News from the management at LTV

Eager students, old and new, have been arriving on campus these last few weeks to start their studies, and as a result of our new degree programmes, we now have more students in Alnarp than ever before. The global situation continues to affect us, not least in the form of escalating energy costs, and I hope we can all pitch in to make sure we use energy wisely and efficiently.

Heads of department och deputy heads of department 2022–2025

Following intense evaluation work in spring, involving all departments, all new heads of department for the period 2022–2025 were confirmed before the summer break.

The heads of the BT, LAPF, VF and VSB departments will stay on for another term, and new heads of department were appointed for the IMS and SoL departments.

New deputy heads of department were appointed for the LAPF, VF and VSB departments.

We wish all heads of department and their deputies welcome and look forward to interesting and rewarding cooperation. We also want to take this opportunity to thank all outgoing heads of department and their deputies for their amazing work and commitment. Heads of department and deputy heads at the LTV Faculty, 2022–2025.

Subject review at the faculty

In December 2021, the former faculty board decided to launch a review of the faculty’s subject fields. The purpose of this overview is to ensure that the orientation of our subject fields is in line with our mission and strategy for the future and to create good, long-term conditions for our work.

The project involved drafting a development plan to be used by the faculty board when it decides on any changes to subject fields for 2024. To support and guide us during this process, we’ve enlisted the help of Leadership Development Officer Markus Wikborg from the Leadership Development Unit (Ghal).

So far, we have held two workshops. The first one took place on 19 April and involved heads of department, heads of subject and heads of division. We brainstormed and discussed what we see as important future issues, areas and opportunities that we need to focus on to remain relevant and attractive, and to be able to solve the societal challenges ahead of us.

The second workshop took place on 18 August with heads of department and heads of subject; this time, the purpose was to look at the bigger picture and find inspiration for how we can create strong and successful research and teaching environments at the faculty. We had invited the following inspiring speakers to share their experiences and success factors: Professor Helena Hansson, Department of Economics, SLU Ultuna, Professor Ove Nilsson, Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology and Umeå Plant Science Centre (UPSC), SLU Umeå, and Professor and Pro Vice-Chancellor Thomas Arnebrandt, Malmö University.

Workshop documentation has been sent to all heads of department, heads of subject and heads of division for forwarding to department staff. If you haven’t yet received it, ask your line manager or contact Tomas Österman.

The next step in the review process is for heads of department and heads of subject to draft a situation analysis. All staff will, of course, be involved in this work at some point.

We will continue documenting and informing you, and you’re always welcome to contact one of us – me, Karl, Margit or Tomas – if you have questions, ideas or suggestions.

We have exciting times ahead of us, and I’m convinced that together, we can gear up and make the most of all the amazing opportunities in research, teaching and environmental assessment that await us. I’m likewise convinced that our faculty has the skills to meet these opportunities, together with the surrounding community.

Wishing you all a pleasant autumn,

Dean Christina Lunner Kolstrup