AARHUS UNIVERSITY

AARHUS UNIVERSITY GOVERNANCE OF UNIVERSITIES IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT ROYAL IRISH ACADEMY RECTOR LAURITZ B. HOLM-NIELSEN

UNIVERSITY MANAGEMENT IN TIMES OF CHANGE • 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

INCREASING DEMAND FOR KNOWLEDGE: MOTIVATION FOR CHANGE • Globalization • Food • Water • Energy • Health • Migration • Security • Climate change • ... The world is globalized, withcomplexinterconnectedchallengeswhichtransgressdisciplinaryboundaries – withregard to causes, consequences, and solutions

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

EMERGING GLOBALMARKET FOR EDUCATION AND R&D Students enrolled outside their home country, 1975-2011 International co-authorships, 1985-2005 Source: Data from OECD, Education at a Glance Source: OECD Science, Technology and Industry Outlook 2007

NORDIC PERSPECTIVE ON CITATIONIMPACT WORLD AVERAGE Source: Comparing Research at Nordic Universities usingBibliometricIndicators, A publication from the NORIA Net, NordForsk2011, p. 61

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE ON CITATIONIMPACT AU DTU Normalized citation impact KU US top universities European top universities Total number of publications 2003-07

DANISH UNIVERSITIES IN GLOBAL RANKINGS 2011

EUAAUTONOMY SCORECARD • Compares 26 European countries • Fourscorecards/autonomyareas: • organisational, financial, staffing and academic autonomy • Tool for benchmarking legislative frameworks in national HE systems • Encourage and qualify debate among stakeholders and policy makers

ORGANIZATIONALAND FINANCIALAUTONOMY

STAFFINGAND ACADEMIC AUTONOMY

A WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY: NEWFRAMEWORK CONDITIONS • 2010, The AU Academic Development Process: • Unified management • Interdisciplinarity 1998/99, Intergovernmental agreement: Governmental push for convergence of HE systems by 2010 • 2003 – 2007, Danish sector reforms: • New University Act (2003) (2011) • Reorganizing HE&R institutions (2007) • Modernizing the funding compact 2000, European Research Area: Defragmenting European research, promoting transnational scientific knowledge flow, competition, collaboration and mobility 1999, Bologna Declaration: Key principles adopted by Ministers of Education of 29 European countries • 2008, Aarhus University’s Strategy: • Research • Talent development • Knowledge exchange • Education 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

UNIVERSITYGOVERNANCE– ACTOF 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 OFFICIAL GOALS (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

The Aarhus response THEAARHUS RESPONSE

THETRIPLE HELIX UNIVERSITY THEHUMBOLDTUNIVERSITY A MODERN UNIVERSITY – COMBINING MASS AND ELITE TALENT DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH EDUCATION KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE

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

EXPENDITURES AT AARHUS UNIVERSITY The Humboldtuniversity AU – Expenses per core activity The modern university The triple helix university Talent development PhDs Research Education Post docs Students Knowledge exchange Professors Research projects Studies Lifelong learning Research programmes Contracts

DIVERSIFIED– INCOME STRUCTURE Budget 2012: EUR 825 million

CHANGE PROCESSANDEMPOWERMENT 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 ACADEMICORGANISATION THAT REFLECTS THE QUADRUPLE HELIX

CHECQUES AND BALANCES IN THE GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE AU Board External Internal AU Management AdvisoryBoards AU Forums Employer Panels AcademicCouncils AdvisoryCommittees Departmental Forums

CONCLUSION - UNIVERSITY GOVERNANCE IN TIMES OF CHANGE • 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

A MODERN UNIVERSITY – COMBINING MASS AND ELITE THE HUMBOLDT UNIVERSITY THE TRIPLE HELIX UNIVERSITY TALENT DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH EDUCATION KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE

WINDOWSOF 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 touniversities. Achieving financial and academic autonomy stillprove to be the largest challenges • ……. However autonomy without good governance and leadership is anarchy…….

THANK YOU FORYOUR ATTENTION LAURITZ B. HOLM-NIELSEN RECTOR, AARHUS UNIVERSITY RECTOR@AU.DK

AARHUS UNIVERSITY