Photos of the honorary doctors.
This year's honorary doctors at SLU are: Daniel Berlin, chef, Nybrostrand; Mikhail Durkin, executive secretary, Uppsala; Brett Butler, forest scientist, USA; Franciska Rensberg, reindeer herder, Tännäs.

Lectures by SLU´s new honorary doctors

News published:  28/09/2026

SLU warmly welcomes everyone interested to attend the lectures held by SLU´s latest honorary doctors on Friday 2 October in Uppsala. The lectures offer exciting insights into the culinary arts, reindeer husbandry, and the future of the Baltic Sea and our forests. The lectures will also be webcast.

The 2026 honorary doctors at SLU are: Daniel Berlin, chef, Nybrostrand; Mikhail Durkin, executive secretary, Uppsala; Brett Butler, forest scientist, USA; Franciska Rensberg, reindeer herder, Tännäs.

This year'shonorary doctors will receive their degrees during the doctoral award ceremony in Uppsala on 3 October 2026. On 2 October, they will give their public lectures in Uppsala which will also be livestreamed on the SLU website.

The popular science lectures are open to the public and will take place in the Studio (Teaching Building), Almas allé 10, SLU Uppsala, on Friday 2 October.

Outerwear and large bags must be left in the cloakroom. The studio has a limited number of seats, but the lectures are streamed to the adjacent hall. Between each lecture there will be a 10 min pause – the doors are kept closed during the lecture.

The lectures start at 8.50 and finish at 11.50. Two lectures are given in English, two in Swedish, as is evident from the lecture titles below.

Programme

08.50 Welcome address by Vice-Chancellor Maria Knutsson Wedel

09.00 Mare Nostrum Balticum (ENG). Biologist Mikhail Durkin

09.40 Trees, Fairies and Magic Wands, Research forester Brett Butler

10.10 Coffee/Tea

10.40 Smaken av en plats. Restaurateur Daniel Berlin

11.20 Att förvalta för framtiden – renskötsel mellan tradition och forskning. Reindeer owner Franciska Rensberg

If you cannot attend in person in Uppsala, the lectures will also be webcast (starts on 2 October at 8:50 am). Recorded versions of the lectures will be published after the event.

Read more about this year's honorary doctors, find the webcast and much more on the webpage for this year´s doctoral award ceremony.

We hope to see you there!

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