Parliament gives the go-ahead to confer university status on MDH

The Swedish Parliament has today made a decision regarding the new Research and Innovation Bill, thereby giving the go-ahead to confer university status on MDH.

– Today is a milestone and a day of rejoicing. We are proud of the confidence that Parliament bestows on us and are ready to gear up our research and take even greater responsibility for Sweden as a research and knowledge nation, says Paul Pettersson, Vice-Chancellor at MDH.

The question of MDH getting university status has been discussed for many years. Several political parties have submitted motions to Parliament, and the private and public sectors in the region have highlighted the need to grant MDH university status. Last autumn, the Government submitted its Research and Innovation Bill, which included proposals to confer university status on MDH. Today, the Parliament expressed support for the proposal.

“Mälardalen University College will officially become Mälardalen University. This is a major strategic initiative to increase the region's ability to take action, but also for Sweden as a country. Today, Mälardalen University has a strong foundation to build on. It has the highest number of doctoral students and a large proportion of external research funding. These are great indications of quality. Knowledge makes Sweden a stronger nation,” according to Matilda Ernkrans, Minister for Higher Education and Research, when the proposal was discussed today in Parliament.

Expansion of research activities

Universities and university colleges differ in that universities have general powers to award degrees at research studies level, whereas university colleges need to apply for such powers for research studies within specific areas. Universities also have more extensive funding to conduct research. A university status for MDH would therefore mean a substantial expansion of research activities. The Government has announced that it intends to boost funding for research at MDH by SEK 130 million.

“We are Sweden's largest university college, both in terms of the number of students and the number of research students. We have managed to build up extensive research activities thanks to good cooperation with research funders, the private and public sectors. We have the capacity to further gear up our research to make an even greater contribution to our region, but also to Sweden as a country,” says Paul Pettersson.

The formal decision to designate university status is taken by the Government. MDH looks forward to the continuation of this process and to developing into Mälardalen University.