Savings must be made at Swedish universities, even if a Nobel Prize had recently been awarded to one of their professors, as is the case at Lund University in the south. The unversity's management is preparing a five-year plan to bring its finances back into the black. There are no plans for layoffs for the moment, but some fixed-term contracts will not be renewed and the number of PhD students will be reduced.

Universities all over Sweden are under pressure. In 2023, their collective deficit reached 1 billion kronor (€89 million). The situation has been deteriorating steadily, accelerating over the past two years as operating costs have soared and are no longer offset by funding, while at the same time, the liberal-conservative government, supported by the far right, has forced all central administrations – including universities – to cut spending by 0.5%.

At Stockholm University, the Department of Economic History and International Relations has already taken several initiatives to try to bring its budget back into balance. Instructors are sharing offices, course duration has been reduced by 15% and administrative time allocated to directors of studies has been trimmed. The department has also decided not to create any new places for PhD students for three years. "But these are one-off savings, which we can't repeat and which have already been swallowed up by rising costs," observed department director Magnus Petersson.

Each year, the university allocates around 60 million kronor to Petersson for a department with 450 students and around 70 employees: 25 instructors, around 20 researchers, between five and six administrative staff, and researchers on various types of contracts. Petersson was appointed in 2021. "Since I took up the position, rents have doubled from 3 to 6 million kronor. Administrative costs have risen from 3 to 4 million kronor, while social insurance contributions have increased by 700,000 kronor," he explained.

The equation is increasingly difficult to solve, especially as budgets are not progressing as quickly. "This year, we received 3.5% more money, but rents rose by 7.5%," Petersson explained. This is because, in Sweden, universities are not the owners of their premises. Most lecture halls, laboratories and classrooms belong to the Akademiska Hus company, set up in 1993, which rents them out to the universities at a cost representing around 12% of their budget.

However, although Akademiska Hus is a public company, 100% government-owned, it must operate like a commercial enterprise. Not only must its rents keep pace with the market (booming since 2022), but it is also obliged to generate an annual return of at least 6% and redistribute between 40% and 70% of its profits to the government. Akademiska Hus has largely exceeded these targets in recent years, managing to contribute 5 billion kronor to public finances between 2022 and 2023.

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