Scenarios for KTH's educational activities
The capriciousness of the coronavirus means that no one can know for sure what the conditions will be for KTH's education in the autumn semester of 2021 (HT21). However, we know what KTH's regulations say about the direction of education activities. This scenario description attempts to provide as much information as can be provided at present for planning and predictability, both in the short and long term.
Background and purpose
The documentation has been produced by the First and Second Cycle Education Committee* to structure the prerequisites for education at KTH and create planning conditions and transparency from two perspectives:
- The corona pandemic may require rapid changes with short notice
- KTH's long-term plans and visions for education.
Pandemic scenarios
The scenario description concretises how education can be conducted at three different levels of influence: low, medium or high. In addition, the President can completely close the campus for teaching and examination if the situation so requires.
Overview table
| Impact level | Campus degree of openness | Overall focus |
|---|---|---|
| LOW | Campus is open | Teaching and examination where students' learning and the ability to achieve the intended learning outcomes of courses that benefit, or are equally beneficial from being conducted in the digital environment, continue to be conducted digitally. The remaining teaching and examination are conducted on campus. |
| MEDIUM | Campus is partially open (similar to HT20) | Teaching and examination where students' learning and the ability to achieve intended learning outcomes of courses are at an acceptable level, equally beneficial or benefit from being conducted in the digital environment, continue to be carried out digitally. Teaching and examination with clear needs for physical interaction are carried out on campus. |
| HIGH | Campus is almost completely closed (similar to Nov-20-VT21) | Teaching and examination where students' learning and the ability to achieve intended learning outcomes of courses have a strong negative impact of it being conducted in the digital environment, are carried out on campus. The remaining teaching and examination are conducted digitally. |
In summary, level HIGH is mainly governed solely by pandemic-related measures. But level LOW and MEDIUM are also governed by pedagogical ambitions following KTH's regulations for education (see below). As a result, KTH's educational activities in the long term will move towards the vision of 2027 with an equally physical and digital educational environment.
KTH Steering Document
KTH's long-term goals with education were already formulated in the long-term goal document Vision 2027, which the University Board established in 2011. In 2018, the Board decided on focus, route and direction with the goal document Development Plan 2018-2023.
Vision 2027
Vision 2027 states, among other things, that "The opportunities opened up by e-learning technologies have been incorporated, and the virtual campus is as important as its physical equivalent." and that “…there are more opportunities for individualised learning.” (page 3 of the long-semester goal document: About KTH's education from Vision 2027, pdf ).
Development plan 2018-2023
KTH's Development Plan 2018-2023 states, among other things: "The education offered at KTH must be world-class, and it must attract the most suitable and motivated students. A high level of pedagogical awareness guarantees that the most appropriate methods are chosen for each learning situation. The digitalisation of education must continue with the preparation of a clear strategy in which the student’s learning is emphasised. An experimental learning environment utilising modern infrastructure guarantees the professional relevance of study programmes." (page 5 of the Development Plan: A leading KTH, pdf ).
The Development Plan also states: "With the help of digitalisation, education can be made more innovative, accessible and resource-efficient. Investments in e-learning in the broader sense must continue and provide concrete results in the form of changes to the pedagogy, planning and implementation of education, as well as the physical design of educational facilities. Digitalisation offers enormous opportunities for broader participation by various student groups and therefore contributes to greater diversity." (p. 11 about "A KTH for a more digitalised world" in the Development Plan: A leading KTH, pdf ).
Business plan 2021
KTH's operational plan for 2021 states in the section on goals and priority assignments on digitalisation and education as follows: "During the past year, major steps have been taken to digitalise both education and research activities. In a very short time, KTH[IV1] has carried out a major transition work from campus-based education to digital education. The experience gained from this development must be utilised both in work with pedagogical competence development and in the design of what operational support, as well as digital teaching and examination, requires." (page 6 of the KTH Business Plan 2021, pdf in Swedish ).