CEI, EVU, Career and Alumni are to be decentralised. This is being done to ensure that AU’s activities in these areas are more closely linked to research and teaching.

2015.03.09 | Mette Helm

“There is a clear need to strengthen the connection between the university’s research and teaching activities and the areas in question,” says Pro-rector Berit Eika about the reasons behind the senior management team’s decision to decentralise CEI, EVU (further and continuing education), Career and Alumni. Photo: Lars Kruse, AU.

The future placement of the activities currently organised under the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI), EVU, Career and Alumni was decided at a meeting of the senior management team on 24 February 2015. Initiatives to follow up on the internal problem analysis were on the agenda.

Decentralisation is the keyword for the senior management team’s decisions, which are aimed at ensuring that work in these areas is carried out as close to the university’s research and teaching activities as possible, explains Pro-rector Berit Eika.

“Decentralisation is not without challenges for the affected employees and for their professional coordination and development. Nonetheless, the need to strengthen the connection between research and teaching and the affected areas is clear, particularly with regard to making entrepreneurship and innovation a more integrated aspect of degree programmes. The best way to achieve this is by moving these activities out to the university’s departments and centres,” she explains.

Entrepreneurship and innovation are still high priorities

Although the senior management team has decided to close CEI, the centre’s tasks and staff will be moved to other parts of the organisation.

“In addition to offering quality teaching in entrepreneurship, CEI has achieved impressive results, such as the Student Incubator’s efforts to help several hundred students realise their dreams of becoming entrepreneurs and the centre’s efforts to strengthen bonds to industry and business through the project ‘Short-cut to new knowledge’.  This work will be continued, so that the university will continue to prioritise entrepreneurship and innovation in future,” says Eika.

CEI staff members involved in knowledge-based collaboration with business , industry and government, the operation of the Student Incubator and support functions will be transferred to Research and External Relations. This is being done to strengthen Aarhus University’s relationship to business and industry and to link CEI’s experience and network to other AU activities in this area.

CEI’s teaching activities will be moved to the faculties to ensure a strong connection between teaching in entrepreneurship and other teaching and research activities. At the same time, a cross-faculty network for entrepreneurship teaching staff will be established, and the Committee on Education will assume strategic responsibility for developing teaching in this area.

EVU, Career and Alumni are moving closer to the departments and centres

The university’s continuing and further education activities will be relocated to the four administrative centres at the faculties. However, two employees will remain in the administrative Division Education to handle cross-university activities.

Career and alumni activities will be transferred from the administrative division Education to the administrative centres at Arts and BSS, the only two faculties with dedicated initiatives in this area. BSS will also be responsible for cross-faculty career and alumni activities.

“As a university, we have a clear obligation to ensure that our graduates are well-equipped for the labour market, and that our degree programmes thus benefit our society. EVU, Career and Alumni do a great deal of important work in this connection, and we will continue to prioritse this work in future,” says Eika.

The Committee on Education will take strategic responsibility for cross-faculty EVU, career and alumni activities.

While the necessary organisational changes will begin now, the timing of physical relocations will be decided locally with due consideration for the affected employees and the performance of their work.