Hello and welcome to Uppsala University! 😊 We hope you have had a good start at UU so far. There is always a lot to organize and figure out in the beginning of a new job (and for most of us: a new place) and since we have been in your shoes, we have put together some useful information to make your start a bit easier. We are UUPA, the Uppsala University Postdoc Association, and our main goal is to connect and support postdocs at UU. We believe that no postdoc should feel alone! We are a group of postdocs (and researchers) ourselves, so all of UUPA’s work is done by postdocs for postdocs. The best part is that every postdoc at UU is automatically a member, incl. you!
UUPA’s mission:

● Building a postdoc community at UU
● Addressing and improving the UU postdoctoral community’s working/living conditions
● Promoting scientific interactions and career development for UU postdocs
Anyone is welcome to volunteer to join the UUPA board. It is a great way to meet people from other departments and backgrounds. On the board, you will also:
● Gain experience in organization and leadership
● Expand your network locally (Swedish Network of Postdoc Associations)
● Expand your network across Europe (Eurodoc)
● Be part of a fun community which helps improve postdoc life at UU

We collaborate with other groups at UU (Junior Faculty, International Faculty & Staff Services) and beyond (SLU postdoc association, Uppsala International Hub, SULF, Saco) including:

● BBQs with SLUPA , which are a great chance to network with other researchers across Uppsala.
● Career Conversation webinars with Junior Faculty to discuss navigating academia and careers outside of it.
We organise monthly social events for postdocs (and their colleagues) to meet and connect:
● Afterwork meetups (on the last Thursday at William’s Pub at 18:00)
● (Board) Game nights (on the second Monday in the BMC cafeteria at 18:00).

Finally, here are some useful links for anyone starting at Uppsala University:

1. Our postdoc manual on the UUPA website
2. A beginner’s guide to Swedish academia (free PDF download):

Contact us via uupa@uu.se with any questions, ideas or if you want to know more.
You can find all our communication channels via the QR code below.

We hope to see you soon!