Our organisation
Linköping University is a government agency, and is governed by laws, ordinances and decisions taken by the Swedish parliament and government. For more information on LiU’s set of rules, please visit LiU’s regulations and steering documents.
University Board
The University Board is Linköping University’s highest decision-making body and is responsible to the government for ensuring that the university meets its objectives. The board takes decisions regarding budget, annual report, LiU’s organisation, etc. The board also includes representatives of the general public (companies, organisations, etc.), as well as representatives of academic staff and students.Vice-chancellor and University Management
Directly under the board is the vice-chancellor, appointed by the Swedish government to lead LiU’s operations. The current vice-chancellor, Jan-Ingvar Jönsson, was appointed in 2020. The University Management also includes three deputy vice-chancellors, whose role is to act on behalf of the vice-chancellor on various occasions, and the university director, who is head of University Services.There is also an Advisory Council, an Educational Board, a Quality Assurance Board and a Scientific Council to support the vice-chancellor.
Internal Audit
Internal Audit reports directly to the University Board, and its role is to review the university’s governance and accounts, and suggest improvements.Faculties
Linköping University has four faculties: The Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (previously the Health University), the Faculty of Science and Engineering, and the Faculty of Educational Sciences (which is formally an “area”, but in practice functions as a faculty). A faculty is responsible for education and research within its area, and at LiU it commissions services from the departments. It is run by a faculty board led by a dean.
Departments
The actual education and research is conducted at the departments. LiU is different from most other universities and university colleges in that it has multidisciplinary departments covering many disciplines, to facilitate collaboration across boundaries. There are 12 multidisciplinary departments at LiU, reporting directly to the vice-chancellor and not to the faculties as is the case at many other universities. A department can be commissioned to conduct education and research for several faculties, and is led by a head of department.
Thematic studies, institutes and centres
Some research at LiU is organised in thematic studies units, institutes or centres. Thematic studies units are formed around a multidisciplinary field, such as child studies or environmental change, and gather researchers from several disciplines. An institute is also built around a field of research, but the area studied in an institute is significantly narrower than that studied in a thematic studies unit. A centre is established for a shorter period than an institute or a thematic studies unit.
Didacticum, the Center for Medical Image Science and Visualization (CMIV), the National Supercomputer Centre (NSC), ECIU@LiU and NAISS are examples of centres at LiU.
University Library and University Services
The University Library and University Services support LiU’s core business: education and research. The library offers extensive collections and information services via four libraries, one on each campus. University Services cover for example finance, IT, HR, press contacts and information on programmes and courses.LiU Holding
Linköpings universitet Holding AB, LiU Holding, is owned by the Swedish Government, but managed locally by the University. It assists in making new research available by bringing it to market. LiU Holding runs its operations through its subsidiaries LiU Invest, Unitalent and Lead.
Organisation map
* Examples of other organisational units are the Center for Medical Image Science and Visualization (CMIV), the National Supercomputer Centre (NSC), ECIU@LiU and NAISS. These are operated according to instructions laid down by the vice-chancellor.