Since 1995, UTN has been based in its current student union building, Uthgård, located at Polacksbacken in Uppsala. Since then, the building has served as the heart of the union’s activities. However, for a long time the house has been perceived as too small in relation to the scope of the union’s operations and has been a limiting factor in the development. In 2023, UTN was informed that the property owners did not intend to extend the lease for Uthgård, which meant that the union must vacate the premises no later than November 30, 2025. Instead of thinking big and visionary, the union had to take a sharp and realistic approach. Since then, the project leaders of the union house group have worked to find a suitable new location, and constructive dialogue has been maintained with Akademiska Hus. During the spring semester of 2025, the lease agreement with the property owner was renegotiated, postponing the move by six months—meaning that we now must leave Uthgård no later than May 31, 2026. Currently, a building permit process is underway for a property that will hopefully become our next home.
Today, the union’s facilities provide workspaces for full-time staff, study spaces for students, meeting and group rooms, as well as space for various cultural, social, and career-related activities, and this is how we want it to remain in the future. During daytime, the premises also host lunch areas and a café where students can heat their lunch boxes or buy coffee, frozen meals, pastries, or snacks. The union house plays a crucial role in coordinating, planning, and hosting the many activities run by the committées and work groups in the union. Examples include meetings for the team organizing the River Rafting event or the welcoming activities for new students at the start of each semester.
As a student union, we maintain a close relationship with Uppsala University. Our collaboration extends far beyond the question of the union building where our primary focus is on ensuring a high-quality education for the students.
In the autumn of 2022, Johan Tysk, vice-rector of the Faculty of Science and Technology, signed a letter of support for the union house project. For the union, the letter carried symbolic value as it demonstrated the strong support we have from the university in this important matter. This was echoed in the spring of 2024, when the new vice-rector, Charlotte Platzer Björkman, signed a similar letter in support of the project.
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