The new department will be established on 1 January 2025 and the following units will be included:
- Department of Strategic Communication in Helsingborg
- Media and Communication Studies in Lund
- The Bachelor Programme in Journalism in Malmö
One reason for the merger is that the Department of Communication and Media has belonged to two faculties, which has made management assignments and various processes unnecessarily complex. In addition, Strategic Communication and Media and Communication Studies have a joint doctoral programme, and the conditions for the education and the doctoral students are expected to be better within a common department.
– We see that the fields have a lot to gain from increased collaboration and that there is a great potential for development in the field of communication, media and journalism, says Agnes Andersson, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences.
One department - three cities
The Department of Communication will be located in three cities: Lund, Helsingborg
and Malmö.
– The students' place of education will not be affected by this organisational change, says Charlotte Simonsson, vice dean and project manager for the organisational project. Students who study programmes and courses in strategic communication will continue to have their education in Helsingborg. The journalism programme will continue to be located in Malmö, and students studying programmes and courses in media and communication studies will have their teaching in Lund.
Premises issues will otherwise be dealt with within the framework of the Faculty of Social Sciences' campus development project. Robert Holmberg, project manager for the Campus Paradis project, explains:
– We are now investigating the placement of employees in the Paradis area. Our aim is to have a decision on workplaces for staff belonging to the subject Media and Communication Studies by June.
During the spring, the number of workplaces in the Paradis area that can be made available to employees belonging to Strategic Communications will also be investigated.
The process ahead
The process of selecting a Nominating Committee for the new department will start immediately and is expected to be completed before the summer. The Nominating Committee's task is to propose candidates for the election of the Head of Department, Deputy Head of Department, and members of the Department Board, and the election of these will take place in early autumn.
Working groups have also been set up for processes in the areas of finance, HR, communication, education, premises and the organisation of management and administration. The working groups are supported by representatives from the organisational project and the Faculty Office. In addition, the University's internal consultancy KIA-konsult (Quality Development in Administration) will work together with the administrative staff to find working practices and processes for the new organisation.
Staff at the departments in question will continue to receive regular information about the process at staff meetings throughout the year.
– Communication is both an important and difficult part of a change process. As we move forward, we will consider whether there is a need to further strengthen communication efforts. There will also be a need for a plan for activities and initiatives after the turn of the year in order to facilitate the merger and a good working environment, says Charlotte Simonsson.
Read more about the development towards fewer and larger units