KIB gets the new assignment to lead the development of KI's cultural activities
The University Library (KIB) has been asked by the president to lead the process and develop a unified cultural program at KI. The decision follows a review of cultural activities during the fall of 2024 and spring of 2025, in which the report confirms the importance of culture for KI as a whole, highlights the need for a clearer organizational home, and emphasizes the importance of increased student engagement in cultural activities.
The assignment means that, starting in January 2026, KIB will:
- Develop a broadly supported plan for the new cultural activities, including a description of the purpose, target groups, and forms of collaboration.
- Create synergies with existing activities and engage students, teachers, and researchers.
- Submit proposals for a new organization to the vice-chancellor by 31 August 2026.
- Implement cultural activities during the year.
The current cultural council's mandate ends at the end of the year, and its members will serve as an important reference group in the ongoing work. A renewed council or equivalent is expected to be appointed ahead of 2027.
KIB has been awarded the mandate thanks to the library's existing work in the area, which is aimed at students, teachers, and researchers alike. Since 1 January 2025, the History and Cultural Heritage of Medicine (MHK) has also been part of KIB, which creates good conditions for the library to coordinate and develop cultural issues at KI.
This provides an opportunity to build and create synergies between ongoing culture-related assignments at the University Library and the new cultural activities. In this way, cultural activities can gain greater strength and resources from their organizational context.
"With this decision, I want to both strengthen and further develop cultural activities at KI. Culture should be present on all our campuses throughout the year. It should be a matter of course for everyone who studies or works at KI," says President Annika Östman Wernerson.
"We look forward to taking on this exciting assignment with an exploratory approach to what cultural activities can be, while building on the knowledge and commitment that already exists at KI," says Library director Miriam Nauri.