About information technology

-What is IT dad? My nine-year-old wondered at the kitchen table at home. Thanks to the fact that the question is very current at Fysicum, I was able to actually answer, that it is the doctrine of human methods of transmitting meaningful information among themselves, and to their constructions, with the help of computers and the internet. Maybe not quite right, but at least an honest picture of how I see IT today.

In any case, for many of us, IT symbolises something that during the majority of our lives has been very technically advanced, a little distant and nothing that directly affected us. Maybe not as much for the average employee at the physical department, but for the average person in general, IT has gone from being something separate to today being integrated into everything around us. It's not even just about computers, phones or even smart watches anymore. Above all, IT today is about what we do with all these technologically advanced and often Internet-connected devices. How we behave and how we relate to each other through technology has become at least as important as the technology inside.

Even though IT has long been a natural part of the physical department's everyday life, the changes in how we use technology have also affected us. Today we have completely new conditions for how we can use IT in our various assignments. We also have completely new demands on us from managers and authorities in how we can and should use IT. These requirements are based on the new threats and risks that have arisen hand in hand with the otherwise positive development.

To meet these new challenges, the Department of Physics has over the past year worked hard to find the right way to act, and how we can take our responsibility for IT, IT security and information security. A year ago, a comprehensive investigation of the issue was initiated, and this spring a decision was made to create a joint IT organisation at the department, led by an IT manager. It is the first such organization at the university. We can now tell you that the new IT manager at the physical department will be Tomas Karlsson, who will take over on August 15. He will begin his work by forming an opinion about our needs in the department's various activities and support us in finding the best ways forward. We all warmly welcome Tomas to the department and if I can make a small summer wish, I wish him the same nice and helpful treatment from all of you that I received when I started a year ago. With that help, the work will start at the top!

Of course, it will not always be easy, nor will it always be as we first thought. Sometimes there will be obstacles, sometimes there will be unexpected gains and even better possible solutions than the ones we first imagined. Work of this kind requires trust. Trust can only be built through dialogue and transparency. Mutual trust is crucial for all joint work, but here it is perhaps extra important because we are many in the department who believe strongly in our technology, who have a passion for how we can use our tools in the core business and not least a trust in our own and our colleagues' incredible knowledge. All these are good things. It is these things that will lead us to a better future. The challenge here is to balance passion with opportunity in the same way that we must always balance needs with finances or vision with time. So let's do it together. Open and with good courage. As I said, it will not always be easy, and we will probably not agree with each other from time to time. But together we can all trust that we jointly take on the task with the aim of facilitating research, education and collaboration at the Department of Physics. All for us to have a world-class business.

IT is part of our everyday life, and now we also have an IT organisation that can help us in everyday life. Thank you all for a job well done this year. Now we have all deserved a wonderful holiday!
Happy Midsummer!

Daniel Kåreda
Administrative manager at the Department of Physics