Anna Jerbrant appointed as new programme manager for Future Education at KTH

Anna, you get the sports question: How does it feel?

– I have always liked being involved in educational development. I have worked with it in various roles for the past 15 years, both as Programme Director (PA) for the Industrial Engineering and Management Programme (I-programme), as a pedagogical developer at the ITM school, and for many years as the school's Director of First and Second Education Cycle Education (GA). Being selected as programme manager for such an extensive and strategically important change programme and having the privilege of working with strategic educational development at KTH's overall level feels incredibly fun.
In addition to teaching project and operations management and being assistant programme director for Framtidens utbildning, Anna has also worked as 1st Deputy Head of School at ITM and was responsible for ITM's move from Södertälje to Valhallavägen and being methodological support for the entire campus move.

How does this extended programme management assignment affect your other assignments at KTH?

- As of 1 November, I will no longer be the 1st Deputy Head of the School, and the project management responsibility for the relocation of the Södertälje campus will also be handed over. But of course, I will have time to continue teaching and researching! Anna continues happily.

The programme management for Framtidens utbildning is a temporary organisation. Thus, there is no formal or established process, such as, for example, in the appointment of head of school or faculty council members. It has nevertheless been an open process in which Dean Sofia Ritzén has been involved. Sofia was also involved in the final decision.

Sofia, can you say something about the process and the motivation for choosing Anna?

- It has been a well-communicated process where we were looking for a person who has been involved in many different assignments to develop education at different levels; both course, programme and overall level, that is, a combination of own educational development and management assignments. In addition, we have been keen to find a person who is well anchored in KTH's entire organisation and who knows change management. 

- Anna fits fantastically well into the description of things we were looking for. We initially thought that she would not be available, but we are pleased that it worked out with her previous assignments.

Joakim, who "swapped places" with Anna, what are your thoughts on the advisory group's, Dean's and President's choice of Anna as your successor?

– It's an excellent choice, and I'm not surprised. We have both been on this journey with Framtidens utbildning from the beginning - from when the Board of Education was commissioned by the then President to set a direction for the future. Therefore, it feels rather undramatic to hand the baton to Anna. I will also have one foot left in the programme management. We complement each other well, both in terms of personality and in our working and management styles. But I think the programme and the programme management could benefit from a "little more Anna" at this point. In other words, I am not surprised by the choice of Anna. At the same time, it's good that it was a process – even if, in the end, it was perhaps a bit much fuss for a rather small change.

So, Anna, what's next?

– As stated in the decision, we will now focus on following up the results from this year's development work, as well as start planning the work for next year as described, among other things. in our semi-annual report, and at the same time work on the developing our organisation and working methods, as the programme is now in a phase where a little more structure and systematic follow-up and knowledge sharing is needed in relation to the framework.

Told to: Sofie Kim