Katarina Lundin

What are your goals for your term of office? Which issues are important, and why? 

If elected Pro Dean for Third-Cycle Studies, my goal is to work together with the rest of the faculty leadership to preserve and build on what works well within the Faculties, while addressing areas that need improvement so that we can maintain high standards in both teaching and research.
One overarching issue is finding the right balance between externally funded and faculty-funded doctoral positions, while also creating more opportunities to establish graduate schools within the HT Faculties. Different doctoral programmes face different conditions and opportunities, and if we wish to maintain the breadth of our doctoral education, informed and constructive discussions will be essential.

It is also important to me that internationalisation includes intra-Nordic collaboration as a natural component, that is, various forms of cooperation with our Scandinavian and Nordic neighbours. For several disciplines within the Joint Faculties of Humanities and Theology, intra-Nordic collaborations are often more relevant and accessible than partnerships elsewhere in Europe or beyond. A stronger emphasis on intra-Nordic internationalisation can support the university’s broader internationalisation goals while also strengthening the disciplinary core of our subjects.

What is at the top of the agenda? 

Perhaps not at the very top, but certainly high on the agenda, is ensuring the quality of what we offer our doctoral students. At a time of constrained financial resources, it is crucial that we find new ways of maintaining the high quality of our doctoral programmes. We need to identify more opportunities for collaboration across disciplines, not least with regard to doctoral course offerings. At the same time, we must preserve the traditions and academic cultures of individual doctoral programmes by ensuring that doctoral students have opportunities to deepen their expertise through subject-specific courses. I look forward to working closely with HTDR on these issues, as well as on many others.

Another important issue concerns doctoral students who, for various reasons, do not complete their studies within the expected timeframe, as well as those who wish to resume their studies after a shorter or longer interruption. At present, both doctoral students and supervisors often find themselves navigating unclear regulations and procedures. Even if the answers to these questions may not satisfy everyone, they are issues that require clarification.

What key experiences do you bring to the role of Pro Dean of Third-Cycle Studies? 

I have served as Head of Section 1 at the Centre for Languages and Literature (SOL) and as Associate Head of Department with responsibility for doctoral education at the same department. Since 2023, I have been Professor of Language Education. My research focuses on grammar teaching, disciplinary literacy, and language use in sports contexts, and I primarily teach within the Swedish subject teacher education programme. I have a strong interest in pedagogical and didactic issues and value the intellectual stimulation and challenges that teaching provides. I believe that my commitment to both teaching and research offers a solid foundation for work in doctoral education.

For three years, I was a visiting researcher in sport science at Linnaeus University. I have supervised doctoral students in Nordic languages at Lund University, sport science at Linnaeus University, and Swedish with a specialisation in education at Malmö University. Experience from several different doctoral education environments has been highly valuable, particularly since both sport science and Swedish with a language education focus are inherently interdisciplinary fields.

As SOL is a large department, I have already worked closely with a substantial number of the faculty’s doctoral students and supervisors. Together with SOLDR and the supervisory staff, I have also been involved in extensive development work related to doctoral education. If appointed Pro Dean at the HT Faculties, I look forward to collaborating with an even broader range of doctoral students and supervisors, including those working in research environments beyond my own disciplinary background.