Do you remember what it felt like to open a brand new paper calendar? Every sheet a clean page, completely blank, no doodles, no “to do” lists. Gradually you filled it up by hand.
This is still how I feel today when I return to work after the Christmas break, but there are no blank pages – everything has been transferred electronically into a diary.
Financial result for the year
The school had a budget of SEK 5.7 million and posted a surplus of SEK 5.6 million. The result is distributed by division: SEK -7.3 million for research and SEK +12.9 million for education. Research is still generating a loss despite a marked increase in the number of external projects in 2015. This is largely due to the school’s low level of basic government funding which is not matched to the number of external projects.
The education side generates a relatively large surplus. This is partly due to the performance-based funding that was awarded to ITM for the master’s programme in engineering. A number of positions are being recruited, means those costs have yet to arise.
The doctoral completion rate increased by 10 points from 2014 to 2015, which will generate an increase in allocation for 2017. At the end of 2015 there were 516 full-time equivalents employed at the school.
The school continued to have a regulatory capital deficit of SEK -12.1 million.
Allocation for 2016
The school’s operational objectives for 2016 (president’s contract) have been uploaded onto the web. They outline the school’s objectives from a KTH perspective. The document specifies KTH’s expectations and objectives for the school. The year’s allocation of funding is also specified in this document. Work on allocating the revenues to the school’s departments is currently in progress.
Administration
The administration office at the school held a shared workshop just before Christmas. There were two intensive days during which all participants showed great commitment. The work environment and group projects were in focus and we discussed how an ideal administration could be structured/function within a three-year period. The key words for the day were psychosocial work environment, service-mindedness, efficiency, sustainability, leadership and organisation.
The on-going workshop-based work will continue throughout the year and will emanate in a new administrative strategic plan for 2017-2020.
Be well
Christina, Head of Administration