Academic recruiting ‘too narrow-minded’

Sweden’s universities should look beyond academic publishing credentials when recruiting researchers to promote better societal engagement, a seminar has heard.

To ensure universities collaborate more with other types of organisations and society as a whole, researchers shouldn’t be recruited purely based on publication records and academic merit, several panellists suggested. They were speaking at a seminar as part of the Almedalen democracy forum held on 3 July in Visby on the island of Gotland. 

Sylvia Schwaag Serger, director of international strategy at Vinnova, the national innovation agency, said universities should rethink their recruitment process.