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The ITM PhD Council welcomes new members

The December election for the 2025 ITM PhD Council brought a few changes, with four new members joining the team alongside re-elected representatives. With this fresh start, we’re ready to tackle the year ahead!

Not everyone is familiar with the ITM PhD Council, so let me introduce it. As the chair, I’d like to highlight the important work we do for PhD students at ITM. The council is the official body representing PhD students in the educational programs within the ITM school at KTH. We gain our legitimacy through the PhD Chapter/THS, which gives us a recognized role in advocating for ITM PhD students.

So, what does the council actually do? We represent PhD students at school-level meetings, offer guidance and support throughout their studies, and organize career development and social events. You can learn more about our work and stay updated via our social page: ITM PhD Council Social Page.

Looking Back at 2024

Over the past year, the council made significant strides in several areas. One of our key achievements was working with the third-cycle administration to update three General Study Plans (ASPs), which were approved by the ITM Faculty Board. These updates aligned program requirements across departments, such as reducing the coursework requirement from 90 ECTS to 60 ECTS for Indek and Learning.

The council also organized workshops, such as “Exploring Quality in Research,” as well as social and sports events like kayaking, innebandy, and fika. To support incoming PhD students, we compiled an overview of courses taken by ITM PhDs at various departments—now available on our social page.

Another accomplishment was encouraging the ITM school to improve its website. The disputation section was updated with useful links and a new English version, making it more accessible to PhD students.

Our members also participated in recruitment and promotion interviews for three docent and seven professor positions across ITM departments. During these interviews, we evaluated candidates’ suitability as PhD supervisors, ensuring future doctoral students receive top-quality education and mentorship.

What’s Ahead in 2025

This year, the council will continue to make a difference. We’ll finalize updates to the General Study Plans (ASPs) for the IPU and Materials PhD programs. We’re also planning a range of workshops, social activities, and company visits to enrich the PhD experience at ITM.

Meet the 2025 Council

We’re thrilled to introduce the new members elected this year:

Joining them are our re-elected members:

Together, we continue to build on the council’s work and ensure that ITM PhD students feel supported, represented, and connected. Don’t hesitate to contact any of the representatives with your enquiries.

We look forward to an impactful 2025!

/Steffen Hammer, Chair of the PhD Council ITM and PAD for Energy Technology

Changes in administering faculty renewal

In English further down.

Förändringar inom fakultetsförnyelse

Gott nytt 2025! Vilket nöje att få inleda ITM:s bloggande i år.

KTH:s omställning mot decentralisering och ökad fakultetspåverkan har resulterat i ett nytt sätt att administrera rekrytering, befordran och docentanställningar. Från och med denna månad ligger ansvaret nu hos ITM:s fakultetsnämnd (FN) för att hantera de flesta av dessa ärenden. FN har i sin tur inrättat ett anställningsutskott (AU, med mig som ordförande) och ett docentutskott (DU, med Kristina Andersson som ordförande) som stöd. Kort sagt har FN direkt ansvar för strategiska beslut, såsom att godkänna rekryteringar av nya tenure track-fakulteter, medan AU och DU hanterar de praktiska aspekterna. Förväntningen är att förbättra kvaliteten genom att föra beslutsfattandet närmare skolan och institutionerna.

En annan fördel är att förkorta ledtiderna för de många stegen i rekryteringsprocessen (se blogginlägg från 2022). Ett exempel gäller utnämningen av externa experter. I det tidigare systemet kunde detta steg ta upp till en månad; nu kan experter utses på bara några dagar. FFA* kommer att träffas regelbundet för att utbyta erfarenheter och bästa praxis över hela KTH, och sådana möten bör säkerställa att ärenden hanteras enhetligt.

Samma ämne var i fokus under ITM:s årliga ledningsinternat den 9–10 januari, och jag kommer att träffa FN under den följande veckan för vidare diskussioner. Jag ser fram emot att arbeta tillsammans med ledning och fakultetsledning för att implementera dessa nya processer. Det kan förstås finnas vissa ”barnsjukdomar” i början, men förhoppningsvis kommer nya och befintliga fakultetsmedlemmar snart att märka förbättringar.

Läs mer om hur andra skolor beskriver de nya rutinerna för lärartillsättningar:

ABE: Nya utskott stärker det strategiska arbetet från januari 2025

CBH: Nytt anställningsutskott i fakultetsnämnden

Karriärvägar för adjunkter och forskare

En annan nyhet är granskningen av karriärvägar för adjunkter och forskare. Detta arbete leds av KTH:s dekan och prodekan och är nu i en fas där kommentarer samlas in. Två remissvar ska lämnas in av ITM i slutet av februari: ett från ITM:s ledningsgrupp och ett annat från FN. Jag uppmuntrar er att göra er röst hörd genom att lämna synpunkter till er chef eller prefekt. Alternativt kan du kontakta en medlem i FN.

*FFA står för ansvarig för fakultetsförnyelse, och det finns en FFA vid varje skola på KTH.

/Andrew Martin, Ansvarig för fakultetsförnyelse (FFA) på ITM-skolan

Changes in administering faculty renewal

Happy 2025! A pleasure to kick off ITM’s blogs for the new year.

KTH’s realignment towards decentralization and increased faculty influence has resulted in a new way in which recruitment, promotions, and docentships are administered. Starting this month responsibility now rests with the ITM Faculty Board (FN) for handling most of these cases. FN in turn has established an recruitment committee (AU, chaired by me) and docent committee (DU, chaired by Kristina Andersson) as support. In short, FN has direct responsibility for strategic decisions such as approving the recruitment of new tenure-track faculty, with practicalities handled by AU and DU. The expectation is to enhance quality by bringing decision-making closer to the school and departments.

Another advantage concerns shortening lead-times in handling the many steps involved in recruiting (see blog post from 2022). One example has to do with appointing external experts. In the former system this step could take up to one month; now experts can be appointed in a matter of days. FFA’s* will meet regularly to exchange experiences and best practices across KTH, and such meetings should ensure that cases are handled uniformly.

This topic was in focus for ITM’s yearly leadership retreat that took place on 9-10 January, and I will meet FN during the following week for further discussions. I look forward to working with management and faculty leadership in implementing these new processes. There may be a few growing pains during the initial phase, but hopefully new and existing faculty will soon notice improvements.

Rea more about how other schools describe the new teacher employment routines:

ABE: New committees to strengthen strategic work from January 2025

CBH: New Recruitment Committee in the Faculty Board

Career pathways for lecturers and researchers

Another news item is the review of career pathways for lecturers and researchers. This work is led by KTH’s dean and vice dean and is now in a comment-gathering phase. Two reports of findings are to be delivered by ITM by the end of February: one from ITM’s management group, and another from FN. I encourage you to make your voice heard by forwarding input to your manager or department head. Alternatively, contact a member of FN.

**FFA stands for Head of Faculty Renewal, and there is one FFA at each school at KTH. 

/Andrew Martin, Head of Faculty Renewal (FFA) at the ITM School