The annual meeting with the International Scientific Advisory Board (ISAB) was held on September 7-9. ISAB is appointed by KAW with the mission to review WASP and provide advice for its progress. During the meeting the advisory board was presented with the latest WASP developments in particular the NESTs call, initiated research arenas, the unified graduate school, and the multitude of new collaborations spawned at both the national and international level. The board also had a separate session with WASP recruited assistant professors.
ISAB is praising the progress WASP has made over the past year, based on the vision and strategy presented in 2020. In their own words WASP is “making excellent progress on many fronts, aligned with the new strategic plan”. The advisory board also provides several recommendations in the report. Most importantly, the advisory board appreciates the initiatives taken to improve gender balance but would like to see even more focus and proactive actions on gender and diversity balance. This underlines the need that diversity and inclusion should be highly prioritized within all instruments of the program further on.
Another recommended area of development is increased visibility of WASP, locally at the universities as well as on the national and international arena. The board emphasizes that the program deserves more visibility to show the leading role it has in shaping the Swedish research landscape. The report is an invaluable instrument in guiding the WASP management and board over coming year. We thank the ISAB for its efforts and insights provided.
Published: October 1, 2021
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