New hats for Mats Magnussson

“LL and impact are areas in which I have much experience. During my career, I have developed and carried out contract education to a fairly large extent. It is both stimulating and important. The half-life of knowledge and skills is constantly getting shorter, and we must find new ways to provide companies and society with the right skills.”

“Impact is a large and broad area. In my opinion, our most important contribution to society is that we train skilled engineers, which will continue to be the highest priority. Of course, we must also continue to work with scientific excellence, and I am very grateful that, thanks to Hatef Madani's previous efforts, we have come a long way along the way. There are several exciting things to work with around collaboration, innovation, and utilization. The latter sub-area is very close to my research in innovation management, and I have also done some studies on the role of universities in the commercialization of research. I look forward to trying to put that knowledge to good use. One reason to take on LL and impact is that they are connected with our third-cycle education, which hopefully leads to synergies.”

What will you do in your new role as Second Deputy Head of School?

“I will try to support the head of school in the everyday work. In addition to impact and lifelong learning, I expect there will be other tasks to which I can contribute. Our new president clearly wants the line organization to have a bigger and clearer role, which means more work and responsibility for the school management. In that situation, I think it is sensible that the head of school has two deputies to delegate to. With the pace of change, I think we can see the school management will certainly have a lot to do in the near future, and I hope that my competence and experience can help in that work.”

What challenges do you see ahead in your new areas/for KTH?

“Both impact and LL are large areas that hold a lot. Different parts of KTH have different opportunities and challenges. KTH has tried to work with these issues in a relatively similar way, but we probably need to adapt the work more to the conditions at each school. Therefore, a major challenge will be to choose which areas we should prioritize. Even within ITM, our activities have a different nature, making it difficult to keep the work together. A great asset of our school is that the entire ITM is imbued with a desire to work closely with companies and other organizations. Working with LL and impact is therefore something that most of us see as a natural part of our roles, and in that, I see great opportunities.”

What’s first in line to be dealt with?

“There is a huge potential at ITM regarding LL and impact, so there is no shortage of things to grab hold of. At the same time, it is important to get better at daring to prioritize and not trying to do everything at once. Within LL, we need to focus on quick solutions to create extra income that alleviates the tough financial situation. In the longer term, we need a clearer strategy based on our specific conditions. Regarding impact, I am interested in taking on issues related to collaboration and innovation. Still, we need focus on the activities that are most important for the school and the institutions. Developing a coherent impact strategy for the school will be the first step, and I hope we can start soon.”

You are still FA; do you have time for everything?

“Good question. Of course, I hope there will be some synergy between the different areas of responsibility, but I know that sometimes it can be quite a lot to stand in. But it is also about daring to prioritize and not do everything at the same time.”

Interview: Anna Gullers