ELLS Conference Opens at SLU – 400 Participants from 13 Universities

It is a concrete-grey and unusually warm autumn morning in Uppsala that greets the participants as the ELLS Conference begins. But the gloomy November weather does not seem to affect the atmosphere in the auditorium, which is bubbling with enthusiasm as SLU’s Vice-Chancellor, Maria Knutson Wedel, opens the conference.

“SLU is one of the most international universities in Sweden. That is why I am especially pleased to welcome you — because it is you who make us international, and better. I hope you will have fantastic days ahead of you, meeting old friends but also making new ones,” says Maria Knutson Wedel, adding with a smile:

“I will be watching closely to make sure you do the latter!”

The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) is the organiser of this year’s ELLS (Euroleague for Life Sciences) Conference, held on 14–15 November at the Ultuna campus. This year’s theme is “Living the ELLSperience – Cultivating Scientific Innovation”, and 400 participants from 13 universities are expected to attend.

“It is truly wonderful that the ELLS Conference is being hosted by SLU this year. This is an opportunity for our staff and students to build connections and learn more,” says Ylva Hillbur, Pro Vice-Chancellor at SLU.

ELLS is a network of universities conducting research in areas such as environment, climate, agriculture, forestry and the natural sciences. The purpose of the conference is to strengthen collaboration between researchers and universities, and to give students the opportunity to network and improve their scientific communication skills.

A full programme awaits the participants, including a talk by SLU researcher Jonas Hentati Sundberg about the path that led him to where he is today; student competitions for best poster and best oral presentation; and of course, many opportunities to network and get to know colleagues from other universities.