The year is coming to an end and on campus it’s like Christmas break, with decorations and just a few people. The past year has been very strange and we have handled it well, thanks to everyone's great and good efforts – but we’ve spent a lot of time on zoom!

We are beginning to realize that the corona crisis is not going to be over for some time yet, and we can see that the spring term will also be affected by corona measures -- exactly how and how much is not known yet, we’ll have to adapt gradually. Ahead of us are our regular  important education and research activities, plus some large projects where the proposed reorganization of teacher education seems to be the mail one right now.

The faculty is expanding in terms of number of students, application have increased during the crisis and our departments have been able to scale up and develop new courses, both for more short-term needs (and at very short notice!) and for the longer term.

Research is going well, the Riksbankens Jublieumsfond recently awarded grants for a total sum of SEK 121 million to Stockholm University, a large part of this to Social Science programs and projects.
 
The period of office for deans and faculty boards is also coming to an end, and we who are leaving can see that we will be succeeded by excellent people. For me these six years have been fun and stimulating – I now I look forward to a new assignment as head of the Department of Archaeology and Classical Studies. Wishing you all very Happy Holidays!