The concept, in which schools are invited to ‘borrow a researcher’, has proven to be a popular and successful ForskarFredag activity for many years. Researchers visit schools, non-profit associations or workplaces, to talk about their work as a researcher and the wider societal context of their research.
Visits can take place either in person or online, enabling those who are not located close to universities or research institutes to also benefit from the experience. The exact format and focus of each visit is agreed between the researcher and person booking the visit with the overall aim of encouraging educational and engaging discussion between participants.
In 2021, an online booking platform was developed. The platform (in Swedish only) contains profiles of each of the participating researchers and their available slots and the booking can be made directly online. During ForskarFredag in September 2022, researchers visited 160 school classes across the country, both in person and online.
Researchers are recruited from a broad range of universities, research institutes and companies across the whole of Sweden and represent a huge range of fields, including STEM subjects, the humanities and social sciences. During 2023, Borrow a Researcher was done twice, once for a week in April and again for ForskarFredag in September.
Are you a researcher and want to participate in September 2024? Read more and register here.
