SWEDEN: Academics may apply for jobs in Swedish

Three Swedish universities, which had placed job advertisements requiring certain applications to be filed in English, are now being told to change their approach after a recent decision that gives a primary role to the national language, writes Jonathan J Li for The New York Times.

According to the decision, which was handed down late last month, Swedish universities cannot demand applications only in English without the possibility of applying in Swedish. The office of the parliamentary ombudsman issued the ruling against three universities: the University of Goteborg, the Royal Institute of Technology and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.

Catrine Bjorkman, a case handler at the ombudsman's office, said that by requiring job applications to be completed in English, the universities were denying the right of Swedish applicants to use Swedish when communicating with public institutions, as required under a 2009 law. The decision was made even though Sweden normally takes pride in its high level of English proficiency, especially in higher education.
Full report on The New York Times site