March 22, 2010
Swedish funding bodies: 'Apply in English'
Published: 23 Dec 09 09:23 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/24014/20091223/
Dictionary tool Double click on a word to get a translation
A number of Swedish organizations that provide research funding have petitioned the Swedish government to require potential recipients to submit their applications in English, a practice that the Swedish Ombudsman of Justice (Justitieombudsmannen) has ruled to be in violation of Swedish language law.
- Low IQ does not kill: Swedish study (13 Jul 09)
- Lund wins bid to host new particle accelerator (27 Apr 09)
- Swedish researchers awarded grant from actor Michael J. Fox (9 Jan 09)
But the research funding bodies claim that applications in Swedish make it difficult to maintain the desired quality due to the international nature of the research community.
The petitioning organizations include the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet), the Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning (Formas) and the Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems (VINNOVA).
"Research is international and is becoming all that much more so. Research of the highest scientific quality within the majority of academic disciplines should be evaluated in an international perspective and by international experts - in other languages than Swedish," the organizations write in the petition.
They continue by stating that English is often the lingua franca of the scientific community.
"The background for this (English) language requirement is that the research funding bodies are of the opinion that they cannot achieve their quality requirements, which were established by the Swedish government, if applications are only evaluated by researchers who have mastered the Swedish language."
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
Fark It!
Digg This
Facebook
Share everywhere
Send to a friend
Printable version
Twitter ThisUppsala airport gets go ahead for low-cost flyers
The Uppsala military airport Ärna has been given the environmental all clear to begin hosting low-cost commercial flyers, the County Administrative Board announced in a statement on Friday. READ (3 COMMENTS) »
Swedish firms increase advertising spend
Swedish firms have started to ease restrictions on advertising budgets, with new figures indicating an 18 percent hike in spending during the first two months of 2010. READ (1 COMMENT) »
Ikea and Google top student career wish list
Swedish students have named Google, Ikea and the foreign ministry as their dream places of work, according to a new survey. READ »
Skanska lands 'Ground Zero' rail contract
Swedish construction firm Skanska has secured a $434 million contract to help build the commuter train station at the site of the World Trade Centre in New York. READ (4 COMMENTS) »
Ikea offers repose in Paris metro marketing campaign
Swedish furniture chain Ikea has adopted an unorthodox method to get its products into the mind's eye of discerning Parisians - by lining metro station platforms with living room furniture. READ (2 COMMENTS) »
Swedish house prices top two million barrier
The price of the average Swedish house has passed the two million kronor ($300,000) mark for the first time, new statistics show. READ (3 COMMENTS) »
Stockholm restaurant secures second Michelin star
Stockholm restaurant Frantzén/Lindeberg has been awarded a precious second Guide Michelin star just two years after serving its first meal. READ »
Carnegie traders charged over price fixing
Three former traders at Carnegie have been charged with illegal price manipulation carried out in the years before the Swedish investment bank's forced nationalization. READ »
King's pal seeks bumper payout for country estate
Torgils Bonde, a member of Sweden's high society, has raised eyebrows by putting his 2,800 hectare property up for sale for close to a record sum of 200 million kronor ($28.3 million). READ (3 COMMENTS) »
Riksbank off base with finance crunch rate hikes
The Swedish Riksbank has concluded that while everyone failed to see the impending finance crunch, it's own board was furthest behind when it raised interest rates just weeks before the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy. READ (5 COMMENTS) »
- 12/03 Vattenfall sells German power grid (1 comment) »
- 11/03 Two Swedes named on world rich list (23 comments) »
- 11/03 Inflation rate doubles in February (1 comment) »
- 10/03 Voddler signs deal with Warner Bros. (4 comments) »
- 10/03 Geely secures Volvo purchase finance (13 comments) »
- 09/03 Reinfeldt: 'Iceland must honour its commitments' (24 comments) »
- 09/03 Borg: No cash for euro currency fund (3 comments) »
- 08/03 Bankruptcies continue to decline (1 comment) »
- 08/03 Svanberg claims millions in holiday pay out (6 comments) »
- 05/03 Investor buys big in defence concern Saab (1 comment) »
Ryanair – when the going gets tough, will the tough get going? »
"Like all empires, Ryanair's will come to an end, but like a old punch drunk prize-fighter, will they see the upper cut before it is too late?" READ »
- 05/2 16:37 Stockholm garbage collectors – an overpaid relic of a bygone age?There is a school of economic thought that opposes the CBA because it creates an insider-outsider workforce, raising wages for those with an over-protected job and levels of unemployment for those without. It is just one side of the argument and there are strong ones available to counter it, but a clearer example of the validity of this thesis is surely hard to find. READ »
- 27/1 11:02 Saab’s last chance saloonI sincerely hope that Spyker/Saab can prove the army of doubters wrong and become a winning combination. But if not then at least the interim period can be used to ensure that the Swedish automotive industry can prepare for life after if this newest dawn proves fleeting. READ »
| 21/03 | R&D Group Manager Test & Verification ESAB AB ESAB AB |
Göteborg |
| 21/03 | R&D Group Manager Electronics Design ESAB AB ESAB AB |
Göteborg |
| 21/03 | R&D Group Manager Mechanical Design ESAB AB ESAB AB |
Göteborg |
| 20/03 | Sr. Software Developer Outpost 24 AB |
Karlskrona |
| 20/03 | Software Developer Outpost 24 AB |
Karlskrona |
| 20/03 | Java Developer Outpost 24 AB |
Karlskrona |
| 20/03 | Regional Manager (m/f) Scandinavia EOS GmbH Electro Optical Systems |
Scandinavia |
| 19/03 | Service Delivery Manager bwin Games AB |
Stockholm |
| 19/03 | Hydraulic Engineer - Global R&D Dish Care to Electrolux Electrolux |
Stockholm |
| 19/03 | Outside Sales Account Executive III Dell Inc. |
Norway |
- 21/03 Germany plans €1-billion loan for Airbus A350 »
- 20/03 Conservatives plan to rein in pharmaceutical prices »
- 19/03 Germany adopts budget with record debt »
- 19/03 Schäuble: Berlin flattered by French criticism »
- 18/03 Israeli drugmaker Teva buys Ratiopharm »
- 18/03 Siemens plans 4,200 job cuts worldwide »
- 17/03 BMW looks forward to strong profits »
- 17/03 Porsche sheds debt but expects yearly loss »
- 17/03 Siemens to cut 1,000 jobs in spin-off »
- 16/03 Electricity prices to rise for every fifth household »
- 23:37 Fun Mensa test
- 23:15 A Public Apology to the Children of Sweden
- 22:35 Nice town in Sweden
- 21:59 The English Shop
- 21:48 The "I hate this thread" thread
- 21:14 For Those About to Rock
- 21:00 Social Welfare Advice.
- 20:52 Registering with Migrationsverket
- 20:40 Are we really racist?
- 20:33 Mortgage interest relief
Therapy in English
David Schultz PsyD
Individuals & couples
In Stockholm in person or by phone or video conferencing
www.anxiousorblue.se
Kick-off the new football season with LFC, Stockholm's premier English-speaking football club.
MORE INFO
The Local seeks a digital advertising specialist to administer advertising operations for our network of sites
FULL JOB DETAILS
Charming apartment in Lidingö that overlooks the forest, sea and city! 60 sq m, 2 rooms, sleeps 2-4 people. 7969 sek/week.
MORE INFO
Beth Rogerson PhD - Clinical, Marriage & Family Therapist
Click or call 08-5580 1266 now
The Local is seeking a talented media sales professional to drive our online advertising sales
FULL JOB DETAILS
Then you'll find The Local's new Stockholm Section useful. Find pics, guides, news and lots of useful information about Stockholm.
www.thelocal.se/stockholm
Find products and services that are specifically focused on English speakers living in Sweden!
FULL DETAILS
A perfect location both for business and pleasure. Centrally located, with atmosphere.
www.adlon.se
Visit Stockholm's beautiful archipelago. Great boat tours for all preferences.
MORE INFORMATION
Your comments about this article:
The comments below have not been moderated in advance and are not produced by The Local unless clearly stated. Readers are responsible for the content of their own comments. Comments that breach our terms and conditions will be removed.
I fully agree with Sweden wanting to keep their language as the main one, as should any country, however as soon as you begin to work in an international arena (outside of Scandinavia) you are more than likely going to benefit from incorporating English to your working practise. I fail to understand why educated people cannot grasp this.
That is one of the main reasons nonswedish speakers have problems in swedish work environments.
English is the lingua franca of international business and education for the most part followed by Spanish......
Its better to face realistic problems with realistic solutions. No one is lining up to learn Swedish outside of Sweden because its going to give them a competitive advantage.
Language doesn't respect legislation or the opinions of experts. It just does develops in its own way regardless.
Think of language development as gravity. Like it, or dislike it, it's still there, and we're all just going to have to deal with it. If you want to avoid language development or gravity, you really have to leave the planet, which perhaps is a good idea for the legislators of the Swedish Language Law 2009.
Sweden exports its greatest commodity, intellectual expertise, all over the world. If at the same time they make it difficult for experts to come to Sweden, the "brain drain" will be catastrophic.
Does it mean that now nobody in Sweden supposes to use English in Swedish organizations? I suggest the authority to close that organization.
Similarly, the language spoken in SAAB Aerospace when I worked for them was English. Swedes who I employed in SAAB had to have excellent English to have any career prospects. All applications for employment by both Swedes and foreigners was in English.
This is not an insult to Sweden or to belittle the language but just recognition of the fact that to expand market penetration beyond Sweden and to attract people with the relevant skills and experience you have to look beyond national boundaries and language
Quebec seems to be the only place that refuses to acknowlege this reality.:-)
@Kevin - People CAN be forced to use a language. It's why we primarily speak English in America and not German. That also goes for Brazil if it wasn't for the government forcing the large German population to speak Portuguese.
However, whenever I speak to classmate in Iran or Pakistan I am forced to use English!
USA is the wealthiest and poweful country in the world (Obama killed a fly and it was an important fact), and English as a second language in all the world, as a by-product of this fact.
In my opinion, language is an instrument for communication and expression. As an instrument, Swedish language has very limited use, so limited that it has to accept English in its different organizations. When you take America and Brazil as an example, don't forget both countries were colonies and their laws imported by UK and Portugal. However, at present there are many states in west US, where Spanish is dominated because of the large number of Spanish speakers and not any organization can works just by English there. Sweden is not a colony; nobody enforced any language on it.
If you look carefully in history, there were always some languages dominated in the world for particular reasons, for example Latin in the whole Europe were the language of Science, church and Law similar to Arabic in east, which was the common language of Science and Law!
In the long run the benefits of speaking english can be imense. The majority of scientific papers are written in English. A good educational system and good command of the English language will put the Sweeds catch up with the fast developing new knowledge in basic science and technology.
Internationally, speaking fluent English could give educated Sweds a competitive advantage.