ARC21: successful site visits
Almost a week ago, the expert panels left Mid Sweden University after intensive site visits — and the impression is that the arrangement worked very well.
On Wednesday, the Research Council discussed the outcome of the site visits with a focus on practical matters, but it also highlighted a few brief reflections on impressions captured in conversations with the expert panels.
– Of course, we can't say anything about the outcome for our subject research, but we have received positive feedback about the structure of the site visit itself. The expert panels at NMT have given good marks on the organisation of the evaluation, says dean Hans-Erik Nilsson.
Last week, around 40 experts from eleven countries participated in the second round of the research evaluation ARC21. In addition to some joint meetings, the site visits included separate meetings within the eight different units of assessment (UoA) at both campus locations.
The Dean of the Faculty of Human Sciences has also received fine reviews for the event.
– They were overwhelmingly positive about the site visits, both in terms of organisation and meetings. Several of them emphasised the importance of actually meeting, says Anna Olofsson.
The task of the expert panels will now be to summarise their impressions in reports that will be sent to the university at the end of May.
– It has been a big and extensive work that has been going on for a couple of years and I would like to thank everyone who has been involved in the work in different ways. The second round has covered subject research and related postgraduate studies, and the expert panels are likely to highlight aspects of quality assurance and development in smaller research environments in their feedback, says Håkan Wiklund, pro Vice-Chancellor.