Staff in Lund told not to speak to the media

“Universitetsläraren recently reported on concerns regarding mismanagement at the School of Industrial Design at Lund University, which had previously received a multi-million donation from the IKEA Foundation. During our investigation, an email was sent to staff by Ylva Hofvander Trulsson, the Head of Division at the School of Industrial Design, stating that the IKEA Foundation, the vice-chancellor, a student and she herself had been contacted by a journalist from Universitetsläraren. “If you are contacted by the journalist, please refer them directly to me,” she wrote in the email. “If you are contacted by the journalist, please refer them directly to me.” In a follow-up email a few hours later, she wrote that she wished to clarify her previous email, which she “perhaps wrote too hastily.” Because “it can be difficult to predict a journalist’s angle,” she would like to ensure that the information provided is “consistent and accurate.” The email concludes by stating that everyone is welcome to refer media enquiries to her, which “will minimise the risk of any individual person inadvertently becoming the subject of media scrutiny.” Hofvander Trulsson has declined to be interviewed by Universitetsläraren, but she replied in writing: “Everyone who studies and works at the university enjoys freedom of expression and freedom of information, which means they can always share their opinions freely. It goes without saying that we follow these principles.” Sources tell us that this is not the first time staff have been instructed not to speak to the media about the conflict at the School of Industrial Design. “We will not be intimidated. We just want this to end,” says one such source. Universitetsläraren has seen a large number of emails and documents showing that the conflict between the School of Industrial Design and the management at Lund University of Technology (LTH) has been going on since at least autumn 2023, resulting in a poor work environment. A couple of sources say the conflict began as early as the 2019 donation. What was meant to be the start of a fantastic future became instead the start of a long-running conflict, according to one person. “We have lost all respect and all trust when it comes to the university management, due to the attempts to silence us and the constant rule changes.” Several people believe there is a lack of understanding on the part of the management regarding the context of the School of Industrial Design, with it being the only arts department at LTH. “LTH is fantastic at providing engineering programmes, but they need to decide whether and why they want arts education,” says one person we spoke to. They report that they feel micromanaged and that trust in the management has plummeted. This view is supported by the 2025 employee survey, which shows that one in nine respondents has confidence in the management. But the survey has not been followed up on, and staff well-being is not being taken seriously, says another source. “It feels demotivating and demoralising.” Several people report that a health and safety representative submitted a risk observation regarding the psychosocial working environment in the form of a health and safety report last spring, but none of them have received any information about what the report led to. The lack of transparency and feedback from management is a recurring criticism. “They are keeping a lid on it.” Universitetsläraren has read the risk observation report submitted by the health and safety representative. It describes a conflict-ridden relationship between the management at the Ingvar Kamprad Design Centre and the School of Industrial Design, which is “complicated and cannot be attributed to a single incident.” Additionally, the health and safety representative states that the situation is “so serious that there are sick leave cases directly related to the work environment” and that the school risks more people taking sick leave. Attempts to improve the situation have yielded no visible progress, the report continues. The health and safety report was investigated by Jessica Wadin, Head of Department at the Department of Design Sciences, together with health and safety coordinators. The investigation began and ended on the same day, in April 2025. The situation is described as being linked to organisational changes and the Section 6:6a health and safety risk observation submitted by students in 2023, which are having an impact on employees’ psychosocial health. Reference is made to ongoing measures, and to a decision that the department’s administrative head will raise the reported risk observation in staff development dialogues. It also includes a comment that “the continuous ongoing work is making a difference.” Adam Brenthel, chair of the local Saco-S association at Lund University, says that the trade union organisation has ongoing cases at the School of Industrial Design and that some of them are “quite difficult.” “There are quite a few challenges in that work environment,” he adds. Among the things that Saco-S has reported the employer for is discriminatory treatment, based on how the employer organised the investigation into the department’s work environment issues. Brenthel believes it is still too early to say whether the employer’s measures have had a positive impact on the work environment, but notes that the situation has escalated due to poor finances and a lack of leadership. “Work environment situations like this do not just appear suddenly. They often develop over several years. That is why it is a question of leadership, because if these things are not dealt with at an early stage, they tend to grow.” Regarding the work environment and trust in the management at LTH, Ylva Hofvander Trulsson writes the following in reply to questions from Universitetsläraren: “We have taken these issues very seriously and are in the middle of a change process. It is an ongoing process that will require time. For example, we have focused on areas for improvement regarding how we work with transparency and trust in decision-making processes, pedagogical development for teachers and incorporating students’ perspectives into the decisions we make collectively.” She adds that she and the LTH management have reviewed how the organisation works and that an action plan has been drawn up, which has been guiding the work since she took up her position. “I am very keen to ensure that both staff and students feel involved and feel secure,” she writes. Head o f Department Jessica Wadin has declined to comment on the content of this article, but writes that she sees “a positive trend in industrial design, where students are pleased with the work we are doing together.” Inlägget Staff in Lund told not to speak to the media dök först upp på Universitetsläraren .

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