Portrait of a Partner – Lund University
In this October version of our newsletter we have spoken to Kajsa Paulsson, who is the project coordinator from Lund University, about their view on the project and why they are happy to be involved in this kind of cross border engagement. Lund University is a part of the MAX4ESSFUN project and Kajsa has a close, almost daily, collaboration with the people from the other universities and MAX IV and ESS.
A Beneficial Project in Many Ways
When talking to Kajsa it is clear that she sees many positive outcomes from the project. She says: “The benefits are many. We have learned a lot about what happens at the other universities and expanded our knowledge and network in ways we would never have if we hadn’t been a part of this project. I also think that a lot of people at Lund University who are not directly involved, have learned new things, because they hear about the things we are doing.”
Another thing Kajsa highlights is the collaboration and new cross border research teams that have come out of the project. “These new teams are of great value for the future. The project has planted new seeds, of which many will grow and turn into new initiatives in the future.” Kajsa says.
Handling EU Projects is a Skill in Itself
Being a part of large EU projects is in many ways something that demands special skills when it comes to reporting and keeping track of the financial parts of the project. Kajsa says: “We have also learned a lot about how to handle EU projects in a good way. We have learned how to deal with all the formalities and will now be a lot better prepared if we want to apply for other EU projects in the future. That is a very good experience to be able to build upon when moving forward.” And she adds: “Being a part of a professional team of project leaders is very inspiring and shows the importance of project management in a big project.”
Surprisingly Creative and Successful Research Experiments
When asked if anything has surprised her, Kajsa is not in doubt: “All the amazing research experiments, and the fact that we have so many different competences within the region.” She says and continues “So many interesting and relevant questions have been addressed within MAX4ESSFUN and so many good examples showing how the six months experiments have produced new competences and knowledge.”
Looking Ahead
As we only have one year left of the project it is natural to talk about the future. When asked about how Lund University will build on the initiatives from the project Kajsa says: “We have a strong focus on this and we don’t want to let it fade away. A lot of people have been inspired and they expect some kind of continuation. We will try to deliver that. Although it will probably not be in the exact same form as MAX4ESSFUN, there is much to learn and win when it comes to cross border collaboration.” Kajsa highlights the importance of support from the management and says that there is already now plans for meetings with both the faculty level and the central management of Lund University in order for them to learn more about the results from the project. She sees many opportunities for different collaborations in the future. “Through the project we have also talked a lot to people from Hamburg, Germany and I think it could be interesting to look into the possibilities of starting up a new MAX4ESSFUN++ project with research institutes in an expanded geographical as well as technological area, this would be an interesting way of going forward in a broader perspective, and expanding the network we have established now.”
Background info about the University:
Lund University was founded in 1666 and is ranked among the world’s top 100 universities. The University has 42 000 students and 7 400 staff based in Lund, Helsingborg and Malmö. Apart from being a part of ESS&MAXIV: Cross Border Science and Society Lund University is engaged in a lot of different activities to spread out the knowledge about x-ray and synchrotron science. Here’s a list of some of the initiatives:
- The faculty of medicine and the faculty of science have arranged a number of study trips to large scale facilities in Europe to inspire, network and promote knowledge.
- The Science Faculty has offered seed funding for projects using neutron or synchrotron radiation directed towards new users or those wanting to apply new techniques. It also gives dedicated support to build up competence in areas that lack the tradition to use neutron and synchrotron techniques.
- Strategy groups at the faculties working towards establishment of support facilities as well as specific instruments at MAX IV.
- The research schools: Imaging of 3D Structures (imagingresearch.lu.se), with specific aims to educate PhD students and post docs in neutron and synchrotron techniques and ADMIRE, (http://www.admire.lu.se/) which focus on microscopy using light, electrons, neutrons and x-rays.
- ‘The MoReLife network (https://www.med.lu.se/morelife) arranging seminars, workshops and activities beneficial for the development of competence and technologies in the Life Science sector with a specific focus to bridge to and promote competence to use MAX IV and ESS.
- MicLU (https://www.med.lu.se/microscopycommunity) with one of its specific tasks being promotion of interaction between the microscopy community at Lund University and MAX IV and ESS (https://www.med.lu.se/microscopycommunity).
- LINXS (Lund Institute of Advanced Neutron and X-ray Sciences) (http://www.linxs.lu.se) a newly started institute that aims to attract world leading researchers for visits (3-12 months) and connect them with Lund University scientists and the two large facilities.
- Imaging at various facilities including LBIC http://www.med.lu.se/bioimaging_center, 4 D tomolab (http://www.solid.lth.se/resources/4d-imaging-lab/), nCHREM (http://www.polymat.lth.se/nchrem/), NanoLund http://www.nano.lu.se/home, MBio (http://www.biology.lu.se/services/microscopy/electron-microscopy etc).
- The division of physical chemistry is an active node in the European Soft Matter Infrastructure platform (EUSMI) (https://esmi-fp7.net).
- LP3 – Lund protein production platform for protein production, characterisation and crystallisation (http://www.biology.lu.se/services/lp3-lund-protein-production-platform). LP3 forms together with the neighbouring ESS platform, DEMAX, (https://europeanspallationsource.se/science-support-systems/demax) for deuteration and macromolecular Xtallisation, a unique centrum for protein science directly bridging to MAX IV and ESS.
- LUNARC (http://www.nano.lu.se/home) for data handling and processing.