Summer seems to have caught up with us again.
At the end of spring and beginning of summer, it often feels as if time is running away with us. There are so many things that need to be done. We want to round everything off, yet however many of the University’s activities are bound up with semesters and dates, there is at least as much that simply carries on – that doesn’t actually pay a lot of attention to the calendar.
As you realise, I have research in mind, but I am also thinking of planning and preparations that never really let up or rest. The desire for answers, the drive for progress and the quest for knowledge and improvements are not governed by any time clock.
But even if the work never ends, it’s important to have a change of scene and take a break. A walk in the sun, a day at the beach, an afternoon with friends can be surprisingly effective ways to recharge your batteries.
Sometimes it seems to me that perhaps summer is after all the time when research breakthroughs, organisational solutions and smart educational ideas are most likely to come. Putting a little distance between our work and ourselves may enable us to grasp that point that we didn’t really have time to think through properly during our days at the office. When things calm down, everything falls into place and the trivial distractions fade away. That’s my experience, at any rate. We’ll see, perhaps the autumn will get off to a flying start with lots of exciting initiatives. Let’s hope so!
Right now, I wish you all a very pleasant summer.
Anders Hagfeldt
Vice-Chancellor