Roles of the Assistant Heads of Departments
What do the Assistant Heads of Departments do? What responsibilities do they have, what decisions do they make and which of your questions might they answer?
Helena Filipsson, Assistant Head of Department with responsibility for scientific infrastructure.
What do you do in your role, and what are your main responsibilities?
I am part of the department’s management group together with the other assistant heads, the head of department, directors of studies, and the administrative manager. My role is broader than infrastructure alone—I support the overall operations. I also serve on the FIN committee (Research, Infrastructure and Networks), where I keep track of infrastructure related matters, including applications to the faculty. I sit on the IT Council, and I work to improve collaboration between our many infrastructures—laboratories and the Marine Centre in Simrishamn—so they become more coordinated and less siloed.
In what matters should staff contact you?
Staff can come to me with anything related to research infrastructure: applications, strategic investments, placements of equipment, and issues that need to be raised in the management group. I also help coordinate cooperation between infrastructures. With my background in Geology and as that area has many of our labs, a lot of these questions naturally end up with me.
What decisions can you make?
I have a small budget to support development of our infrastructures. Larger decisions are prepared by me but taken to the management group or the board. In the end, the head of department makes most major decisions, but we provide the background and recommendations.
Yann Clough, Assistant Head of Department with responsibility for Research & Interdisciplinarity
What do you do in your role, and what are your main responsibilities?
I support the Head of Department by providing the background needed for decisions. Together with the other assistant heads, I work in the FIN committee, where we focus on strengthening research and research development. This year I chair FIN and help develop basic structures we need in place—such as guidance for applying for funding and a functional website, an MGeo research seminar series and routines to support early career researchers. With FIN we also work on broader strategic research and funding questions.
In what matters should staff contact you?
Staff can turn to me with questions about developing and funding research ideas, funding opportunities, finding the right support or getting feedback on proposals. Let me know – well in time – when you need letters of intent for proposals or advice and support letters linked to docent and professor applications. If you are unsure where a research related question belongs, you are welcome to come to me, I may be able to answer or can direct it to the right person, or bring it to FIN or the Head of Department.
What decisions can you make?
I manage a small budget for research initiation, collaboration and infrastructure related activities. Larger matters are prepared by us in FIN and the management group, and final decisions are made by the Head of Department. Some responsibilities are still settling after the organisational transition, but we are working to clarify them.
Anna Maria Jönsson, Deputy and Assistant Head of Department, focus integration and collaboration
What do you do in your role, and what are your main responsibilities?
As Deputy Head of Department, I step in when the Head of Department is unavailable. As Assistant Head, I am responsible for integration and collaboration across MGeo. I am a member of the HMS committee and take part in the Council for Research, Infrastructure and Networks (FIN). My responsibilities include ensuring that our internal integration processes run smoothly—such as OSA surveys and risk assessments for fieldwork—and helping connect the different parts of the department so we work in a more coherent way. I also serve as the main contact for several network organisations based at MGeo, including BECC, MERGE, Nature based Futures, Sustainability Forum, ClimBEco and the Agenda 2030 Graduate School.
In what matters should staff contact you?
You are welcome to contact me with questions related to broader collaboration and integration processes, including strategic questions from network organizations.
What decisions can you make?
The role is primarily advisory. I prepare matters together with the management group and FIN, and provide recommendations, but I do not have my own budget. The Head of Department ultimately takes the formal decisions.