Adjunct professor

Adjunct professors are assigned to work at one of KTH’s schools where they have direct contact with cutting edge scientific development as well as educators and students.

Adjunct professors at KTH act as bridge builders between the university and the surrounding society and provide interfaces in addition to existing cooperation on partnership projects, commissioned research or research centre creation. The adjunct professors also help to supplement KTH’s resources. Today, many of them are actively involved in seeking external research funding, and others provide KTH researchers with access to their home organisation’s labs, equipment and data.

Who can become an adjunct professor?

Adjunct professors are well-qualified individuals who bring specialist knowledge, experience and networks to support research/third-cycle education and undergraduate education at KTH.

They work part time at KTH, usually one day a week. Normally an adjunct professor’s full salary is paid by the principal employer. The position is a temporary one but can be renewed following an evaluation. The total employment term may not exceed 12 years. An adjunct professor may work within research or education. In many cases they do both. Many of the adjunct professors also supervise doctoral students.

Most of the adjunct professors have a PhD and many have a docent qualification. They are either specialists – normally active at an operational level in R&D in their home organisation, or are generalists and senior managers coming to KTH from an operational management position. Their position as an adjunct professor is, in many cases, a natural next step in an already well-established partnership with a research team or department at KTH. In other cases the invitation may come from KTH’s administration or an external funding source.

How does the appointment process work?

• KTH is responsible for creating an adjunct professor position, including deciding on the focus and scope of the work that will be carried out. The adjunct professor position is created for a particular person and is not announced as a vacant position.
• Initiatives for dialogue about an adjunct professor position may come from the person in question, the company/organisation that is the person’s principal employer or may be in the form of a proposal from one of KTH’s schools.
• The individual is asked by KTH if he/she is interested in the position. KTH makes sure early on that the proposed individual has the requisite qualifications and expertise.
• Informal contact takes place between the person from the KTH school proposing the position, the head of the school and the dean of the faculty. Issues discussed at this stage include whether or not the subject area fits into KTH’s plans for renewal activity and the future research profile.
• At the next stage a conversation takes place with the proposed adjunct professor about work assignments, scientific competence, financing, work location at KTH, special equipment needs and the viewpoints of the person’s employer.
• An application is completed by the proposed adjunct professor and submitted to KTH, accompanied by statements from both parties on the anticipated strategic added value.
• The application is reviewed by experts in the field and when assessing the individual’s qualifications, expertise beyond scientific and teaching skills, such as industry experience, is also taken into account. After the application has been reviewed it is forwarded to the head of the school, the dean and the HR manager.
• The appointment of an adjunct professor is a prioritised matter. From the time a properly completed application is registered the appointment decision by the President is to be made within 8 months.