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New research school strengthens focus on poverty reduction

A person is sitting on the ground with a cup in front of oneself. Photo.
Photo: Michael Erhardsson, Mostphotos

Extreme poverty is still an urgent issue around the world. Four universities have initiated a new research school on sustainable development and poverty reduction to address the challenge. The research school will be coordinated via Lund University.

The new research school, which has been granted six million SEK from the Swedish Research Council, aims to offer novel, interdisciplinary and high-quality doctoral training. The school will also work to strengthen the research collaboration and networking between the four partnering universities as well as between individual doctoral students within and beyond the universities. The hope is to equip the doctoral students with skills and knowledge needed to address the challenges related to poverty reduction and sustainable development. The University of Ghana and the universities in Lund, Gothenburg and Uppsala have partnered up to engage in the research school, which will be coordinated via Lund University.

”This is a fantastic opportunity to strengthen doctoral training related to sustainable development. I expect the Research School to generate innovative and creative thinking, not only in terms of training but also in regard to collaboration and knowledge production”, says Kristina Jönsson, Associate Professor at the Department of Political Science at Lund University, who will act as coordinator of the research school.

The aim is to complement the existing doctoral programmes at the four universities by offering elective doctoral courses, a series of seminars with invited guests, seminars with practitioners, a series of activities to build knowledge and skills for both doctoral students and supervisors, and a doctoral exchange programme between the universities.

The school will collaborate with the Swedish Network for Development Research (SweDev) and the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) as well as with Lund University's Agenda 2030 Graduate School, where the latter contributes with interdisciplinary perspectives on the sustainable development goals.

The funds have been granted for the period 2022-2025. The ambitions are, however, more long-term and the intention is to create a Swedish national research school on sustainable development and poverty reduction after the project ending in 2025.

Read more about Kristina Jönsson's research on her personal page