A summer greeting from Amelie

Another academic year is ending and many of you are looking forward to a well-deserved summer break. As is usual at this time of year, the past few weeks have been intense and filled with meetings, end-of-term ceremonies, thesis defences, exams and presentations of final projects. A special event this year is that our wonderful Campus Flemingsberg is turning 10, and this anniversary will be celebrated just before the Midsummer weekend.

Over the past year, a key issue at KTH has been the review of the career system. The first report, presented as early as 2024, led to in-depth work on developing concrete proposals for new positions. A thorough review has also been carried out of the assessment criteria for appointment and promotion. Over the past few weeks, we have discussed the final proposals in the form of a draft new employment regulations in various forums at the CBH School, and this week we are submitting a consultation response summarising the various views that have been put forward. The aim is for the new employment regulations to come into force from 2027. Although perhaps not everyone will be satisfied with the changes, I believe it has been a very good process in which everyone has had the opportunity to put forward their views.

During the academic year, we have continued our work on developing the CBH School’s range of courses. The first cohort on the new Master’s programme in Data-Driven Health has just completed its first academic year, and this autumn the first students will begin the Master’s programme in Molecular Biotechnology and Bioinformatics. Many lecturers have worked intensively on the new courses within the programmes, and it is pleasing to see that they appear to be working well. Overall, we are seeing good application figures for the CBH School’s programmes, and I hope we can continue to provide relevant education in the future. Given the rapid developments in the field, next academic year we will need to focus even more on how AI is affecting our programmes.

Other issues we have been working on extensively at the school are faculty development and faculty renewal. This year, we have a new process for prioritising new faculty appointments, in which the school’s management team and faculty board discuss needs and opportunities together. There is a consensus that we cannot increase the faculty’s size without simultaneously securing more core funding, but there are many views on what the school should focus on going forward. I think it is positive that we can have these discussions together – the line organisation and the collegial organisation. This autumn, there will be a new election for staff representatives to the Faculty Board, and I hope that we will have knowledgeable and committed members on the school’s Faculty Board for the next term of office as well.

On the research front, the school’s researchers have been working intensively throughout the year on the initiatives announced under the Research and Innovation Bill. Last autumn, several researchers from the CBH School participated in applications for strategic research areas, and last week the call for proposals for clusters of excellence in pioneering technology closed, in which researchers from the CBH School were also very active. I hope that everyone who has worked hard on these applications can now take a breather and have a rest. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for a positive outcome!

CBH is now taking a summer break and will be back in August. I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you all a lovely and relaxing summer, wherever you’re spending it. I look forward to seeing you again in the autumn and continuing our important work together at the CBH School and within KTH!

Amelie