{"id":1387,"date":"2025-09-10T13:23:42","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T11:23:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/itm-management\/?p=1387"},"modified":"2025-09-10T13:23:42","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T11:23:42","slug":"my-academic-family-where-young-scholars-grow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/itm-management\/2025\/09\/my-academic-family-where-young-scholars-grow\/","title":{"rendered":"My academic family where young scholars grow"},"content":{"rendered":"

In English further down.<\/p>\n

Min akademiska familj d\u00e4r unga f\u00e5r v\u00e4xa<\/h2>\n

Jag \u00e4r f\u00f6r 23:e g\u00e5ngen p\u00e5 v\u00e4g hem fr\u00e5n den \u00e5rliga konferensen f\u00f6r mitt akademiska \u201dhemman\u00e4tverk\u201d – Continuous Innovation Network \u2013 n\u00e5got som alltid utg\u00f6r ett roligt och stimulerande inslag efter kursstarter och den \u00e5rliga avsparken f\u00f6r olika ledningsuppdrag. Ett gott r\u00e5d jag fick tidigt fr\u00e5n n\u00e4tverkets grundare var att inte ha f\u00f6r h\u00f6ga f\u00f6rv\u00e4ntningar: om man l\u00e4r sig n\u00e5got nytt, tr\u00e4ffar en gammal v\u00e4n och f\u00e5r en ny internationell kontakt \u2013 d\u00e5 har det varit en lyckad konferens. Det kan l\u00e5ta blygsamt, men \u00e4r kanske en rimlig m\u00e5ttstock n\u00e4r man \u00e5ker p\u00e5 en ny konferens lite p\u00e5 chans.<\/p>\n

Men det \u00e4r n\u00e5got helt annat att \u00e5terkomma till ett n\u00e4tverk man sj\u00e4lv varit med och byggt upp \u2013 ett sammanhang som med tiden blivit som en akademisk familj.<\/p>\n

\u00c5rets konferens var annorlunda p\u00e5 tv\u00e5 s\u00e4tt. F\u00f6r f\u00f6rsta g\u00e5ngen kunde jag, efter 18 \u00e5r som ordf\u00f6rande, luta mig tillbaka och se en yngre kollega ta \u00f6ver. Jag tr\u00e4ffade honom f\u00f6rsta g\u00e5ngen n\u00e4r han var doktorand, under en minnesv\u00e4rd taxiresa fr\u00e5n Pisa till Lucca \u2013 en resa som inkluderade en spontan middag med toscansk mat och vin hos v\u00e5r italienska chauff\u00f6rs familj. Kanske bidrog den ov\u00e4ntade starten till att han fick ett s\u00e4rskilt band till n\u00e4tverket, men det \u00e4r nog snarare den l\u00e5ngsiktiga m\u00f6jligheten att v\u00e4xa som forskare som g\u00f6r att s\u00e5 m\u00e5nga \u00e5terkommer \u00e5r efter \u00e5r \u2013 trots att det tar av b\u00e5de arbetstid, fritid och egna pengar.<\/p>\n

Det \u00e4r just detta som g\u00f6r n\u00e4tverket meningsfullt: att f\u00e5 bidra till att nya doktorander utvecklas till fullfj\u00e4drade forskare. Vi f\u00f6rs\u00f6ker ju ofta f\u00e5nga vilket avtryck vi g\u00f6r p\u00e5 omv\u00e4rlden, men i jakten p\u00e5 citeringar \u00e4r det l\u00e4tt att gl\u00f6mma det som f\u00f6rmodligen \u00e4r allra viktigast, n\u00e4mligen att f\u00f6rse framtiden med goda forskare.<\/p>\n

Den andra skillnaden i \u00e5r var mer k\u00e4nslosam. Den kollega som en g\u00e5ng fick mig att k\u00e4nna mig v\u00e4lkommen i n\u00e4tverket \u00e4r inte l\u00e4ngre med oss. I ett minnestal f\u00f6rs\u00f6kte jag f\u00e5nga hans betydelse. Han var nyfiken, kritisk och rak \u2013 aldrig d\u00f6mande mot personer, bara mot id\u00e9er. Hans feedback var alltid \u00e4rlig och en del uppfattade nog honom som v\u00e4ldigt direkt och ofiltrerad, s\u00e5 \u00e4ven jag. Med tiden kom jag att uppskatta hans synpunkter med vissheten om att det inte fanns n\u00e5got dolt budskap. Det gick ocks\u00e5 upp f\u00f6r mig att han aldrig n\u00e5gonsin kritiserade personer, bara deras id\u00e9er, antaganden och texter, och under den tidvis kantiga framtoningen fanns det alltid ett stort m\u00e5tt av v\u00e4lvilja och omtanke.<\/p>\n

Jag tror att vi skapar en b\u00e4ttre forskning om vi v\u00e5gar vara kritiska, men f\u00f6r att kritik ska vara uppbygglig f\u00f6r individer m\u00e5ste den serveras med en vilja att hj\u00e4lpa dem utvecklas och v\u00e4xa. \u00a0Den kultur min \u00e4ldre kollega bidrog till lever vidare, och det m\u00e4rktes tydligt under konferensen: inte en enda presentation m\u00f6ttes av tystnad. Alla fick fr\u00e5gor, alla fick respons. Ett b\u00e4ttre efterm\u00e4le f\u00f6r en forskare kan jag inte t\u00e4nka mig.<\/p>\n

\/Mats Magnusson, vice skolchef p\u00e5 ITM<\/p>\n

My academic family where young scholars grow<\/h2>\n

For the 23rd time, I\u2019m on my way home from the annual conference of my academic \u201chome network\u201d \u2013 the Continuous Innovation Network. It\u2019s always a fun and stimulating break after the start of the academic year and the kick-off of various leadership assignments. A piece of advice I received early on from the network\u2019s founder was not to set expectations too high: if you learn something new, reconnect with an old friend, and make a new international contact \u2013 then it\u2019s been a successful conference. That may sound modest, but it\u2019s perhaps a fair benchmark when attending a new conference on a whim.<\/p>\n

Returning to a network you\u2019ve helped build, however, is something entirely different \u2013 it becomes, over time, an academic family.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s conference stood out in two ways. For the first time in 18 years, I could step back from my role as chair and watch a younger colleague take over. I first met him when he was a doctoral student, during a memorable taxi ride from Pisa to Lucca \u2013 a journey that included an impromptu dinner with Tuscan food and wine at our Italian driver\u2019s family home. Perhaps that unexpected start helped forge a special bond with the network, but more likely it\u2019s the long-term opportunity to grow as a researcher that keeps so many of us coming back year after year \u2013 despite the investment of work hours, personal time, and even our own money.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what makes the network meaningful: the chance to support new doctoral students as they develop into fully-fledged researchers. We often try to measure our impact on the world, but in the pursuit of citations, it\u2019s easy to forget what may be most important \u2013 equipping the future with good researchers.<\/p>\n

The second difference this year was more emotional. The colleague who once made me feel so welcome in the network is no longer with us. In a memorial speech, I tried to capture his significance. He was curious, critical, and direct \u2013 never judging people, only ideas. His feedback was always honest, and while some may have found him blunt \u2013 myself included, at first \u2013 I came to appreciate his unfiltered views, knowing there was no hidden agenda. I also realised that he never criticised individuals, only their ideas, assumptions, and texts. Beneath his sometimes rough exterior was a deep sense of care and generosity.<\/p>\n

I believe we produce better research when we dare to be critical \u2013 but for criticism to be constructive, it must come with a genuine desire to help others grow. The culture my late colleague helped shape lives on, and it was evident throughout the conference: not a single presentation was met with silence. Every speaker received questions and feedback. I can\u2019t imagine a better legacy for a researcher.<\/p>\n

\/Mats Magnusson, Deputy Head of the ITM School<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In English further down. Min akademiska familj d\u00e4r unga f\u00e5r v\u00e4xa Jag \u00e4r f\u00f6r 23:e g\u00e5ngen p\u00e5 v\u00e4g hem fr\u00e5n den \u00e5rliga konferensen f\u00f6r mitt akademiska \u201dhemman\u00e4tverk\u201d – Continuous Innovation Network \u2013 n\u00e5got som alltid utg\u00f6r ett roligt och stimulerande inslag efter kursstarter och den \u00e5rliga avsparken f\u00f6r olika ledningsuppdrag. Ett gott r\u00e5d jag fick […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1520,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[28,20,48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deputy-head-of-school","category-director-of-third-cycle-education","category-mats-magnusson"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6P3xp-mn","jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/itm-management\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/itm-management\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/itm-management\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/itm-management\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1520"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/itm-management\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1387"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/itm-management\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1387\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1388,"href":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/itm-management\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1387\/revisions\/1388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/itm-management\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/itm-management\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kth.se\/blogs\/itm-management\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}