Plan for guest professors and course syllabus process
From the Faculty Board's meeting 15 May 2025
At the latest faculty board meeting, topics discussed included a new guest professor, a review of inactive courses, and an updated process for establishing course syllabi. Jenny Paulsson, teacher representative on the board, also highlights the dialogue with the research committee and preparedness for smaller cohorts.
As with the board's previous meeting , an appointment process for a new guest professor was initiated. This time in the subject of transport modeling and operations analysis, at the Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering. The appointment is part of the school's initiative for female guest professors in unbalanced environments.
“The board also discussed how the school can develop the structure around guest professors, with networks and experience exchange between them,” says Jenny Paulsson. “A concrete proposal was to offer an open guest lecture when the new guest professors begin at KTH.”
Extensions of employment delegated to board chair
On 1 May 2025, the president decided on changes to KTH's delegation order, which provide new opportunities to delegate decision-making rights to the board chair. The faculty board has utilized these new opportunities and further delegates decisions to initiate a procedure for renewal of employment as adjunct professor and guest professor, as well as to submit proposals for decisions on renewal of appointment as affiliated professor, to the board chair, Head of School, Björn Berggren.
“The delegation frees up time for more strategic discussions in the board,” says Jenny Paulsson. “Going forward, certain decisions related to education may also be handled as collective decisions to streamline the formal part of the board's work.”
Discontinuation of inactive courses
At the meeting, three new courses were established while two were discontinued. However, the number of courses that formally exist at the ABE school will decrease going forward. A review is underway of inactive courses – which have not been offered for several years or belong to programs that have been discontinued – and is expected to lead to a course offering that better corresponds to the school's actual activities.
New process for new course syllabi
The board continued work on developing an updated process for establishing new course syllabi. The idea is that the new process should facilitate things for everyone involved. ABE school's quality council for undergraduate education has provided feedback and the board decided on several remaining issues. Johan Spross, teacher representative on the board, was tasked with producing a final version.
Input from research committee, discussion on impact work and application numbers
Karin Bradley visited the board meeting and encouraged the school to raise ideas to the research committee, where she is a member. Among other things, to prepare a dialogue about the strategic research area of crisis preparedness and total defence.
A proposal for an updated impact strategy has been developed and the board discussed how impact work should be conducted after the current interim impact officer's assignment expires in June 2025. For the next meeting, a proposal should be developed for organizing the school's impact work, possibly in the form of a committee linked to the faculty board.
Application numbers for independent courses and programs for the fall were presented. KTH has increased its shares but for some of the school's programs the trend is negative.
“During the coming years, cohorts will be smaller and application pressure probably lower, a strategic discussion is needed on how we should handle those conditions, ” concludes Jenny Paulsson.
You can read the complete minutes with among other things all newly established courses and appointment procedures, and all previous minutes, here (in Swedish).
