Launch of strategy process for Tech

The Dean's tour of departments has revealed that Tech has strong focus on education, research and collaboration.

"I want us at Tech to be recognised as a collaborative faculty, and I'm pleased to see this in practice at the departments. With strong and trusting collaboration between the faculty's units, we can achieve tangible results to benefit society," says Eskild Holm Nielsen, the dean of Tech.

New strategy for a new faculty

Now, the time has come for the new faculty to draw up a clear and precise strategy that can translate the overall AU strategy into action. Therefore, a strategy process has been launched to give the new faculty, departments and units a common direction and identity.

"We're in the process of developing the faculty's strategy, and it will result in concrete action based on the overall AU strategy. It will also serve as a benchmark for the individual departmental strategies and ensure more collaboration interfaces between the departments and externally," explains Eskild Holm Nielsen.

In parallel with the strategy process at Tech, the AU management team has embarked on work to define AU's overall strategy for 2020-2025. Read more about the AU strategy.

Tech's strategy process is structured around the following three tracks:

• Management development in the faculty management team
• Focus groups on strategic themes
• Administrative collaboration, coordination and prioritisation

Management development in the faculty management team

This track deals with work by the faculty management team to set a common strategic direction for the faculty, on the basis of the overall AU strategy, and based on input from four focus groups composed of representatives from the entire faculty. In spring 2021, the faculty management team plans to present the overall strategy for Tech at a seminar for the faculty management and for the Faculty Liaison Committee (FSU), which will help develop a plan for implementing the strategy locally at Tech.

Four focus groups with four strategic themes

This track consists of four focus groups focusing on four different strategic themes. The focus groups have been put together by the faculty management team and will consist of representatives from the administration, departments and centres. The groups will contribute with input for work by the faculty management team on a shared ambition and strategic direction for the faculty. The process for the focus groups will be brief and intense in November, and will result in short whitepapers for the faculty management team.

The task of the focus groups is to gather academic reflections on the future direction within four strategic themes. The four themes decided by the Dean's Office and are in continuation of the AU strategy and they are:

Identity and profiling: Tech is a new faculty and consists of departments with different academic fields. We have to find our commonalities, make visible our uniqueness, and be clear about our strengths – both internally and externally.

Green transition: Tech educates and researches in solutions for the green transition. But what does that mean? And what initiatives do we need to exploit our strengths in the area?

Digitalisation: The “twin transition” concept underlines that the future green transition of the future relies on digital solutions. For this reason, Tech must also consider how digitalisation can be incorporated into our strategic initiatives in relation to the green transition.

Entrepreneurship: Tech must contribute to growth in society by educating graduates who can meet the labour-market demand of the future. We must strengthen the link between research and businesses, and we must contribute specific technical solutions to the green transition of society. For this reason we need strong entrepreneurship.

Administrative collaboration, coordination and prioritisation

The third track in the strategy process focuses on collaboration, coordination and prioritisation across the Dean's Office, the department secretariats and the administrative centre. In fact, collaboration is crucial for a well-functioning, agile faculty, and following the division of ST into two new faculties, the administrative centre now has new collaborative interfaces. If Tech is to succeed with its ambitions for research, education, entrepreneurship, etc., the administrative support will have to be in continuous dialogue about the tasks. In addition, the good cooperation with our colleagues at Nat must be maintained. Input from this track will also be an element in the faculty management team's decisions regarding the overall strategic ambition for Tech, and implementation of the overall AU strategy.

Implementation of the strategy

The strategy process at Tech will run over the rest of the year and into early spring 2021. It will then be implemented on an ongoing basis in your daily work at departments and units, and as employees you will help to ensure that the strategy is anchored in the organisation. The Faculty Liaison Committee will be involved in organising the implementation phase.