– We need to be strategic, pragmatic and organic in our way of thinking and make visible what we do, where we are going and how to get there, says Annika Olsson, head of department at K3 and the new chairperson of the International Advisory for Global Engagement at KS.

Hi Annika! What is the role of the International Advisory for Global Engagement at KS?

– We promote and support internationalisation activities in research and education that are sustainable from a GPS, K3 and US perspective but also in line with the University’s strategy, the agenda for global engagement and the strategic priorities of the faculty. We act as a node where we coordinate efforts at the faculty and make ongoing collaborations in the organisation visible.

What kind of questions are you handling in the advisory board?

– We have recurrent questions that concern different exchanges in education and research and for incoming and outgoing students. Then there are questions about research and how we work internationally with research exchange, both established collaborations with departments and with other universities around the world. Finally, we have questions regarding the individual researchers and their networks, both at the departmental and individual level.

What will be the main focus this year?

– This spring, we have been asked by the dean to develop the strategic priorities of KS for internationalisation. We need to promote internationalisation activities in research and education which are in line with the University’s strategy, the agenda for global engagement and the strategic priorities of the faculty. The new strategy should be ready by summer 2022.

– We have also defined three key words for our future work: we should work strategically, pragmatically and organically. Strategic means identifying areas or universities that are important to us as a faculty or department, educationally and in research and collaboration. We should work pragmatically in terms of; where does our funding come from, where are the decisions made, what decisions can be made by the University, what is controlled by the EU, and what does the world situation look like? We also need to be organic in our way of collaborating. Some researchers start with small networks of contacts, which eventually become an institutional exchange.

For more information about the International Advisory for Global engagement, contact Annika Olsson or any other member of the advisory (see the list below).

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FACTS

The International advisory board at KS will:

• promote internationalisation activities in research and education in line with the University’s strategy, the agenda for global engagement and the strategic priorities of the faculty
• commission cases related to internationalisation to the dean
• provide consultation in matters regarding internationalisation at the faculty
• act as a link between the Advisory Board for Global Engagement and the faculty
• have an ongoing dialogue with the dean, the Faculty Board and the departments.

International Advisory for Global Engagement at KS consists of:

• Chairperson – Annika Olsson (K3)
• International officer – Niklas Nannskog

International Academic Coordinators for each department:

• K3 – Daniel Gaffner
• GPS – Lena Karlbrink
• US – Helena Bohman

International Administrative Coordinators for each department:

• GPS – Maria Wennerberg
• K3/US – Sofia Johansson
• GPS/K3/US – Åsa Ulemark
• GPS/K3/US/IO – Ioanna Karageorgou

Student representatives:

• Doctoral Union – Michel Anderlini
• Student Union – Arinzechukwu Onwurah