Let us introduce...

On January 1, 2026, the Departments of Forest Economics and Forest Biomaterials and Technology will merge to form the Department of Forest Bioeconomy and Technology. Carola Häggström will take on the role of Head of Department and Torbjörn Andersson as Deputy Head of Department.

Here, Carola Häggström answers a few questions about the new department.

What opportunities do you see with the merger?

Together, we cover the entire forest value chain and can take a central role in developing the bioeconomy both nationally and internationally. In addition, we will have a strong administrative team that supports us and is already making an enormous contribution.

What questions or areas will you prioritize during the first year?

The first step will be to build a strong team that benefits from each other and shares experiences and knowledge. We are already seeing examples of this, and we will continue to build on it. 

What strengths from the two departments will you bring into the new department?

All of them! Joking aside, if I have to pick something out, the strong teaching culture of both departments really stands out. We have dedicated program directors, responsibility for masters' programs, and individuals who have served as vice dean for undergraduate education at their respective departments. In addition, we have highly committed teachers and even an excellent teacher! In terms of research, we have groups that are world-leading in their fields, but most importantly, everyone has shown an open mind, a willingness, and curiosity to collaborate with each other, and I am very happy and grateful for that.

But why bioeconomy?

This is perhaps best explained by the Vice-Chancellor Maria Knutson Wedel, a physicist who has held classes on sustainability. In a news article from 2024 (only in Swedish) about the future of bioeconomy, she explains that in a world that grows ever warmer, extreme weather follows and there is an urgent need to change paths. That the ”linear economy, where resources are extracted from the ground, processed at high energy costs, and finally disposed of, must be abandoned" and that ”In a bioeconomy, there is a initial plan that materials should be able to return into the system. This is the path we must take. We have the knowledge, and we must lead the way—but we cannot do it alone”.