CEC's sustainable future

As you have been informed in separate mails from Henrik last week and today, there has – in connection with the Science Faculty oversight of CEC – been a discussion about the future leadership at CEC from 1 January 2021. In connection with this, Henrik have been asked to provide a proposal for the structure of CEC’s future leadership, included finding candidates for the positions. The proposal is still a suggestion ­– there are still things that have to fall into place before we have a final decision. The proposal is:

Henrik Smith – Chair of the CEC working Board, focusing on strategic and long-term issues

Per Persson ­– director.

Katarina Hedlund – deputy director, responsible for education.

Yann Clough – deputy director, responsible for research.

Anna Ekberg – deputy director, responsible for stakeholder collaboration.

Natascha Kljun – deputy director, responsible for infrastructure.

At the Friday fika tomorrow at 10:15, the future leadership will be presented more in detail and there will be time for questions. Online events for everyone at CEC are using Microsoft Teams, please use this link.

Thank you all teachers!

Thanks to all heroic teachers that made the fast transition to online education proceed without major problems! Due to the Corona outbreak the Swedish government decided with short notice that all university education should be given online from the end of March. A survey made by the Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science showed that the students are relatively content with the online courses, but they think it is extremely boring to study online. The experience of the Study Director at CEC talking to students in Environmental Science is the same. We are still awaiting a clear decision about the autumn term. In the meantime we have been asked to prepare for online education, and at the same time be prepared to resume campus-based teaching as soon as this is possible.

People

We welcome two project assistants, Adam Bates and Karlis Kenkils, who will work in the project DrivenByPollinators, with Yann Clough and Veronica Hederström.  

And we are happy to announce that Niklas Boke Olén will stay at CEC for some more time, working in different projects focussing on GIS modelling and remote sensing analysis. 

Apply for summer vacation or other leave

The following regards PhD students, researchers, administrative and technical staff employed at CEC.

If you are planning on having vacation in June, you have to apply in Primula no later than May 29. If you are planning on having vacation later this summer you have to apply no later than June 18. If you are planning on having other leave of absence during the summer (parental leave etc), you have to apply no later than May 29.

All leave has to be approved in advance by your supervisor/manager, and please write that as a comment in Primula to let the person who approves know. You have to take at least 20 days of annual leave during the year, and you can only accumulate a maximum of 30 saved days including saved days from previous years. For questions, please contact my [dot] geborek [at] science [dot] lu [dot] se (My Geborek).

Administrative staffing at the office

Since a majority of CECs academic staff is working from home, the administrative staffing at the office is kept at a minimum in accordance with the recommendations. The rest of the administration is working from home and can be contacted by e-mail (or phone in some cases). There is administrative staff present at the office every workday, but who is present varies over time. Every day one person in the administration is on call. If you can’t find the help you need, please do contact the staff on call at firsthand. The call duty is marked by a sign on the door handle.

Lunch room update

The rebuilding of the common lunch room on floor 3 has started. It is now a building site that you are not allowed to pass through. To pass through the building on floor 3 please use the northern corridor. If you can’t find your mailbox, it has moved to the eastern end of the corridor, furthest away from CECs offices. Don’t forget to have a look there from time to time, or ask a colleague to do so.

There is a winner of the voting for the photo to be put on the large wall of the new lunch room, and the winner is "Myrsjö Norrland i dimmor" by Åke Lindström. It got twice as many votes as the second candidate.

Dates

For an updated list of events see the CEC calendar (English version).

Online events for everyone at CEC are using Teams. You should have received an invitation to the team “CEC“ – if not, use this link to join it or use the code: 293u3aw in the “teams” panel to the left. 

CECs Friday talk is via the Teams group ”CEC” at 10:15. Tomorrow May 15, Henrik Smith will inform about the plan for the CEC organisation and management from 2021. Please use this link. Next Friday May 22 there is no talk due to a public holiday.

Join the daily CEC Fika Online – every day at 10.00 and 15.00 via the Teams group ”CEC”. Everyone at CEC has been invited. If you have problems with logging in – contact Cerina Wittbom.

Welcome to #CO2FFEE with ICOS.RI! Every Friday at 2 pm we will discuss #climate topics with our scientists and youth activists from @fridaysforfuture. To join in with the discussion subscribe to ICOS YouTube channel and join us online.

On May 18 there is a digital open lunch meeting on teaching in Teams for teaching staff organized by Microsoft. Read more here.

On May 20, there is an online CEC Fellows concept seminar on Food Security, with short presentations from different research fields to straighten out the concept of Food Security as a research perspective. Register before May 19, a zoom link will be sent out to registered participants.

On May 26 PhD student Ivette Raices Cruz give her Mid-term seminar on “Robust analysis of uncertainty in scientific assessments”. The midterm opponent is Jukka Ranta University of Helsinki and the Finnish Food Authority. The seminar takes place at 10:00 on zoom. Sign up on the link provided on this web page. For further info contact ullrika [dot] sahlin [at] cec [dot] lu [dot] se (ullrika[dot]sahlin[at]cec[dot]lu[dot]se).

Risks and Decisions for Conservation and Environmental Management. Join us when we pick up the tradition to read the complete book by Mark Burgman which introduces a lot of useful concepts and thinking about modelling that is relevant for environmental science. We will meet at two occasions (end of May and beginning of June) and present chapters to each other. Contact ullrika [dot] sahlin [at] cec [dot] lu [dot] se (ullrika[dot]sahlin[at]cec[dot]lu[dot]se) if you want to join.

Webinar: A logical start of an academic career: Getting external funding - where, when, how?

1 June at 10.15-12.00. Getting that external funding is an important part of the academic career. But how do you find the relevant funding opportunities and how should you approach the research funding that is out there? This webinar will guide you as early career researchers (incl doctoral students) through the research funding landscape in general, and more specifically in the funding opportunities that Research Services give support in. After the webinar you will also know what support you can get from Research Services concerning external funding. Read more at LU staff pages

Online Summer School on Large-Scale Facilities, 29 June to 2 July 2020

Students can now apply to an online intensive course on large-scale facilities (Synchrotron SOLEIL, MAX IV Laboratory and ELI-ALPS – Extreme Light Infrastructure-Attosecond Light Pulse Source). The summer school is organised by The EUGLOH Alliance of which Lund University is a member. The registration deadline is 31 May 2020.

Find out more about the summer school and register on the EUGLOH website

New VPN server

Please see here  for new instructions for VPN on a new server, hopefully more stable than previous. Recommended for Windows installation and for Mac installation.

Job opportunity

A coordinator of research and innovation activities is needed to the Marine Center in Simrishamn, where LU and the municipality of Simrishamn is carrying out research, development and more. Read more here (in Swedish).

CEC in media

Below you can find an example. You can find the total coverage here, but only in Swedish. To read the full newspaper articles for free, search in the Media Archive available via the LU Library portal here.

Helena Hanson was interviewed in SVT Skåne about plants you can find nearby and have for dinner – without having to grow them yourself.

Yann Clough was interviewed in Horizon – The EU Research&Innovation Magazin – on the research programme Driven by Pollinators, which investigates how pollinator declines can affect plant community composition.

Markku Rummukainen and the other members of the Swedish Climate Policy Council argue in a debate article in DN Debatt that the climate transition should not be dependent on the current economic and political situation. This year the council will review whether the corona crisis's recovery policies will be consistent with Sweden's climate goals.

At the CEC web site you can read more about An unusually early spring – how nature in Sweden is responding to an increasingly warm climate.

LU news

Applying for reimbursement for health promotion, doctor’s appointments and prescriptionmedication

The original receipt, together with the expenses claim form, is to be sent to Human Resources in connection with registering the case in Primula. 

It is best to send in the receipts as soon as possible after the outlay. This is to avoid receipts going missing (it is easier to get a new receipt if only a short time has passed) or going out of date and to avoid duplicate claims or that the case is forgotten etc. As a great number of cases are constantly registered in Primula, this system is not to be used as storage for forthcoming cases, but only for cases in which a receipt is sent in for processing.

The right to reimbursement for doctor’s appointments and prescription medication
The right to reimbursement for doctor’s appointments and prescription medication expires if the employee has not applied for reimbursement within two years of the date of the outlay.

New procedure for health promotion reimbursement in 2020
Previously, health promotion reimbursement has been paid for receipts dated a maximum of one year back in time, provided that you apply for reimbursement for the year in which the purchase was made. Only purchases made in November or December can be carried over to the next year.

In 2020, new rules have been introduced, which entail that you must have registered your case in Primula by 15 January 2021 in order to apply for reimbursement for activities purchased and paid for in 2020. After that date, you can no longer apply for reimbursement for activities in 2020. You send in the receipts to Human Resources as soon as you reach the maximum amount of SEK 1 870. If you wait until December to send in your receipts, there may be a delay in paying the reimbursement, as many applications are received at the end of the year.

Project Management in a research environment – the methods and tools you need to reach goals effectively
You’ve been leading research projects most of your academic work life, some have been successful, some haven’t. There are methods, tools and terminology from project management which can help you and your collaborators, both inside and outside academia, to become far more effective. 

If you are a research team leader/Principal investigator or in a senior position (year 4--), with experience from leading research projects and are interested in a project management course (3,5 days), register your interest at Kompetensportalen no later than June 16th. Course dates: 28 August, 8-9 September, 1 October. The course is free of charge and held in English. Please note that you need approval from your Manager. 

Please note: This is not a “leadership course” as such, even if focus is on the virtue of collaboration in a wider sense of the word. For leadership courses and other seminars for PIs, read more on LU staff pages.

Lund University offers a broad range of activities (in English) that contribute in one way or another to career development for academic staff, either within academia or outside it. Read more about the activities and register at LU staff Pages.

University-wide initiative for gender equality and equal opportunities

The aim of the project is to develop effective and applicable work methods for the university-wide systematic preventive work against discrimination and on gender equality and equal opportunities. The project manager is Jimmie Kristensson and the project is scheduled to conclude on 28 February 2021. Read more at HR-webben

University Board members have been appointed

The members of the University Board have been appointed for the period 1 May 2020–30 April 2023. There are four new members. Four of the new candidates are external members appointed by the Government District court chief judge Gudrun Antemar (new) and R&D director Torbjörn Lundahl (new). And two of the new members are appointed by the Electoral College Professor Christofer Edling and Professor Lars Dahlin. Read at LU staff Pages

Corona update

Please keep yourself updated on the university management’s guidelines due to the Coronavirus spread here. The spread of the coronavirus is with us – now and for the foreseeable future. It is still not time to relax and resume normal life. We must all show consideration and help to prevent the spread of infection. Therefore, it is important that we, staff and students, continue to work/study from home, if possible, and that we maintain distance from each other and do not socialise in large groups.

Most importantly – please stay home when you are sick, even if you only have mild symptoms. Report your sick leave in Primula and to you line manager.

Pictures and videos during your time at CEC – GDPR

During your time at CEC there will be pictures taken and videos shot at staff meetings etc. If you do not wish to appear in photos, videos etc. please notify anna_maria [dot] erling [at] cec [dot] lu [dot] se (anna_maria[dot]erling[at]cec[dot]lu[dot]se) or stina [dot] johannesson [at] cec [dot] lu [dot] se (stina[dot]johannesson[at]cec[dot]lu[dot]se). See more information about data protection at Lund University. 

About the newsletter

The CEC newsletter is sent to employees and those that are associated with CEC. The newsletter is sent out on Thursdays every second week. If you have anything you would like to add to the newsletter, please send your information to Karin Hofvendahl, no later than Tuesday the same week.