“It is a great deal of fun but a good deal of work,” says Björn Victor, inspector of Uplands Nation and professor at the Department of Information Technology. “One might think that the role of inspector was mostly ceremonial but, as it turns out, it’s much more like work.”
While these days the inspector acts as a point of contact between the Nation and the University, the post was originally introduced at student unions to maintain order. Nations were banned for a while during the seventeenth century and when they were allowed to open once again it was with the requirement to appoint an inspector.
Working with students is the motivation
The Uplands Nation elects its inspector, who is almost always a professor, at its membership meeting, known as Landskapet. The role of inspector is entirely unremunerated.
“As inspector, I get to work with the students, to offer advice and support and help to identify solutions. It is a kind of supervisory role, which was one of my major motivations for accepting the post.”
During his student days, Björn was himself an active member of the Uplands Nation, playing saxophone in the Nation’s brass band, Wijkmanska Blecket, singing in the choir and working behind the bar among other things.
“Personally, it feels good to be able to give something back and contribute to preserving tradition in a meaningful way. The Nation is important to so many students. It acts as a second home where students can meet across subject boundaries and have the chance to try things, to take responsibility and develop new ideas – something like an interdisciplinary entrepreneurial workshop with a great social focus. One can learn a great many different things at the Nation.”
While students can meet at the nation at the crossroads of their various educational choices, it is also a place for other types of cross-border activity. Uplands Nation has a multinational membership and most meetings are held in English and they translate as much material as they can.
“Even if someone can’t speak Swedish, they can become involved in our activities. That is one of the Nation’s greatest strengths, that it has so many international members, something that creates long-term, cross-cultural relationships.”
The Nation has become even more important during the pandemic, providing somewhere that students can meet safely in person to study and socialise. This is especially true for new students. The University and the Nation also cooperate to reduce density at teaching activities, by using extra study locations and teaching facilities at the Nation.
An enduring fixed point
Björn Victor compares the Uplands Nation to a medium-sized company. The Nation is itself medium-sized, with an annual turnover of about SEK 10 million, five full-time officers and a large number of volunteers or hourly-paid staff.
Björn himself is a regular visitor, at least once or twice a week and sometimes more.
“It is generally for meetings with the full-timers: the curators, pub master and kitchen master. Naturally, the active members of the Nation are regularly replaced and as the inspector I function as a enduring fixed point, like a memory. And I provide an academic link between the Nation and Uppsala University.”
Dusting off the saxophone
After a break of three decades, a couple of years ago Björn Victor dusted off his saxophone, making a brief comeback with Wijkmanska Blecket, taking a course in jazz and joining the Uppsala Wind Orchestra.
Did you find it easy to get back in the swing after such a long break?
“Yes, it went well. It’s a lot to do with muscle memory, like riding a bike. Then again, I was quite a quick learner to start with; I’ve become better at picking things up.”
Right now, Björn has his fingers crossed that the Uppsala Wind Orchestra Christmas Concert will still take place. And, speaking of Christmas, the Uplands Nation has invited everyone to Christmas at Uplands every Christmas Eve and Christmas Day since 1970.
“Yes indeed, that is an initiative by the Nation for anyone who has nobody to celebrate Christmas with, or who would prefer to celebrate with us.”
Christmas at Uplands is a charitable event financed by donations from grocery stores and fundraising and many people who aren’t students also come along to help with the practicalities. The Nation also contributes funds to ensure that anyone who wishes to do so can share in the Christmas spirit.
What about Christmas at Uplands this year, which also happens to be its 50th anniversary?
“It will take place in some form but it will be a different Christmas at Uplands this year, although as things stand we are not sure exactly how. This is one of those situations in which, as the inspector, I support the active members in exercising their creativity and thinking outside the box.”