Mikael on education this fall

And so, the teaching is underway for the autumn term of 2020. As you know it will be a mixture of distance and campus teaching, where we prioritize more on campus presence for our novice students. Personally, I have two courses that involves distance learning and I must say that I miss the student contact, which does not really seem to appear on zoom. The new foundation year programme attracted four new classes of students, which is a little less than we planned fore but still a good result, considering that it is a completely new programme and that we only announced the programme over the summer. Right now, detailed planning is underway to ensure that we can offer a good programme with sufficient teacher support and student contact, so that it will be effective. Many thanks to everyone who contributes to the process and all the other work that this mix of teaching methods requires during the autumn.

As we at KTH have now opened for teaching on campus, there will be an immediate need for more employees to be on site. There will also continue to be remote work. When it comes to telework, there are risks involved and the boundaries between work and private life is easily blurred. Those who work remotely also miss the social context that exist in the workplace. Social exchange plays an important role, not only for the individual but also for the professional role. Many wise ideas are hatched during coffee breaks, for example.

To counteract problems that may arise during long-term telework, KTH's management considers that at least two days a week at the workplace is an appropriate basic principle and can be implemented without risking congestion at work or on public transports. The planning of this should done by the immediate managers in consultation with the employees, based on operational needs and conditions.

Mikael