The university management is now half way through its departmental tour
The university management is spending the spring term visiting KI’s departments to learn more about their various activities and to strengthen internal dialogue. It is now the middle of March, and half of the departments have been visited.
From January to mid-March, KI DS, LIME, KI SöS, Clintec, FyFa, Neuro, MTC, MMK, CNS, GPH and MedS have all received President Annika Östman Wernerson, Vice-President Martin Bergö and University Director Veronika Sundström on their home grounds.
The visits have centred on the departments’ activities and on how we can strengthen our dialogue and cooperation going forward. Discussions have also concentrated on KI’s nine strategic focus areas, which are essential to achieving the goals set out in Strategy 2030.
“It’s hugely valuable to get this opportunity to delve into what the different departments do, discuss strengths and challenges, and share our throughs and ideas on how we can continue to grow the university together,” says Annika Östman Wernerson.
“I’m greatly impressed by what the departments are doing, and by the dedication they showed during our meetings,” adds Martin Bergö.
Discussions and practical exercises
The visits have comprised an introductory part, which has been effectively the same for all visits, followed by a part that the departments themselves have been free to use as they wish. Apart from in-depth discussions about the questions the departments had, the university management has also been able to listen to poster presentations, make tours and take part in practical exercises.
The university management’s visit to the Department of Global Health included a triage exercise. The exercise was a trauma simulation, a kind of role play based on genuine conditions in which participants are assigned specific roles in order to handle a fictional situation.
“It was nice to be able to give examples of our activities from a regional to global level and to present what GPH can bring to KI’s Strategy 2030,” says Marie Hasselberg, head of department at GPH.
Recurring themes at the meetings have included skills supply, financial conditions, and collaboration with the region and its hospitals. The visits have been very much appreciated by both parties, even if sometimes there could have been more time for discussion.
“For us at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology – FyFa – the visit was a nice opportunity to raise and discuss matters of concern to the department and to KI as a whole. We also had the chance to talk about the path of development we’re now on and our 75th anniversary this year. We appreciated the management’s interested questions and discussions, and look forward to a continued productive relationship,” says Sophie Erhardt, head of department at FyFa.
More departmental visits to follow
During the second half of March, the university management will be visiting KBH, MEB, OnkPat and MBB. In April it will be the turn of KM, LabMed and NVS and in May, IMM, DentMed, CMB and MedH.
“We’re looking forward to visiting more departments,” says Annika Östman Wernerson. “Once we’ve finished our tour, we’ll be compiling and analysing the outcome of our discussions, and feeding back and continuing our dialogue in different ways, not least via our ordinary meeting forums with deans, heads of department and administrative managers.”