New professor in business development and sustainable innovation

With roots in Melbourne, Australia and after a 20-year academic career at Lund University, Kes McCormick moves in a large, international network. And in that network there is many threads that will be able to be joined together in new ways at SLU. 

- I don't really have a direct connection to agriculture, but much of my research has led into food and food production and other areas that are closely related, notes Kes McCormick. 

Left for love

Some 20 years ago he left Australia for love, with a master's degree in the bag but without contacts in the Swedish academic world. It was initially a challenge to find a new job, but after volunteering in academia, he was soon offered a doctoral position at the International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE) at Lund University.  The doctoral work was about bioenergy and then a post-doc position in the bio-economy field followed. In his work, he had many contacts with forest owners and farmers, which means that today he can more easily relate to the activities at SLU. But Kes McCormick has worked across many sectors, for example energy, transport, sustainable cities and food systems. 

- I have studied political science and environmental science and thus know about the role of politics and the power of people and institutions in society, but also how climate change and the changes in biodiversity affect us. 

Working and writing together with others 

Much focus in his work has been on governance and how business and political decisions are made and how innovation systems work and how they change. The work has also covered how impact can be designed and measured. 

- I really like to combine research and education with contacts with people out in the field. And I enjoy working and writing together with others. There is often much better creativity when you work in a group, says Kes McCormick. 

He remains involved in some major projects at Lund University, which, among other things, deal with climate-neutral cities and the sustainability of and the importance of SMEs, small and medium-sized enterprises. 

- People often focus on large companies, while 90 percent of all companies are actually small. How can the small companies change and succeed in their business and contribute strongly to sustainability? 

Online education offers opportunities 

Kes McCormick has also worked a lot with so-called MOOCs, massive open online courses, a way of working that continues to amaze him. He gives as an example a course called "Greening the Economy" which gathers 25 students every year, but given as an online course, it has attracted over 25,000 participants. 

- Online training offers enormous opportunities, but it is important to know who to train and what are their needs. 

Kes McCormick is happy to now be part of SLU and to get to know the employees and the organisation. He notes that there are many interesting projects underway and that there is a lot of energy in campus activities. 

Basketball, basketball, basketball... 

In that context, one must convey that there also seems to be a lot of energy in Kes McCormick himself. He has been a valued coach at the Lobas Basketball Club in Lomma for many years and he has nothing against talking basketball with anyone who wants to chat. He and his wife, who works as a special pedagogue, have three sons who all play basketball and participate in many tournaments.

 - Yes, there is a lot of basketball, but it is really "super fun" and a big part of our family life, notes Kes McCormick.