Meet Lars Kristian Hansen – an associate professor with a fondness for both technology and board games
Here you can read about his work on digital leadership, project portfolio management, and why slow activities sometimes beat digital ones.
Short introduction: Who are you, and what is your professional background?
My name is Lars Kristian Hansen, but in everyday life I go by Lars. I hold a PhD in information systems from Aalborg University and have practical experience from both the private and the public sector. For the past eight years, I have been employed as an associate professor at the Department of Management at Aarhus University.
What is your area of work?
I primarily teach on the ITKO programme, which matches both my academic profile and my interests. In my research, I have a particular focus on sustainable leadership and digital technologies.
Over the years, I have purposefully worked to build expertise in project portfolio management, and I intend to continue doing so. At the same time, I now have the opportunity to cultivate new research areas and learn something entirely new. Over the past year, I have, among other things, worked with the management of technology and projects in an Arctic context, particularly in Greenland.
PS: My profile picture is from beautiful Nuuk, which I had the pleasure of visiting last summer in connection with the start-up of a small research project.
Methodologically, I am particularly interested in design science research and pragmatism, as this enables a close connection between theory and practice as well as interdisciplinary and application-oriented work.
Why did you choose to work at BTECH?
I followed the ITKO programme from the Department of Management to BTECH, where I look forward to continuing my work with the programme while also being part of an interdisciplinary environment with close collaboration with companies in the region. The practice-oriented approach and the clear link between research, teaching and industry appeal greatly to me. The practical relevance of my research is one of the central characteristics of my work.
Would you like to tell us a little about yourself, your family and your hobbies?
I live in Svenstrup with my wife and our son. In my spare time, I enjoy analogue and “slow” activities, most often together with friends. These include shelter trips, hiking and cycling tours, as well as board and card games. Digital technologies are fantastic for many things, but I find that the “friction” inherent in these activities gives me a sense of presence and community. This is something I have learned, among other things, from two of my great role models: my son’s scout group and the German-Korean philosopher Byung-Chul Han.