A more balanced organisation
On Wednesday 28 January, the senior management team announced a number of decisions related to the internal problem analysis and the reorganisation announced in October 2014, which set the framework for the most recent phase of the problem analysis follow-up process.
The four faculties have undertaken formal reviews of their structure in order to ensure that their structure provides optimal support for research and teaching environments. This has resulted in minor structural adjustments at BSS. The remaining three faculties will not adjust their overall departmental structure. At ST, a review of the engineering programmes and the relationship between the two engineering departments is still in progress. Arts will retain the current structure while making adjustments at the sub-departmental level.
Rector Nielsen has observed an intense, goal-oriented effort this past autumn at the faculties and in the administration, which has been working to implement a new structure.
“I would like to acknowledge our employees for their focused, constructive contribution to this process. An enormous amount of work has been put into it, and we now have a good foundation for moving forward.”
Although the decisions in themselves represent a major step towards the goal, the approach to problem-solving at the local level is what really makes a difference.
“The problem analysis revealed that the organisation was out of balance, and that it was characterised by tension between the academic and the administrative areas. I very much hope that this process has contributed to enabling us to see each other as good colleagues and important partners to whom we owe our respect. That’s what the university needs,” he explains.
No more major changes
Not everything fell into place at the meeting on 28 January. The work of developing local solutions continues, including concrete initiatives to increase employee and student involvement in existing forums as well as the development of a new approach to communication and branding.
For Rector Nielsen, it’s important to give this process sufficient time, and to ensure that it proceeds in accordance with the concrete needs and identities of the university’s research and degree programmes.
“There are differences in the working conditions of, for example, a chemist, a historian and an accounts clerk, and we won’t wrap up the process until we’ve been in dialogue with the affected employees.”
It’s not yet possible to set a deadline for the final decisions, because ensuring involvement at all levels and finding the right solutions takes time. However, Rector Nielsen doesn’t foresee more major upheavals for some time to come:
“We expect that things will fall into place in the course of the spring, and the organisation will slowly but surely begin to adjust. If we meet obstacles along the way, we’ll make every effort to remove them as quickly as possible.”