Ida Gremyr, Professor at TME, is the new scientific lead for Chalmers Tracks.
"The longer I’ve been at Chalmers, the more I see the value of pedagogy and teaching – and Tracks is a unique initiative that contributes to educational development," she says.
Ida Gremyr has worked at Chalmers for nearly 25 years, always within Technology Management and Economics, where she is now Professor of Innovation and R&D Management. But now comes a new assignment, at least in part. On 1 May, she took up the role as scientific lead for the foundation-funded initiative Tracks.
"In this role, I will be responsible for ensuring the quality of the scientific content within the Tracks activities, including managing the process for selecting new courses and taking part in course development and evaluation.
"I will also, together with the Tracks Director, Kristina Henricson Briggs, contribute to the overall development of Tracks and represent the initiative in various settings," says Ida Gremyr.
Another new development for Tracks is that the new role of educational developer – which replaces the previous pedagogical developer role – will be part of the Tracks organisation and report to Ida Gremyr.
"I look forward to sharing the lessons we learn through Tracks across the wider university, not least through the educational developers. We’re all new in our roles, so this will be a process of exploration and co-creation – a bit like a testbed for pedagogical development," she says.
Making an impact with students
Ida Gremyr was drawn to the role of scientific lead because she is passionate about educational development.
"The longer I’ve been at Chalmers, the more pedagogy and teaching have become the parts of my job I find most interesting and meaningful. Research is of course also very important and a way to make a contribution, but the opportunity to influence so many students every year – that has a real and lasting impact, and something we can contribute to."
The interdisciplinary and challenge-driven approach of Tracks is not new to her.
"I’ve already worked with challenge-driven education and experiential learning. It will be exciting to do this on a broader scale.
"For someone like me, who has spent my entire academic career at the same department, it’s also inspiring to get to know more parts of Chalmers and build new relationships and forums to work within," she says.
The role as scientific lead is a 30% appointment, and in addition to that, Ida Gremyr will continue with her research and teaching. To familiarise herself with the Tracks environment, she will also act as examiner for a summer course offered through a Nordic collaboration as part of Tracks. The course is a Blended Intensive Programme – a short course partly online and partly on campus at Chalmers.
Mixing student groups
Ida Gremyr hopes to bring some of her experience from TME into the role.
"What I find exciting about Tracks is that all the courses are designed to bring students together from different backgrounds to learn from one another. The courses are also open to professionals, and in my regular teaching I’ve sometimes mixed working professionals with ‘regular’ students. It has positive effects on both groups, and I hope we can build on that further," she says.
Jörgen Blennow, Vice President for Education, is very pleased that Ida Gremyr is stepping into the role of scientific lead:
"Ida is joining at a pivotal time, as Tracks is set to take on a clearer role within Chalmers’ educational offering. She will bring fresh perspectives, and her experience will strengthen an already strong leadership team. Tracks is now moving towards becoming a central hub for the broader development of our education, and we’re in an excellent position to take that step."