The Professors' Collegium: “We should have an atmosphere guided by ethics”

THREE QUESTIONS TO…
Nancy Pedersen, professor at the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and one of the arrangers of a meeting for the Professors' Collegium, a discussion forum for all of KI’s professors, on 22 February. One of the main purposes of the meeting was to discuss how the Professors' Collegium can contribute to restoring trust in KI.

How was the atmosphere at the meeting with the Professors' Collegium?

"There was a lot of interest, some 180 were registered but we had a feeling that more than 200 professors turned up. It was very pleasing to see that so many were so engaged and the atmosphere was quite responsive. The overall feeling is that we are an important resource prepared to contribute to and take our responsibility in the changes KI needs to go through."

Which was the most important issue?

"We focused on how we can learn from the Macchiarini matter that led to the current crisis. Apart from discussing how to attend to lessons learned, there were also some concrete suggestions brought to the table, for instance that some kind of faculty senate, that can provide advice and support to the KI management, should be established. Further we discussed the process of recruiting a new permanent vice-chancellor – many gave good advice and several views were expressed."

What were the conclusions of the meeting?

"We agreed that the Professors’ Collegium should meet more often and the next meeting was set to April 11. The meeting was something of a new start for us as we have not met for over a year. Some commented upon the need for us to improve our communication, how we can reach out and what channels we could use. We also discussed our work within our research groups and our departments and how this could be improved. It was emphasized that we should have an atmosphere guided by ethics, common values, a communicative leadership and transparency. At the next meeting our acting vice-chancellor will be present, and I look forward to a discussion of more hands-on issues and measures."

Text: Maja Lundbäck (in translation from Swedish)