aarhus university

RECTOR LAURITZ B. HOLM-NIELSEN 13-01-2012

AARHUSUNIVERSITY

RECTOR LAURITZ B. HOLM-NIELSEN

GOVERNANCE AND INSTITUTIONAL AUTONOMY OF UNIVERSITIESCOMPARISON AND CASE STUDY


•INCREASING DEMAND FOR KNOWLEDGE •Complex global challenges require interdisciplinary solutions

•GLOBAL MARKET FOR RESEARCH AND HIGHER EDUCATION•European Research Area and European Higher Education Area

•INSTITUTIONAL AUTONOMY•EUA Autonomy Scorecard

•NATIONAL REFORMS AND INCREASED EUROPEAN COLLABORATION

•A window of opportunity for changes

•AARHUS UNIVERSITY – a MODERN EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITY MANAGEMENT IN TIMES OF CHANGE


INCREASING DEMAND FOR KNOWLEDGE: MOTIVATION FOR CHANGE

”We must organize the “Aarhus University of the future” to enable us to contribute even more to meeting our society's challenges”

• Globalization• Food• Water• Energy• Health• Migration• Security• Climate change• ...

The world is globalized, with complex interconnected challenges which transgress disciplinary boundaries – with regard to causes, consequences, and solutions


EUROPE DEMANDSADVANCED HUMAN CAPITAL

• The challenges of tomorrow are complex, great, and global • Innovation Union 2020 foresees 1,000,000 new research jobs• ERAB 2030 recommends:

- 50% of EC research funding should go to frontier, high-risk R&D- 20% of EU doctoral candidates working outside their home country- 5% of GDP is spend on R&D. Private investments account for 2/3- EU + member states triple spending on higher education to 3.3% of GDP

- Half of the adult population has achieved tertiary education • Doctoral degrees are passports to the intellectual world,

however many PhD graduates will not be employed in academia• Research staff must be intellectually and internationally mobile


INCREASING DEMANDS FOR KNOWLEDGE

1.500

1.700

1.900

2.100

2.300

2.500

2.700

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Gross Public R&D investment

Danish Investments in R&D Millions EUR (2008 prices)


EMERGING GLOBAL MARKET FOR EDUCATION AND R&D

Students enrolled outside their home country, 1975-2011

International co-authorships, 1985-2005

0

20.000

40.000

60.000

80.000

100.000

120.000

140.000

160.000

1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005

International co-authorships Single authorSource: Data from OECD, Education at a Glance

Source: OECD Science, Technology and Industry Outlook 2007


NORDIC PERSPECTIVE ON CITATION IMPACT

Source: Comparing Research at Nordic Universities using Bibliometric Indicators, A publication from the NORIA Net, NordForsk 2011, p. 61

WORLD AVERAGE


GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE ON CITATION IMPACT

AU

DTU

KU

US top universities

European top universities

Total number of publications 2003-07

Normalizedcitationimpact


DANISH UNIVERSITIES IN GLOBAL RANKINGS 2011

University of Copenhagen

Aarhus University

Technical University of

Denmark

University of Southern Denmark

Aalborg University

ARWU 43 86 151-200 201-300 -

QS Ranking 52 79 150 311 362

THE 135 125 178 251-275 301-350

HEEACT 40 96 211 223 -

LEIDEN 54 53 - - -


EUA AUTONOMY SCORECARD

• Compares 26 European countries• Four scorecards/autonomy areas:– organisational, financial, staffing

and academic autonomy• Tool for benchmarking legislative

frameworks in national HE systems• Encourage and qualify debate

among stakeholders and policy makers


ORGANIZATIONAL AND FINANCIAL AUTONOMY


STAFFING AND ACADEMIC AUTONOMY


A WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY:NEW FRAMEWORK CONDITIONS

1998/99, Intergovernmental agreement: Governmental push for convergence of HE systems by 2010

1999, Bologna Declaration: Key principles adopted by Ministers of Education of 29 European countries

2003 – 2007, Danish sector reforms:• New University Act (2003) (2011)• Reorganizing HE&R institutions (2007)• Modernizing the funding compact

2008, Aarhus University’s Strategy:• Research• Talent development• Knowledge exchange• Education

2010, The AU Academic Development Process:• Unified management• Interdisciplinarity

2000, European Research Area: Defragmenting European research, promoting transnational scientific knowledge flow, competition, collaboration and mobility

2010, European Higher Education Area: 10 years after the Bologna process. Adopted by 47 countries, facilitating efforts to enhance European HE comparability, compatibility and coherence


UNIVERSITY GOVERNANCE – ACT OF 2003•Autonomy – from state institutions to autonomous bodies

within the public sector•Accountability through the use of university performance

contracts

•Governing boards with a majority of external members, which safeguard the university’s interests as an educational and research institution and determine guidelines for its organization, long term activities and development

•Appointed leaders in university management structure (rector, deans and department heads)

The Aarhus responseTHE AARHUS RESPONSE


KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE

EDUCATION RESEARCH

TALENT DEVELOPMENT

THE HUMBOLDT UNIVERSITY

THE TRIPLE HELIX UNIVERSITY

A MODERN UNIVERSITY – COMBINING MASS AND ELITE


AARHUS UNIVERSITY -A UNIVERSITY GROWING STRONGER• 40,500 students (FTE) (52% graduate level students) • 3,000 PhD students and early career researchers

• 4,300 international students

• 7,200 employees (FTE)

• 11,731 publications in 2010

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 20120

100200300400500600700800900

392

643693 733 761 803 826

Expenditures (EUR million)


EXPENDITURES AT AARHUS UNIVERSITY

Talent development24%

Education31%

Knowledge exchange12%

Research33%

Knowledge exchange

EducationResearch

Talent development

The HumboldtuniversityThe triple helix universityThe modern university

PhDs

Post docs Students

Studies

Lifelonglearning

Contracts

Research programmes

Research projects

Professors

AU – Expenses per core activity


•ORGANISATIONAL AUTONOMY•AU reforms and a focus on interdisciplinarity

• FINANCIAL AUTONOMY

•ACADEMIC AUTONOMY

•ACCESS AND OPENNESS

THE NEW AARHUS UNIVERSITY


CHANGE PROCESS AND EMPOWERMENT AT AU

• Academic organisation: A unified university with fewer boundariesFrom nine to four main academic areas, from 55 to 26 departments,

• Governance: Management with appointed leaders and joint responsibility for the entire university. From ten management units to one single management unit with cross-cutting responsibility for strategic management and quality assurance of: research, talent development, knowledge exchange and education

• Administration and finance: A single university without administrative boundariesA common financial model, standardised, quality service for the whole university; from three to one (two) levels of administration – front office and back office.

• Academic cheques and balances: 4 academic councils, and 4 AU Fora, one for each core activity: research, talent development, knowledge exchange and education


AN ACADEMIC ORGANISATION THAT REFLECTS THE QUADRUPLE HELIX


INTERDISCIPLINARY SOLUTIONS TO COMPLEX CHALLENGES

Interdisciplinary centers•iNANO •MINDlab•Neurocampus•Centre for Food, Nutrition and Health•Centre for Global Change and Development•Centre for Integrated Register-based Research•Centre for Arctic Research•…•…

National Centers of Excellence• 18 National Research Foundation centers• 5 Lundbeck Foundation and VKR Foundation Centers


•ORGANISATIONAL AUTONOMY

•FINANCIAL AUTONOMY•diversified income structure•full-cost challenge•towards financial independence

•ACADEMIC AUTONOMY

• ACCESS

• OPENNESS



Study pro-

grammes 25%

Core re-search 34%

Competitive research

funding. 28%

Government contracts 4%

Other. 9%

DIVERSIFIED– INCOME STRUCTURE

Budget 2012: EUR 825 million


TOWARDS FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE:AU RESEARCH FOUNDATION

ADM. AURF BOARD

RESEARCH FOUNDATION

RESEARCH FOUNDATION’SREAL ESTATE LTD.

AURIGA INDUSTRIES LTD.

ØSTJYSK INNOVATION A/S, INCUBA LTD.

INCUBA SCIENCE PARK LTD.

AARHUS UNIVERSITY BOARD Aarhus University Research Foundation

RECTOR’S OFFICE

ARTS

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

BUSINESS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

HEALTH

AURF Equity: EUR 400 mAURF Balance: app. EUR 1

bn.AURF Grant Budget: EUR

10 m.

AU Student body: 42,492 students

AU Staff: 13,389 employeesAU 2012 Budget: EUR 825 M.




• ACADEMIC AUTONOMY•External Quality Assurance, Accreditation

•Internal Governance structure

• ACCESS AND OPENNESS



• ACE Denmark - accredits study programmes at Danish universities. This is done by making an academic assessment of the quality and relevance of the programme

• Aarhus University: All programmes accredited• ECTS Label• Management and Business Administration

•Equis accreditation•AACSB- og AMBA accreditation process

• Institutional accreditation in the future?

EXTERNAL QUALITY ASSURANCE – BUREAUCRATIC ACCREDITATION


CHECQUES AND BALANCES IN THE GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE

AU Forums

Academic Councils

Departmental Forums

Advisory Boards

Employer Panels

Advisory Committees

AU Board

AU

Man

agem

ent

External Internal




• ACADEMIC AUTONOMY

• ACCESS AND OPENNESS•Mass higher education and talent

development•International role of research intensive

universities•International competitiveness, where are AU



MASS HIGHER EDUCATION & TALENT DEVELOPMENT The official goals (Helle Thorning-Schmidt Government 2011):

•95 % should complete youth education, 60% higher education•25 % should complete research based higher education by

2020•2.5 % in PhD and 1% in post doc programmes•Create a national innovation strategy: education, research,

innovation•State Education Grant, taximeter for first two cycles

AU responses to the challenges of mass education•Internal market for education•Talent development as the link between mass and elite

university•Early recruitment for the most talented students and flexible

PhD-programmes


A GENEROUS INTERNATIONAL GRADUATE RESEARCH UNIVERSITY• 1,000 courses and 65 complete degree programs in English• 100+ agreements with universities overseas• 1,000 outgoing students• 4300 International students, (approx. 10% of the student body)• State education grant – the money follows the student • Staff of 75 different nationalities• 10 world class research platforms (Storage Ring, ZACKENBERG, bio-energy, testing facilities, population databases etc.)


PROGRESS IN GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESSRANKINGS AARHUS UNIVERSITY RANK

2011 2010 2009 2008 2007

Leiden Crown Indicator 53 55 - 105 -

ARWU 86 98 97 93 102

QS WU Ranking 79 84 63 81 114

THE 125 167 - - -

HEEACT 96 105 101 118 132








CONCLUSION - UNIVERSITY GOVERNANCE IN TIMES OF CHANGE


KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE

EDUCATION RESEARCH

TALENT DEVELOPMENT

THE HUMBOLDT UNIVERSITYTHE TRIPLE HELIX UNIVERSITYA MODERN UNIVERSITY – COMBINING MASS AND ELITE


WINDOWS OF OPPORTUNITIES AND ACCOUNTABLE AUTONOMY• New framework conditions in Europe provides a window

of opportunity for change at EUROPE’s universities• All changes at AU have been aimed at shaping a modern

university combining features of the mass and the elite university

• Autonomy is fundamental to universities. Achieving financial and academic autonomy still prove to be the largest challenges

• ……. However autonomy without good governance and leadership is anarchy…….

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION

LAURITZ B. HOLM-NIELSENRECTOR, AARHUS [email protected]

aarhus university

Documents

pricesrector lauritz

solutionsrector lauritz

mobilerector lauritz

global perspective

times of changerector

world averagerector

global rankings

changes aarhus university