Anders Söderholm proposed as new President of KTH
KTH’s University Board has proposed Anders Söderholm as the next President of KTH. Among other things, he has been Vice-Chancellor of Mid Sweden University and is currently Director General of the Swedish Higher Education Authority.
“I am very honoured and extremely pleased to have gained the confidence of the Board and will be presented to employees and students at KTH in May,” says Anders Söderholm.
What is your image of KTH?
“It is a leading technical and science university, both nationally and internationally, with a fantastic environment that I sense a little bit having worked at KTH at various times. In short, a well-run and successful university.”
After having sifted through a wide field of strong candidates, the Nomination Committee unanimously agreed to propose Anders Söderholm.
“He has broad, deep competence derived from his experience of working in the university sector as a whole, as well as his extensive experience of academic leadership. We believe he would be a very good President of KTH”, says Pia Sandvik, Chair of the KTH Board and Nomination Committee.
What do you as Chair of the Board hope Anders Söderholm will add?
“That he will continue to develop top-class research and education at KTH with collegiality, dialogue, commitment and collaboration with the world outside as important ingredients.”
Anders Söderholm does not have an engineering background, which is unusual at KTH.
You are not an engineer – how do you see it, Anders Söderholm?
“I have great respect for the challenge, but I am also sure that everything will work out fine because of my experience of academia in which I have worked and have led a number of different organisations. The management also consists of a Deputy President and Heads of School which guarantees a diversity of skills in the university’s management.
What are you like as a leader?
“If I have to say something about this, I would like to start by being attentive and inclusive as a person. I also believe that I have good insight into the special circumstances that characterise an academic organisation and I am used to exercising active academic leadership,”says Anders Söderholm.
The next step in the recruitment is that Anders Söderholm will participate in a hearing where employees and students will have an opportunity to ask questions and submit comments to the Nomination Committee, which will compile these for the Board. In June, the University Board will make its decision and propose a candidate to the government which, in turn, will make a decision on an appointment some time in October. If the process goes as planned, Anders Söderholm will start as President of KTH on 1 December.
Jill Klackenberg