28 May 2024: Update to staff at BioNut and MedH

Maria Eriksdotter started the meeting by giving an update on the progress of the integration project and ongoing activities. 

New delegation order from 1 July 2024

The task force group for HR is currently working with all delegations to prepare for the effectuation of a new delegation order (delegationsordning) from 1 July, when BioNut is established as a seventh unit at the department MedH. The decision-making procedures and delegation rules will be adjusted to reflect that BioNut will be a unit at MedH including an extended educational assignment. Janne Johansson who is currently the head of the department BioNut will be head of the unit BioNut and MedH's head of department, Petter Höglund will continue in this capacity.

The PI:s/team leaders at BioNut whose delegations need to be updated according to the new organisational affiliation, will receive an e-mail with this information. They must reply to the e-mail to certify that they have understood the content and acknowledge their delegation at MedH.

Update on the risk and consequence assessment 

At the beginning of the project a workshop was held to identify risks and consequences with the integration of BioNut with MedH. Listed below are some of the risks that the departments' managements are working to address. Work on a few risks concerning economy and strategic decisions will be continued in the line organisation after the integration and will be addressed in the strategy MedH 2030. 

• Worries concerning employment: my job, new tasks and high workload.
• Effect on core activities: carrier pathway and strategies.
• Effect on the support functions: processes and organisation.
• Assignments and delegations 

Some identified risks were not specific to the project but to the development of the departmental group KI South and will be shared with the Dean of KI South, the department heads and the university management.

Education at Bachelor's and Master's level 

Agneta Månsson-Broberg, Departmental Director of Education (DDU/ GUA in Swedish) at MedH and Magdalena Rosell, DDU at BioNut, presented the new organisation for education at MedH. Agneta will continue to act as DDU and Magdalena will be deputy DDU at MedH from 1 July. Magdalena will also become Programme Director for the Master’s programme for nutrition. The Departmental Committee of Education (DCE) will be a merger of the two departments' respective DCE and the goal is to be as inclusive as possible. 

A list of the education programmes and courses at the MedH from 1 July was presented: 

• Nutrition Science
  • Bachelor’s programme (in collaboration with Stockholm University)
  • Master’s programme
• Biomedicine
  • Bachelor’s programme – courses
  • Master’s programme – courses, degree project
• Molecular Techniques in Life Science
  • Master’s programme (KI, KTH, SU) – courses, degree project
• Medical programme
  • Core courses
  • Elective courses
• Complementary Education for Medical Doctors from  outside EU/EES and Switzerland 
• Assigned courses
• Free standing courses
• Specialisation courses (SK)

The inclusion of BioNut's education will be a welcome addition to MedH, making possible a more translational approach and increase the integration of research and education at the new MedH. The new organisation is developing nicely but work will continue throughout the year to ensure the highest quality.

Preparations for onboarding and evaluation

The task force group for communication is preparing updates on the current webpages for the two departments to reflect the integration from 1 July. Practical information is also being prepared for the purpose of onboarding all staff when the integration of BioNut with MedH is completed. 

Everyone at BioNut and MedH will shortly be invited to help evaluate the integration process and share insights to help KI learn from this project going forward - keep an eye on your inbox! 

Update from the heads of departments

The MedH head of department Petter Höglund gave a brief update and pointed out that the focus is now on the future, which next steps to take and how to make the most of the new integrated MedH potential after all practical matters have been solved. All staff are welcome to be involved in the work to establish the MedH “Strategy 2030”.

The BioNut head of department Janne Johansson concluded that most of the staff at BioNut have mentally started to be part of MedH and are just awaiting the official date for the integration. There will be a farewell event at BioNut including former BioNut staff on 10 June. 

Maria Eriksdotter ended the meeting by thanking everyone who attended the sunny, lovely afterwork at Södra Teatern on 17 May. 

Upcoming meetings

Everyone at BioNut and MedH have been invited to regular information meetings in Zoom (so far 11 in total) during the course of the project (see the calendar or Outlook). There will be time to ask questions and hear more about what steps are being taken to integrate BioNut with MedH. 

The next and last meeting is scheduled for 18 June with results from a survey about the project and highlights from the forthcoming project report will be shared to summarise the integration project.