"Quality assurance is key for the Faculty Council"
Hi there, Sofia Ritzén, Professor of Integrated Product Developed, has been proposed as Vice Dean of Faculty for the next four years.
Why is the Faculty Council needed and what does the role of Vice Dean of Faculty mean to you?
“A faculty council is a self-evident part of a university. Researchers should have great freedom to define and undertake their research and teaching, but with this freedom comes a big responsibility for things such as financing and quality. This characterises universities and means that the management structure of a university looks different than that of a company. As such, it is also important that the faculty participates in structuring how the university operates.”
“I am honoured to be proposed as Vice Dean. At the same time, it is a challenge, the role is changing. There is no longer a clear division of responsibilities between the Dean and Vice Dean as KTH now has a Deputy President for Education.
How do you intend to use your influence as Vice Dean, what issues will you pursue?
“I aim to understand when it comes to quality, what components are important and that really make a difference in research and education. And we must take a look at faculty influence, has this shrunk as some people believe, or it is other things that have changed? I also want to work with KTH’s new quality assurance system – quality assurance is key for the Faculty Council. But quality assurance is of little interest if you don’t address quality development at the same time.”
What do you see as the biggest challenges to KTH in the next few years?
“We have a tendency to talk a lot about ranking and measurable performances. But you have to view this in relation to the impact we have on society. What role does our research play in social development and what skills do our engineers possess when they leave here? Research, both pure and applied, is important in terms of how we can achieve sustainable development at a global level and we can do more to influence and be part of this social development.”
What can you bring to the table and benefit from as vice dean, from your own research?
“In my research, I have worked a great deal with how you manage and drive change. One important question here, is what you should do to create buy-in amongst all employees and this is closely connected with the Faculty Council's role at KTH.”
Text: Ursula Stigzelius
- Information about the election to the faculty council
- Read about all the candidates to the faculty council