Dirk-Jan de Koning Declaration of Intent

Ambitions as Deputy Dean

• Take the Faculty Strategy from Plan to Practice
• Further develop the process for Academic recruitments to ensure continued development of the VH faculty in Education, Research, and Extension
• Maintain an attractive PhD education with many applicants for PhD positions, including from Sweden.
• Increased internationalization with improved communication in English, even at the faculty level.
• Continued focus to attract large research projects within our strategic areas.
• Start a dialogue with the VH Departments on how we can increase critical mass and manage scientific topics that cut across departments.

Employment

1996–1997 Researcher, MTT Finland (now LUKE)

1997–2001 PhD student, Wageningen University, NL

2001–2010 Post-Doc, Career track fellow (2003), Principal Investigator (2007), Roslin Institute, UK (joined University of Edinburgh 2008)

2010– Present Professor in Animal Breeding, Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, SLU

Education

1996: MSC Animal Sciences, Wageningen University, NL)

2001: PhD Life Sciences, Wageningen University, NL. PhD thesis:  “Identification of (non-) Mendelian factors affecting pork production”

Leadership at SLU

2010–2017 Head of Section of Quantitative Genetics, Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, SLU

2013–2017 Deputy Head of Department (5 %) Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, SLU

2017–2019 Deputy Head of Department (30 %, shared HoD), Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, SLU

2019–2022 Vice Dean at VH Faculty with responsibility for Research and PhD education (50 %), includes various committees and chairman roles.

Other interests

Keen interest in different aspects of scientific publishing and supports a strong role for ‘learned societies’. Foreign member of KSLA, which provides one of the few platforms where he still feels ‘young’.   Enjoys living in the countryside with his wife and an extended family of dogs, cats, and ducks. Balances relative success as a researcher with regular failures as an equestrian. Enjoys exercise, but not as much as he enjoys cooking and eating good food. Can, figuratively, juggle many balls at the same time. If he ever retires, it will be as a smallholder in central Finland.