people, and you can go to parties, very nice roof parties, and corridor [Music] parties.
A Unique Swedish Experience
I heard of Sweden because it has a really good educational system. I’m from Berlin in Germany. Here, it is a lot of Swedish people like talking Swedish all the time, but you get the chance to practice all that too, and that’s great.
Rich Traditions and Cultural Activities
In my opinion, what distinguishes Uppsala and gives character to the city is the active student life, which has a history of well-established traditions. One is the official student choir and orchestra. People from all over Uppsala enjoy the regular concerts at the university lecture hall. The student nation helps provide accommodation and hosts activities such as the ever-popular banquets. Exclusive dinners are served with special themes like the Lucia banquet celebrating the yearly Swedish holiday honoring Santa [Music] Lucia.
Opportunities for Creativity and Performance
In the sports teams, arts clubs, choirs, and theater troupes, students make friendships that last. Delighted, I always wanted to perform or act on the stage, but in Japan, I didn’t have any opportunities, so it was a good chance to participate in the [Music] group.
Supportive Student Environment
There are student advisers in all the faculties. They work very closely with the students. Well, I want to create an atmosphere where they first feel free to ask me any questions they have, big or small problems, big or small questions, and it should be easy to contact me.
A Place for Academic and Personal Growth
All of these organizations serve to make the quality of student life of the very highest. This allows students to concentrate fully on their studies. Uppsala has a very nice environment because you can combine studies and also a lot of knowledge of research. For example, in my field, this lightning of Uppsala University is very well known in that area.
Diverse Faculties and Cutting-Edge Research
Uppsala University has nine faculties: arts, social sciences, language, theology, law, medicine, pharmacy, science and technology, and educational sciences. Among some of the strongest subject areas are biology and information [Music] technology.
Innovation in Technology and Science
What the robot is that we have a little bit of a robot that’s moving around and measuring the communication quality and sensing the environment. The robot is better than humans. We have been using humans before and moving in sensors. They have a mobile phone that it’s using to read sensors when you’re passing by information about the environment.
A Tradition of Collaboration
I really enjoy talking to my students. As I mentioned, the different students have different characters. Some are not as talkative, but it’s really a pleasure to stand behind the whiteboard and discuss some molecular problems and bounce ideas back and forth. Typically, I think we have a very proud tradition, and I believe that we are one of the major European clusters in biotechnology, which is my area.
A Thriving Environment for Startups
This successful tradition of working together between industry and academia has a very long history, maybe longer than in most parts of the world. Uppsala was a very good environment to start a company in. From the academic group, we had the basic ideas and the research to back us up. We had a lot of patents and ideas, and the university also contributes with a very good environment, for example, mentorship when it comes to business development and competence in the area of doing your business plan.
A Place to Fulfill Dreams
Shi wanted to be a scientist ever since he was little. He’s come to Uppsala University because he thinks that this is the best place to make those dreams come true.
A Legacy of Nobel Laureates
When he received the Nobel Prize, it could be either physics or chemistry. They are working on the borders between chemistry, physics, and biology as well. Peter England, the permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, is in charge of announcing the yearly Nobel Prize winner for literature.
A Head Start in Life
In case you’re wondering, yes, he got his start at Uppsala University. Well, this is the magic door. I started studying in Uppsala in 1980, an old university city. Education and graduation from the old university city always give you a sort of a bit of a head [Music] start.
Let me know if you’d like further refinements!
