Why have you been appointed as new director and scientific research coordinator on the Middle East?
From the start, I was part of the team that planned the new Centre for Middle Eastern Studies in 2007. Later I was also a co-applicant in the proposal to the Swedish Research Council on the strategic research area Middle East. Already then we realized the importance of creating a physical meeting arena for interdisciplinary research collaboration. It is now very exciting and interesting to start these new assignments as CMES director and coordinator of the strategic research area “Middle East in the Contemporary World”.
What are you expectations and potential challenges?
CMES is presently going through a re-organisation, which is challenging. However, together with deputy director Ronny Berntsson, professor of water resource engineering, we plan for a new start of CMES 2.0 in the spring of 2021. For a large, leading University as Lund it is strategically important to conduct Middle Eastern research of high international quality and societal relevance. We will launch an active and varied seminar series and disseminate our activities and publications through social media. We strive towards an inclusive research environment, which can spark and initiate powerful and new interdisciplinary research collaboration.
How much of your time will you dedicate to these assignments?
I will devote most of my time at CMES, but will also continue research collaboration with my colleagues at Political Science in the Wallenberg project on digital diplomacy.
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