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EDUCATION

Swedish unis ‘punch above weight’ in Europe

Sweden has been praised for punching above its weight compared to its European counterparts, by researchers behind one of the word's most prestigious university rankings.

Swedish unis 'punch above weight' in Europe
Students at Uppsala University. Photo: Magnus Liam Karlsson/imagebank.sweden.se

The Times Higher Education (THE) group published its list of the top-200 universities in Europe on Thursday, based on its prestigious world rankings released in October last year.

It noted that the UK clinched nearly a quarter of the places (46), including seven in the top-10, with Germany coming a not-so-close second with 36 of its schools making the overall list.

However, it praised Sweden, a country with a population just shy of 10 million, underlining that an impressive six of its schools made the top-100 with one clinching a spot in the top-10.

“While Sweden has fewer universities in the ranking than some of its larger European counterparts, it punches above its weight relative to population size,” noted the survey.

A total of 11 of the Nordic country's top universities made the overall European top-200 rankings.

“It is great news for Sweden. (…) Sweden's success is part of a wider trend of the Scandinavian countries' strong performance in the ranking,” said THE editor Phil Baty.

While British universities remained at the top, he said that the UK faced tough competition from Sweden and other European nations, warning that anti-immigration policies and high tuition fees could act as an deterrent to foreign students.

“The UK shoots itself in the foot and faces losing market share over restrictive study and work visa policies, anti-immigration rhetoric and prohibitively high tuition fees, other European countries are poised to capitalize and take more and more of the UK's share of students,” said Baty.

With higher education mostly funded by the state, Sweden offers free tuition for domestic and EU students.

“The fact that the 11 of Sweden's 14 public-sector universities are in the THE's European top-200 speaks volumes for the effectiveness of the country's higher education system. Students do not make any direct financial contribution to the system: tuition is free for all domestic and most European students, said Lund University's vice-chancellor Torbjörn von Schantz in a statement.

“Historically, Swedish research policy has been subject to relatively light control, and the sector has generally been left to make its own strategic choices. These choices have included extensive cooperation between institutions, including the use of joint research facilities,” he added.

His university came in 37th place in the rankings, behind Uppsala in 32nd. The Karolinska Institute in Solna north of Stockholm, Sweden's leading medical school and in charge of handing out the annual Nobel Prize in Medicine, meanwhile clinched ninth place in Europe.

It likely spells a welcome PR boost for Sweden's leading medical school, which made global headlines earlier this year after allegations of research fraud emerged against one of its researchers, celebrity surgeon Paolo Macchiarini. The scandal has since forced the resignation of a number of top bosses, including its vice-chancellor Anders Hamsten.

The top-ranking universities in Sweden

1. Karolinska Institute (9th in Europe)

2. Uppsala University (32)

3. Lund University (37)

4. Stockholm University (64)

5. KTH Royal Institute of Technology (74)

6. University of Gothenburg (90)

7. Chalmers University of Technology (121)

8. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (121)

9. Linköping University (131)

10. Umeå University (141)

11. Örebro University (161)

The top-ranking universities in Europe

1. University of Oxford (UK)

2. University of Cambridge (UK)

3. Imperial College London (UK)

4. ETH Zurich (Switzerland)

5. University College London (UK)

6. London School of Economics and Political Science (UK)

7. University of Edinburgh (UK)

8. King's College London (UK)

9. Karolinska Institute (Sweden)

10. LMU Munich (Germany)

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EDUCATION

Inquiry calls for free after-school care for 6-9 year-olds in Sweden

Children between ages 6-9 years should be allowed admittance to after-school recreation centers free of charge, according to a report submitted to Sweden’s Minister of Education Lotta Edholm (L).

Inquiry calls for free after-school care for 6-9 year-olds in Sweden

“If this reform is implemented, after-school recreation centers will be accessible to the children who may have the greatest need for the activities,” said Kerstin Andersson, who was appointed to lead a government inquiry into expanding access to after-school recreation by the former Social Democrat government. 

More than half a million primary- and middle-school-aged children spend a large part of their school days and holidays in after-school centres.

But the right to after-school care is not freely available to all children. In most municipalities, it is conditional on the parent’s occupational status of working or studying. Thus, attendance varies and is significantly lower in areas where unemployment is high and family finances weak.

In this context, the previous government formally began to inquire into expanding rights to leisure. The report was recently handed over to Sweden’s education minister, Lotta Edholm, on Monday.

Andersson proposed that after-school activities should be made available free of charge to all children between the ages of six and nine in the same way that preschool has been for children between the ages of three and five. This would mean that children whose parents are unemployed, on parental leave or long-term sick leave will no longer be excluded. 

“The biggest benefit is that after-school recreation centres will be made available to all children,” Andersson said. “Today, participation is highest in areas with very good conditions, while it is lower in sparsely populated areas and in areas with socio-economic challenges.” 

Enforcing this proposal could cause a need for about 10,200 more places in after-school centre, would cost the state just over half a billion kronor a year, and would require more adults to work in after-school centres. 

Andersson recommends recruiting staff more broadly, and not insisting that so many staff are specialised after-school activities teachers, or fritidspedagod

“The Education Act states that qualified teachers are responsible for teaching, but that other staff may participate,” Andersson said. “This is sometimes interpreted as meaning that other staff may be used, but preferably not’. We propose that recognition be given to so-called ‘other staff’, and that they should be given a clear role in the work.”

She suggested that people who have studied in the “children’s teaching and recreational programmes” at gymnasium level,  people who have studied recreational training, and social educators might be used. 

“People trained to work with children can contribute with many different skills. Right now, it might be an uncertain work situation for many who work for a few months while the employer is looking for qualified teachers”, Andersson said. 

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