Organisation and management

Karolinska Institutet (KI) is a medical university and governmental authority. The University Board (Konsistoriet) is its highest decision-making body and the president is its chief executive

KI’s core activities – research, doctoral education and education – are organised and run by a faculty board and three departmental groups comprising a total of 22 departments. The KI management is also supported by a number of university-wide positions, units and bodies.

An organisational chart depicting central bodies and officials that exis within KI.
The organisational chart illustrates the central bodies and officials that exist within KI. Photo: -

How KI is organised

The Board of Karolinska Institutet (Konsistoriet) is the university’s highest decision-making body. 

Internal audit is an independent function working on behalf of the University Board to examine conformity with the requirements concerning operational efficiency, the management of central government funds, financial reporting and regulatory compliance.

The president is the government-appointed director general of KI, and presides over the university under the University Board.

The Faculty Board operates under the president and has overall responsibility for education and research. 

The Faculty Board comprises three committees that prepare and examine issues of concern to their particular field of activity. The committees also are delegated by the Faculty Board to make decisions on certain matters. The three committees are:

Supporting the president’s strategic work is a Faculty Council, which provides guidance on issues related to research and education at KI.

KI’s core activities of research and education are conducted by 22 departments organised into three departmental groups:

  • KI South
  • KI North
  • KI Solna

Each departmental group is led by a dean, who also forms part of the president’s management group.

KI has various research centres, each concentrating on a particular research field.

KI has a unit for Comparative Medicinne whose head reports to the President.

The university management includes a university director with overall responsibility for KI’s Professional services and its 11 offices. 

The heads of the following units report to the university director:

Karolinska Institutet Holding AB is a government-owned company managed by KI.

Steering documents

The organisation of KI and its activities is based on the following steering documents (mainly available in Swedish):

  • Karolinska Institutet’s rules of procedure
  • The University Board’s decision-making and administrative procedures
  • Karolinska Institutet’s organisational chart
  • The president’s decision-making procedures and delegation rules
  • The Faculty Board’s decision-making procedures and delegation rules
  • Rules regarding the organisation, responsibilities and decision-making powers of Professional Services 
  • Instructions for delegating roles and tasks in a department or the equivalent

Organisational chart in printable PDF