“With a balanced economy, we can look ahead”

Hello Pär Jönsson, Head of the School of Industrial Engineering and Management (ITM). What will be the focus of the reform agenda in the coming year?

“We will develop a strategic development plan! In addition, we will further develop support processes and department-focused teams, strengthen experimental environments, ensure a good working environment, and maintain our strong financial position.

It’s a three-step approach: the reform agenda is a brief summary for the President, the operational plan (VP) outlines responsibilities and follow-up, and the development plan gives us a long-term direction.”

Why are these changes so important, and how will they be implemented?

“Department-focused teams are a natural continuation of the merger of university administration. We already partly work close to the faculty, but are now taking the next step in our development. Going forward, operations controllers, HR generalists, and financial officers will need to work even more closely together to better meet local needs.

At the leadership conference in January, managers together with Eva Björndal, Elizabeth All, Linda Hedström, Jenni Hollbrink and others, will discuss what ‘close support’ means in practice and jointly prioritise important issues in HR and finance.

Experimental environments are a key issue for KTH as a whole – and for us. They are costly and often externally funded, but our labs are a unique strength. Especially in this era of AI, where digital work is lightning-fast and much happens virtually, experimental environments stand out. They offer something algorithms cannot replace – hands-on experience and encounters between students, teachers, and researchers. During the year, we will explore ways to co-manage labs and make them accessible to more researchers and students.

A good working environment is crucial for making our school a great place to work and for attracting talent. We are now clarifying the Heads of Department’s responsibilities in the operational plan and will follow up four times a year. This includes JML (gender equality, diversity, and equal treatment) issues, which will be integrated into the line organisation as the JML group is phased out, the crisis organisation with an exercise planned for spring, and safety issues related to chemicals, radiation, lasers, electricity, and fire. All departments must work systematically on these matters – it’s a legal requirement and something KTH’s Safety Manager, Christina Boman, often emphasises.”

Tell us more about the strategic development plan!

“Now that our finances are in balance and we have a positive equity, we can finally raise our sights. We are planning five years ahead, based on the school’s educational and research strengths.

This autumn, a consultant conducted an in-depth analysis of the school’s research, mapped collaborations, and clustered areas. He also examined which policy documents our researchers have contributed to and compared us with international trends. At the same time, a group led by GA Fredrik Asplund has been working to identify future educational offerings. The goal of this work is to identify how we can strengthen cooperation within the school – not least because it gives us greater impact when we apply for funding and modify our educational offerings so that we become even more popular from the perspective of upper secondary school students. The strategy will be something we work on throughout next year.

More details will be shared at the leadership conference on 15 January. It will mark a fresh start, as for the first time in a long while we have a balanced economy – thanks to everyone’s efforts. Now we can look ahead.”

Text: Ulrika Georgsson