To include several different perspectives related to the corona pandemic has been one of the main objectives of the call. From the 27 valid applications that have been submitted, an assessment committee has selected a maximum of ten projects, which, due to the Vice-Chancellor’s decision, are now awarded 700,000 SEK each. Of these, half are funded by the Vice-Chancellor and half by the faculty/research centre.
“It is important that we, in the university and higher education world, do not become too busy with our own everyday life, with everything that must be done in order to uphold education and ongoing research during these circumstances,” says Kerstin Tham.
She adds: “At the same time, we need to raise our eyes, formulate questions and produce new knowledge that society needs to deal with the consequences of the pandemic.”
The funding will be used for pilot studies that may later form the basis for larger research projects. The goal is to publish the results of the pilot studies and then use these to apply for external research funding. The pilot studies will ideally be conducted during the autumn of 2020 and will be finalised by May 31, 2021.
“It is fantastic to see the great commitment and willingness of our researchers to contribute during this situation. Among the applications that have been granted funding, several different subject areas are represented,” says Kerstin Tham.
She concludes: “By funding these pilot studies, we hope that our researchers will be well prepared when external research financiers are going to announce funding for current research areas.”
https://mau.se/en/news/Malmo-University-spends-seven-million-on-coronavirus-research/