New forum makes INDEK stay relevant
Last week, the newly established INDEK Advisory Board had its first meeting on a sunny campus.
Mats Engwall, head of this group, what does the new network mean?
The INDEK Advisory Board consists of around 15 people who, in various ways, have an interest in INDEK, for example, people who use our research results or employers of our engineers. The idea is to have a selected group that INDEK's management can consult on various issues, not least how we should strengthen INDEK's and KTH's position on management of innovation, entrepreneurship and technology-based business. At this first meeting, the management team and program managers at INDEK participated, but in the future, different constellations of staff may participate depending on the issues we want to discuss.
What need does it fill?
At INDEK, we have long felt the need to strengthen our connections to the industry. One of our core values is that we must be relevant to industry and society, which is why it’s crucial to have the opportunity to synchronize what we do with the needs of companies and society, both today and in the future. Even though we collaborate with various companies for almost all our research, we need to make our results more visible at departmental level.
Who, externally, did you invite for the first meeting?
Most, but not all, are alumni from, for example, the I-program with about ten years of work experience after graduation. We have tried to create a group representing different sectors of society with different perspectives on our business. Among other things, we have representatives from large industrial companies, start-ups, service companies, and social entrepreneurship. What they have in common is that they all have a heart belonging to KTH. Only two respondents declined to participate.
What was discussed at the gathering?
Last week was a kick-off – we spent a lot of time getting to know each other and presenting what we do at INDEK in education and research. We discussed, among other things, how INDEK could improve making its research known in society (and at KTH).
What’s the overall feeling after the first event?
I think everyone was pleased - at least the INDEK participants. The atmosphere was good throughout the afternoon and evening. Many of our guests enjoyed being back at KTH.
When is the next meeting?
The idea is to meet again in November. Then we will probably have a more focused agenda where we ask our Advisory Board Fellows to provide views on one or a couple of prepared issues. For example, the content of the two master's programs under development will start in the autumn of 2023. However, we have not yet decided on the program for the autumn meeting.