Short interview with Senior Lecturer Katja Lindqvist

Katja Lindqvist, Associate Professor and Senior Lecturer

Could you describe the programme in Culture and Creativity Management? 

"The programme offers both a historical understanding of the development of the organisation of the cultural, creative and non-profit fields, as well as social science perspectives and analyses of this development and current patterns of work and organisation. Furthermore, it offers students work with cases based on actual challenges of contemporary cultural, creative and non-profit enterprises. We work closely with a range of organisations and actors in Skåne, and thereby we can offer students real cases to apply their theoretical knowledge to, and suggest solutions. The programme also describes the complex system of the cultural, creative and non-profit fields, where both public and private actors are strongly interdependent. This is important knowledge for public actors, for example when designing policies for these sectors."
 
What sets this programme apart from other Master's programmes in the field?

"This programme is unique in Sweden as the only Master’s specialisation in management issues related to the cultural, creative and non-profit sector. There are a few Bachelor's programmes or specialisations at other universities in Sweden with similar elements, but our specialisation is the only one of its kind in terms of really addressing issues in these fields relating to entrepreneurship, management, governance, and work conditions and work processes. Management training for the cultural, creative and non-profit sector requires other models and other approaches than mainstream, for-profit oriented business administration training."
 
How does the programme meet the needs of the labour market?

"As higher education in Sweden is strongly compartmentalised, there are generally no or few elements addressing organisational and labour market issues in arts and humanities programmes at Swedish universities. This means that young people enter the field without these skills in a time when such skills are increasingly required, besides the artistic or humanities skills. So, our specialisation offers a solid basis for individuals striving for advanced positions in these fields, either as individual artists or as employees or leaders of an organisation or an enterprise. Importantly, we address issues that are common for both the non-profit and for-profit sector as well as the public sector."
 
What are you currently working on in terms of research projects?

"I am conducting research within a three-year project as a Flexit scholar, which means that I am employed for a longer period by an external organisation – in my case this is the Culture Department of the Region of Skåne. My research project concerns the aims and effects of cultural and creative industries policies on the regional and local levels in Sweden, an area in which Skåne is a leading actor. I plan to present my results in a book chapter coming out in 2020 at Routledge, and in a book planned for 2021 for Palgrave Macmillan. I also work to establish a network of Regions and researchers across Sweden to create a national node of knowledge related to cultural and creative industries in Sweden at Campus Helsingborg."