OLLE’S COMMENTS. Only days are left of Olle Larkö’s long service as the Dean of Sahlgrenska Academy. His time in the faculty leadership has given him a great deal of joy, he confirms in his final column in Akademiliv.
First and foremost – I hope that all of the employees have a calm and relaxing time off over the Christmas holidays. Take time to enjoy and reflect. It’s needed after an intensive autumn. I myself am looking forward to gathering all of my children and grandchildren – even my son who lives in Hong Kong is coming to Gothenburg with his family.
During the days between Christmas and New Year’s, I’ll be coming back into work to finish up as the Dean of the faculty. I can honestly say that it’s been an enjoyable time in my life. The management assignment never felt cumbersome, and I’ve always been able to sleep well at night. I want to express my huge gratitude to all of you who have helped – it’s been a pleasure working with you all! A special thanks to our Vice-Dean Eric Hanse, with whom I’ve had a very rewarding cooperation.
In Sahlgrenska Academy, there are enthusiastic, smart people with extensive innovative capacity, and together we form a creative and knowledge-driven organization. There are many strong wills here, which can sometimes cause conflicts and difficulties. But above all, it’s naturally a clear advantage to have strong-willed coworkers. Their strong commitment to their own research and their own students is a fantastic driver, and when I look back on all of my years in management here at Sahlgrenska Academy, I can confirm that I’ve had to hold motivational talks on the work a total of ZERO times – it’s actually never been needed.
Collaboration is Sahlgrenska Academy’s strong suit, and I’m especially proud of our close relationship with Sahlgrenska University Hospital and the Västra Götaland Region. A clear example is MedTech West where we collaborate with both the hospital and Chalmers in an arena where several innovative new technical solutions for healthcare are on the way. MedTech West has really had the wind under its wings – this was clear at a seminar that was held recently at SU where several of the projects were presented. Medical engineering is generally an area where I’m looking forward to following developments, and I know Sahlgrenska Academy will make strong contributions there.
I also want to take a final opportunity to promote one of the issues close to my heart – continuing professional development – where I know our faculty will be able to hold their own and become an important player. We could actually shoulder a main responsibility together with the Västra Götaland Region. I want Sweden to follow the example of other countries, and introduce requirements on continuing professional development for medical specialists, as well as other care staff. I’m frustrated that the issue is at a standstill, even though there is a national consensus among Sweden’s deans in the health sciences field on the need for continuing professional development.
Another issue for the next dean is to work on is the development of Medicinareberget and our future premises needs. The Faculty of Science has far-reaching plans of gathering more departments in the life sciences in a new building here on the hill, which will absolutely strengthen us as a Life Science node.
I’m still an active member in a research team in dermatology, but I sit in the back seat and let others drive. I will now devote some time to the Göteborg Medical Society, as well as the European Medical Association. In the coming year, I will also work on new psoriasis guidelines for the National Board of Health and Welfare, and continue as a member of the Board of the Chalmers Foundation.
I’m looking forward to 2017. It will be a new chapter, both for me and Sahlgrenska Academy.
