Welcome to the UPSC Days 2022!

Location:  Saxnäsgården, Saxnäs, South Lapland

Day 1 - Monday, 22nd August 2022

7:30-8.00: Meet-up at the parking lot in front of Universum

8.00 - 12.00: Bus travel to Saxnäsgården – “Speed dating” after the first break

12.00: Lunch at Saxnäsgården and afterwards check-in

Session 1

Chairperson: Ove Nilsson

14.00: Welcome
Ove Nilsson, director of UPSC

14.10: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats - Where is UPSC standing?
Introduction to SWOT analysis
Markus Schmid

14.15: Tree-ring genomics for understanding the genetics underlying climate adaptation
Kelly Swarts
Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology/Max F. Perutz Laboratories, Vienna, Austria

14.30: The dynamic aspect of plant cell walls: from changes in composition to alterations in mechanical properties
Laura Bacete
Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway

14.45: MicroProteins – small proteins with big impact
Stephan Wenkel
Copenhagen Plant Science Centre, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

15.00: Coffee break

Session 2

Chairpersons: Sam van Es, Madhusree Mitra

15.30 – 17.00: UPSC Alumni
Short presentations by the alumni and round table discussion

• Henrik Böhlenius, Senior Lecturer/Researcher, Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, SLU
• Urs Fischer, Managing Director at PHARMAPLANT GmbH, Germany
• Anna Karlberg, Vice President Forest R&D, Stora Enso, Sweden
• Peter Kindgren, Researcher, Researcher at the Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, SLU; group leader at UPSC
• Jakob Prestele, teacher and lector at Artediskolan, Nordmaling, Sweden

19.00 Dinner with entertainment

Day 2 - Tuesday, 23rd August 2022

7.00 - 8.30 Breakfast

Session 3:

8.30: Individual discussions of the individual personnel category groups (i.e. TA personnel, PhD students, Postdocs, PIs)

10.00: Coffee break

Session 4 - Future forestry in Sweden (and Europe)

Chairperson: Stefan Jansson

10.30: A one-size-fits-all solution for forests in the European Union: An analysis of the new EU Forest Strategy
Camilla Sandström, Professor at the Department of Political Science, Umeå University

10.50: None of us is smarter than all of us - collaboration and communication as strategical tools for the future of forestry
Anna Karlberg, Vice President Forest R&D, Stora Enso

11.10: Forestry in the Nordics and the biodiversity issue
Annika Nordin, Professor at the Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences & Vice President for Sustainable forest management at Stora Enso

11.30: Discussion

12.00 - 13.00: Lunch

13.00: Excursion to Fatmomakke Church Town

The following two activities will be offered in Fatmomakke:
1. Guided tour through Fatmomakke
2. Hiking tour

17.00: Free time at Saxnäsgården (you will have access to e.g. sauna and hot tub)

18.30 Outdoor dinner close by the restaurant next to lake Kultsjön

Day 3 - Wednesday, 24th August 2022

7.00 - 8.30: Breakfast

Session 5: How can we make UPSC better?

8.30: Short inspirational talks presenting the topics of the group discussion

9.00: Group discussions based on the UPSC SWOT analysis
What can we improve to make UPSC a creative, innovative, and productive environment for you?

• What should we keep that is good (Strengths)?
• What can be changed/removed to make it better (Weaknesses)?
• What should we add to make it better (Opportunities)?
• How can we overcome Threats from within and outside?

10.00: Coffee break

10.30: Group discussions - continuation

11.30: Summary and outlook

12.00 - 13.00 Lunch

13.30 Travel back to Umeå

• We will go by bus to and from Saxnäs which will take at least 4,5 hours. The meeting will take place at Saxnäsgården (https://saxnas.se/; information only in Swedish).
• Different types of accomodation will be available: double rooms at the hotel, double rooms and four-bed rooms at the nearby hostel and cabins for 1-6 persons. It will most likely not be possible that everyone will get a room on her/his own. Please be a bit flexible and take this into account when registering. However, we will try our best to comply with your wishes.
• The afternoon of the second day is reserved for an excursion to Fatmomakke Church Town, which is the most prominent Sami church town in Sweden. You can find more information about Fatmomakke here: https://southlapland.com/sv/fatmomakke (in Swedish only)
  In Fatmomakke, you will have two different options: you can follow either a guided tour through the town or you can join a hiking trip to the top of the nearby mountain Graipesvare.
• For parents that do not have any childcare possibilities during these three days, we will try to arrange childcare at the meeting location. Please specify in the registration form if you are in need of childcare. 

Do you have any other questions? Please feel free to contact Anne Honsel (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).