The university's staff party is usually a popular event for which the number of tickets is limited and quickly snapped up. This is also clearly reflected in the statistics for the employee portal, where news about the ticket release gets a lot of clicks. Of course, the staff party had to be cancelled during the pandemic. Now the question is what format should the university's staff party take after the pandemic.

The staff party used to be held at the end of October, but won't be in October 2022.

Room for more people

"For the time being, we've instead been given the job to come up with suggestions for different formats so that more people can attend than before", says Pernilla Björk, Director of Communications at the University Administration.

With the previous format, there was only room for less than 10 per cent of employees, allowing around 600 people to go to the party, but the university has about 7,500 employees.

"The staff party has been highly appreciated, and is important for the university and all of the employees, but unfortunately the number of employees that could attend has been limited. Of course, it's a great shame that the party is limited to one in ten employees, that's why we have to find formats to allow more employees to attend and enjoy the staff party."

A date in spring is likely

At the time of writing, the job of suggesting new formats for the staff party is completely new and, as yet, there are no concrete proposals. The staff party will probably also be moved to the spring, with March the most likely month.

The reason for the possible move to March is that the staff who plan and hold the party don't have any time left in autumn. The same members of staff are also working on the university's anniversary, which is celebrated around 7 October, and the Inauguration of Professors in mid-November.

Do you have any hot tips for what format the staff party might take in the future?

"It's a bit too early for that, we've only just been asked to suggest a new format. But perhaps the party could be held outdoors or on several occasions ", ponders Pernilla Björk. In previous discussions, there have also been suggestions to stage a concert in the Botanical Garden, with food trucks and catering. We'll just have to see where it all leads.