A "short" newsletter from the desk of the Head of Department
January is coming to an end. A month dominated by snow, exams, and preparation for the coming semester for many of us. With this short newsletter I would like to share some news and thoughts on what lies ahead for us as a department and as employees at AAU for the coming year.
Annual accounts 2023
The department accounts for 2023 have now been finalized and the baseline reads -19.2 mio. This is a slight improvement relative the adjusted budget goal of -20 mio. (which was cut 5 mio. from -25 mio. during the year due to the financial situation of the faculty). Relative to our total budget this result is quite impressive deviating from the budgeted goal with less than 0.4 %.
Department organization
A major task for the department during the first months of the year is to finalize changes in the department organization that was decided upon in the fall. The composition (PLA) of the coming sections is currently being discussed in and among the research areas and a new structure is starting to emerge. Additionally, initial discussions on distribution of tasks and responsibilities are currently taking place in 4 ad hoc sub-committees consisting of representatives from the management, the research areas and consultant committee (samarbejdsudvalget). The four sub-committees focus on teaching, research, strategic development of the sections and economy and personnel responsibilities, respectively.
University pedagogics
It has been decided to make some adjustments to how university pedagogical training is organized at AAU. To improve the quality, continuity and reduce the total time spend by the academic supervisor we have at our department decided to select two academic supervisors to take care of the university pedagogical supervision needs for our department for the coming years. I´m happy that two of our highly experienced and skilled teachers, Sergey Kucheryavskiy and Anders Olsen have accepted to take this responsibility for campus Esbjerg and Aalborg, respectively.
Time registration
Mandatory registration of employees' daily working hours is moving into all Danish workplaces this summer. This is the result of a legislative proposal that was finally passed on January 23, 2024, with effect from July 1, 2024. The law requires employers to introduce an 'objective, reliable and accessible working time registration system' that makes it possible to register the daily working hours of each employee. The time registration requirement will apply to all employees as a starting point. How the legal text will be implemented and effect us as a department, the university and the sector as whole is still unknown. Our central HR-unit is currently working with representatives from other universities to figure out how this new law should be intrepreted and what it will mean for our sector. It will most likely nessessitate time registration for some groups of employees at the department, but not nessessarely all. The legal text specifically exempts so-called 'self-schedulers'. Employees who can schedule (all) working hours themselves, or employees whose working hours cannot be fully measured or predetermined in advance due to special circumstances in their job, and have a management function, or can make independent decisions. The legal text mentions as examples employees in the higher management level, certain academics, senior lawyers and others who have a significant degree of freedom and independence in the performance of their work. As mentioned, it is still unclear how the different groups and categories of employees at our department will be affected by this new requirement. As soon as we know more, we will work on whatever we need to implement concerning time registration with the aim to make it as smooth and time effective as possible.
Ordinary election 2023
Rector has now approved the deans' appointments to vacant positions in relation to the ordinary election in 2023. Therefore, for TAP, Michelle Hyldegård Mortensen and Louise Kiilerich Pratas join the Institute Council. For VIP, Sergey Kucheryavskiy and Nadieh de Jonge join the Institute Counsil. In the Academic Council, Jens Laurids Sørensen joins for the vacant VIP position.
We also have some news from studies
In 2024, a fairly comprehensive list of initiatives in the field of education is planned. Some of the initiatives originate from ourselves, while others come from external sources. Here is a list of the most important and extensive initiatives:
Development of EVU offerings
As part of the Knowledge for the World strategy, we have agreed with the faculty that, as part of our strategic goals in 2024, we should develop two distinct 5 ECTS teaching modules. One will be rooted in chemistry and chemical engineering, and the other in biology and biotechnology, contributing to Aalborg University's continuing education offerings. Additionally, we are tasked with outlining two flexible one-year master's programs to showcase the opportunities available for this type of continuing education with us.
AI in education
All departments and study boards at AAU are required to assess, in the spring of 2024, whether and to what extent AI should be integrated into the education. They may also revise the study regulations by October. In the Faculty of Engineering (ENG), a timetable for this work has been developed, including an evaluation of the need for enhancing the competencies of the instructors. As part of this effort, all teachers at BIO have had the opportunity to respond to a brief questionnaire.
Revision of curriculum for BSc and cand scient in Biology
Last fall, the department's teaching committee and the study board agreed to initiate a revision of these programs. The occasion for this was the discontinuation of the cand tech in Environmental Science. We plan to conduct a minimum of 3 workshops under the guidance of the study board. All permanent VIP are invited to the first workshop. We hope that everyone involved in the education will participate, and we can decide on the participants for the subsequent workshops.
Structure of the Bachelor of Engineering programs.
The Danish Education Authority has criticized that our Bachelor of Engineering and BSc programs are too similar. Therefore, starting from the autumn of 2024, we are introducing a separate project module in the first semester, Industrial Processes, which will be common for all our Bachelor of Engineering students in Aalborg (in Esbjerg, there is already a slightly greater difference between the two types of programs). In the spring, we need to develop content for this project module that is relevant to all three specializations in the program, and we need to have the module staffed. Whether this initiative is sufficient or if we will be required to make further changes is still unknown
Project tender for 3-4 semesters on environmental processes (Water and Environment)
In September, students in the cand polyt programes in Water and Environment (at BUILD) can, for the first time, choose the new specialization in environmental processes anchored at BIO. It is therefore important that we develop some good and relevant project proposals, drawing from both chemical and biological courses.
Self-Evaluation of the Degree Programs in Esbjerg
As part of AAU's Quality System, we will conduct a self-evaluation meeting on February 28, 2024, encompassing all the department's programs in Esbjerg with the participation of external experts. As a foundation for the meeting, we have prepared a self-evaluation report, which has undergone consultation with the involved teachers. If anyone wishes to participate or obtain a copy of the report, they can contact Steffen Mariager Jensen. Following the meeting, we will formulate action plans for the degree programs for the next 6 years.
The next newsletter will likely be sent out in March and will return to the old format. If you have any input for the upcoming newsletter, you are very welcome to send it to alvo@bio.aau.dk.
