Education and research

When Prime Minister Stefan Löfven met French President Emmanuel Macron today in Paris, the countries’ strategic partnership for innovation, digital transformation and green solutions was updated and deepened. When Mr Löfven and Mr Macron entered into the partnership in November 2017, it was agreed that Sweden and France needed to work together in a number of strategic areas to better address digital transformation and climate adaptation.

The national roadmap for the European Research Area contains measures that help to strengthen the priorities agreed at EU level. The Swedish roadmap provides an overall overview of what various stakeholders in the research and innovation system are implementing in areas such as open science, gender mainstreaming, research infrastructures and societal challenges. The national roadmap covers the years 2019-2020 and has the same end year as the roadmap at the EU level.

Listen to Matilda Ernkrans, Minister for Higher Education and Research, talk about her new role and how she wants to address important challenges.

Improving attainment, strengthening equity and guaranteeing the provision of teachers, safety and peaceful study environments in Swedish schools. Listen to Minister for Education Anna Ekström talk about some of her priorities during this electoral period.

As citizens of a state within the European Union, British citizens are exempt from application and tuition fees for studies at higher education institutions in Sweden. If the United Kingdom leaves the EU on 30 March without a withdrawal agreement, British citizens will become subject to the rules applying to third-country nationals. On 21 March 2019, the Government decided that a temporary exemption from the provisions on application and tuition fees at higher education institutions will apply for certain British citizens so as to mitigate the consequences of withdrawal.

On Sunday 31 March, Minister for Higher Education and Research Matilda Ernkrans will travel to Germany to visit Hannover Messe, the world’s largest trade fair. Ms Ernkrans will meet Germany’s Minister of Education and Research Anja Karliczek and others.

The OECD presents its new report on the Swedish economy today. In the report, the OECD notes that Sweden has a stable economy and strong state finances, but also points to problems with increasing income gaps and the need to reduce gaps in schools to improve school performance.

On 29 March, the Ministry of Finance will host a press conference and follow-up seminar to present the most recent OECD Economic Survey of Sweden. OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría, Minister for Finance Magdalena Andersson, Minister for Education Anna Ekström and experts from the OECD and Sweden will take part in the seminar. Ms Andersson and Mr Gurría will hold a press conference before the seminar. The press conference and parts of the seminar will be held in English.

A temporary exemption from application and tuition fees at institutions of higher education will be introduced for certain British citizens to mitigate the consequences of the United Kingdom leaving the EU without a withdrawal agreement.

The Swedish Government has identified the need to develop a national approach to AI in Sweden. The purpose of this document is to identify an overall direction for AI-related work in Sweden and lay the foundation for future priorities.