"Safeguarding high quality basic research is extremely important"
Hi there, Anders Forsgren, Professor of Optimization and Systems Theory, who has been proposed as Dean of Faculty for the next four years.
What does the role of Dean of Faculty mean to you?
“I am both honoured and thrilled to have been proposed as Dean of Faculty, a role in which you have ultimate responsibility for faculty influence. Doing everything quickly and efficiently is part of the Zeitgeist today. However, at a university, you also need to take the time to go into things in depth and provide space for initiatives that do not deliver an immediate pay back. The Faculty Council is therefore a much needed counterweight to the line organisation to ensure that the faculty has a big influence. But it’s less about fighting line organisation management and more about working together.”
How do you intend to use your influence as Dean, what issues would you pursue?
“Recruitment and all that entails is important for the future of KTH. Everything from whom we recruit to the work environment and employment terms and conditions. We have amazingly skilled employees and put a big responsibility on their individual shoulders. We need to review the terms and conditions we offer and what the financing picture looks like, for example. It is also important that you think from a KTH perspective, create opportunities and organise meetings that enhance the positive feeling and an understanding of the value of being part of KTH.”
What do you see as the biggest challenges to KTH in the next few years?
“Safeguarding high quality basic research is extremely important. It is the case today, that people want to see research that can quickly be transformed into applications. We are also exposed to competition and even though we are well-positioned at this moment in time, we cannot rest on our laurels. It is important that we continuously develop both research and education. Having said that - quality assurance is both important and necessary, however the focus on ranking and measuring also means a risk of focusing on the wrong things and swamping staff with questionnaires and surveys.”
What can you bring to the table and benefit from as dean, from your own experience as a researcher?
“Patience. That you need to raise your gaze and see the direction you are going in. The drive and determination to adopt a long-term approach to achieving a goal.”
Text: Ursula Stigzelius
- Information about the election to the faculty council
- Read about all the candidates to the faculty council