University director at New Year's Reception: Not centralization – but better joint solutions
Nyhed
Lagt online: 16.01.2025
Centralization of the entire administration at AAU is not a goal. On the other hand, it is a goal that we work together to develop the organization. This was the message at the New Year's Reception where University Director Søren Lind Christiansen announced an end to outdated forms – and an increased focus on digitalization and AI.
By Lea Laursen Pasgaard, AAU Communication and Public Affairs. Translated by LeeAnn Iovanni, AAU Communication and Public Affairs
Photos: Lasse Møller Badstue
An organization on the move. This is what University Director Søren Lind Christiansen sees when he looks at Shared Services and the other parts of AAU's administration.
"I know that for some people things are moving fast while in the eyes of others they are moving too slowly. But we are adapting as an organization; we are adapting our administration to new demands; and we are moving toward something better. We are becoming digitalized; we are streamlining processes; we are making things work better."
These were the words of University Director Søren Lind Christiansen in his welcome address to around 300 administrative staff members from Shared Services, the Dean's Offices, AAU Innovation, and the Institute for Advanced Study in PBL on Friday, 10 January at the traditional New Year's Reception.
Similarly, on 6 January, the university director had invited Shared Services staff in Copenhagen to a New Year's Reception.
The University Director took the opportunity to thank everyone for their efforts over the past year. 2024 was a year marked by the anniversary, and the university director concluded that AAU is a 50-year-old who is doing well – and who still dares to take action, also when it comes to change.
Søren Lind Christiansen also stated that AAU will come out of 2024 with a good result and record external research funding.
"This gives us a good starting point for 2025," said the university director.
The strategic ambition in the administrative area remains a unified administration with coherent, efficient processes that support the university's core activities – education and research. This work will continue in 2025.
"It is important for me to say that centralization of the entire administration is not a goal. On the other hand, our working together to develop the organization is a goal, the university director stated.
He also presented a number of focal points for how the future development of AAU's administration should be run. Focal points that will guide the organization and management in good change processes.
In 2024, all staff members in Shared Services gathered for the first time for a joint theme day. Both this day and the subsequent activities have aimed to strengthen community and cooperation across Shared Services.
For the university director, it is important that AAU and the administration continue to be a good place to work:
"The changes we implement must of course ensure that our organization fits the tasks we have. And the resources we have. That goes without saying."
The university director also presented some of the biggest activities and initiatives that await in the new year. The first six months will be spent on drawing up an institutional plan and ensuring a smooth implementation process for the reform of the Master's programmes. In addition, there will be increased focus on digitalization, AI and a strengthened security culture.
"It is my impression that we are actually quite good in AI compared to the rest of the sector. But we must continue to focus on the technological opportunities and on using them to our advantage. And to reap the savings," the university director explained.
At the same time, he announced an end to the many forms that continue to characterize parts of the work at AAU. Even though the stacks have become smaller, there are still many processes at the university done by hand.
"One of my New Year's resolutions on behalf of the administration is therefore that we eliminate the physical forms once and for all. And we start in 2025," he urged.
