100 days!

LTH’s new management team has now been in place for 100 days, as has the new LU management team. They have been interesting, stimulating and hectic days. The best part has been visiting different sections and departments and seeing everyone’s incredible commitment – that goes for all parts of LTH. There are so many wonderfully exciting things here, as I have already spoken about, and there is great strength in the organisation. This, of course, also encompasses the strength we have in our students and in the student’s union TLTH. But there have also been moments filled with frustration and feelings of inadequacy. Frustration that it is sometimes difficult to implement change and to get started, but that could stem from my impatient nature. However, it can sometimes be a good thing that we take it a bit easy and do not rush into things too quickly. Inadequacy is mainly about trying to find enough time for everything, and realising how much you need to learn about the organisation. We’ll hopefully be able to rectify that. If I have not been out to visit you yet, I’d gladly receive an invitation!

So what have we done? The first thing was to establish the work group that will review our programmes, being led by Deputy Dean Annika Mårtensson. They are working hard already, and will be handing in a proposal for remittance in May. The heads of department are being updated continuously to make sure the proposal is well rooted in the organisation. We have also established a similar group that will review our research organisation, being led by Assistant Dean for Research Erik Swietlicki. We believe that LTH needs a new organisation that can better safeguard our need for strategic thinking. I am convinced that this will be a change for the better.

When we have launched the new organisation, it will be time for implementation. Coming from a research area where we build integrated circuits, I know that simulations in, for example, MATLAB do not count as a finished implementation. Reality has a tendency to mess things up. So we will have to stop practicing on dry land and jump straight into the deep end!

This is when we will need to utilise our strength. You know what works well and where we need to change our routines to be more efficient. This goes for core operations as well as the administration. Think about how we can improve, discuss it with your colleagues and come up with suggestions. This also goes for students and alumni. You are the ones who know the organisation!

Don’t ask what LTH can do for you, ask what you can do for LTH.