"There is power in collegiality"
Malin Åkermo is vice-chair of SCI's newly formed Faculty Board. We asked her why she ran for the board and what issues she will be focusing on.
Why did you decide to run for the Faculty Board?
"Through my experience in various roles in the Department of Engineering Mechanics and at KTH in general, I have seen and experienced things that I want to improve. The Faculty Board offers a unique opportunity to influence and highlight the faculty's perspective. I was also curious whether this is just an organizational change or if there are opportunities to create dialogue and improve the working situation of the teachers. It is not easy, but I have now realised that there is power in collegiality."
How has the board worked so far?
"We've had monthly meetings, and we've also had a retreat with the school management, where we focused on financial balance and what it means from a research and educational perspective. We get a lot of support from the school's board office and prepare carefully for each board meeting. We teacher representatives formulate our vision and the issues we want to pursue, which we then raise at the board meetings.
The Faculty Board is also represented at the SCI School Faculty Breakfasts, a platform that provides an opportunity to ask questions and engage directly. I would encourage more people to take the opportunity to engage with us."
Do you have contact with other school's boards?
"There is an ongoing dialogue between the school boards through the initiative of Dean of Faculty, Sofia Ritzen, who organises meetings for the vice-chairs of the school boards and teacher representatives at the KTH board. The vice-chairs also organise their own lunch meetings to exchange experiences and discuss common goals."
What is on the agenda right now?
"So far, the decisions have mainly been simple, with a focus on delegating tasks. We have also raised important discussion points for the faculty working environment, including the need for transparency in the distribution of faculty funds and the importance of effective support for research. We will be presenting these points in meetings with the school's faculty later this spring."
Who are you and what do you do when you are not on the board?
"I am a Professor of Lightweight Structures and work with fibre composite materials, their manufacturing processes and applications, both through simulation and experiments. Several of my research questions are related to the aerospace industry, but I also study areas such as circularity and recycling in relation to materials systems."
Reported by: Marta Marko-Tisch