Sten Bønsing on AAU's 50th anniversary: I hope the university persists in being a regional university
Nyhed
Lagt online: 06.11.2024
AAU is now run in a much more professional manner than in the old days, when there were more eccentrics and more direct democracy, according to Law Professor Sten Bønsing. For AAU's future, he hopes that politicians will interfere less in how the university conducts its business, and that AAU will stay true to its North Jutland roots.
By Lea Laursen Pasgaard, AAU Communication and Public Affairs
Photo: Kenneth Ploug. Illustration: Søren Emil Søe Degn
The idea of being able to help people who are in need or distress. This was what initially led Sten Bønsing to the idea of studying law. He grew up on Falster and had never set foot in Aalborg until he moved to the city in 1991 to study business law at Aalborg University Centre (AUC), as the university was named then.
"Copenhagen was probably a bit too much of a big city for me, and I think I really just wanted to get away for a while. Not for any negative reason, but just as people sometimes move abroad, I chose to move to the other end of the country," says Sten Bønsing, who is now a Professor of Administrative Law, Director of Studies and Deputy Head of Department at the Department of Law at AAU.
Early in his studies, he was fascinated by law as a discipline and method. The work of finding and seeing connections in legislative preparatory works, legal texts and judgments is still what Sten Bønsing enjoys the most about his work.
"In my mind, the whole legal landscape is a kind of puzzle. Aa lot of the pieces that have been put in place over several hundred years and others that have not been placed yet. Partly because of the development of society, but also because we have a parliament that posts new legislation almost daily. The exciting thing is when new, concrete rules must fit in with centuries-old legal principles," says the Law Professor.
The assembly of the puzzle is also very concrete. Sten Bønsing is the author of a basic book in administrative law that all law students at AAU read. Every week – or at least every 14 days – he follows up on the latest judgments and adds them to the book's notes if they contribute new perspectives to the puzzle.
"Just when you might have thought you were done assembling the puzzle, there are new issues, and I love reading a new principled judgment and finding out where it fits into the puzzle," he adds.
Sten Bønsing has been employed at AAU since 1996. He wrote his PhD at what is now called AAU Business School, but which at the time was called Business Studies – or just 'Department 3'. In the past, the departments had numbers as a reference point.
Initially, for many years, he had only a few research colleagues with a legal background, and those who did were spread across many different departments. Sten Bønsing and his colleagues eventually got tired of this. In 2008, they were allowed to physically move together and establish the Department of Law where the classic Master of Laws programme also saw the light of day.
According to Sten Bønsing the organization has changed a lot over the years. Among other things, it has become much more professional.
"Right now, I'm the director of studies, as I was 10 to15 years ago. Back then, I didn't really have a secretariat in the same way as I do today. I could get help with some practical things, but we are much more serviced today – with administrative colleagues who work in a completely different way," says Sten Bønsing.
The increased professionalism is also found in the way the university is run, according to Sten Bønsing.
"Previously, we voted on who should be the Head of Department and the Dean. We even voted on the Rector in physical elections where we had to put a note with a name in a large wooden box. You can probably say a lot of good things about that, but today it is more professional with application processes and job interviews," says the professor.
Sten Bønsing also believes that there were generally more 'originals' at AAU in the old days. There were employees who practically lived their entire lives at the university. A mattress and a coffee machine in the office were home enough for some. Others had a camper in the parking lot.
"It's very nice to think back on, but it was also a mess in some way. I don't know how much came out of it," he recalls.
To the question of what has made Sten Bønsing stick around at AAU for so many years, the answer is that he is 'the stable guy'. He always arrives at work between 7.15 and 7.30 and goes home again at 15.30.
"Our old Director of Studies set his clock according to when I entered his office, because then he knew it was 12 o'clock and it was time for lunch," he says.
Sten Bønsing has also become incredibly fond of Aalborg and has little desire to move from the city.
"I had a period until two years ago, where I worked one day a week at the law firm HjulmandKaptain alongside my job at AAU. It was incredibly exciting academically, but there is no doubt in my mind that I belong at the university," he explains.
When Sten Bønsing became Deputy Head of Department and Director of Studies in 2022, he could no longer manage it all. He said goodbye to the life and urgent cases at the law office and returned to teaching and research full-time.
For many, a 50th anniversary is a typical opportunity to look back on the achievements of the past, but also to think about wishes for the future. Sten Bønsing's wish for AAU is clear. On behalf of the university, he would like politicians to keep a little more distance in the future. The political control of the universities has increased over the years, and Sten Bønsing dreams of the university having a freer hand to run its business.
"Many people complain about the bureaucracy at the universities. I have tried both to work as a regular academic staff and to have administrative tasks as Director of Studies, and I would say that most of what is impractical, inconvenient and bureaucratic is something that politicians or the ministry invent. It's rarely us," Sten Bønsing states.
The professor believes that any positive effect of the increased political control is marginal. In his view, there is not much value created by the university having to spend so much time and resources on drawing key figures, evaluating and having its degree programmes accredited.
"When I started 30 years ago, we also did the best we could to create the best teaching and engage in dialogue with students. We also evaluated our teaching, even though the ministry did not demand it. Back then, it was just done by handing out papers that the students put crosses on. I think the progress we’ve made would likely have happened anyway, without the control," explains Sten Bønsing.
AAU has played a major role in the development of North Jutland over the past 50 years, and Sten Bønsing believes that the connection to the region is one of the finest things about the university. Something he hopes will also be a hallmark in another 50 years.
"I like that we are a regional university. That we produce a lot of graduates for North Jutland and collaborate with the business community in the region. So I can be a little afraid that the societal and global development means that we will just become 'world university number 934'," explains Sten Bønsing.
"I think there is value in being a regional university, and I wouldn't mind compromising a little bit on whether we attract the very best top researcher from abroad. I would be able to live with the second best and then still have the regional touch," he adds.
Theme: AAU 50 Years
This year, Aalborg University celebrates its 50th anniversary, and AAU Update has spoken to a number of staff members about their relationship with the university and wishes for its future.
The series of articles will be published during the autumn.