Education: From emergency reorganisation to a new normal

In HE Studies Administration, Degree Programme Director Lene K. Konrad has the job of supporting the students in their course of study. Christina C. Dahm from the Department of Public Health is the coordinator for the Master’s degree programme in Health Science, as well as teaching on the epidemiology and biostatistics course, and Lise Wogensen Bach is vice-dean of education at Health. The face-to-face meeting between people, a strengthened sense of community among teaching staff and time for development are among the things they wish to see in connection with the change to a new normal for the teaching activities.

What does the Covid-19 situation mean for your work tasks and perspectives right now?

Lene K. Konrad:
We’ve been working hard with a positive and solution-orientated approach. My colleagues in the planning team have made a huge effort to reorganise everything. Naturally, not all of it has gone completely smoothly, especially as we’ve had to transition the teaching back and forth at short notice, and that still requires a lot of resources. But while we were always a little on the back foot throughout the spring, we can now be proactive. So what we need now is the chance to recharge our batteries and feel like we’re really on top of the day-to-day tasks. The senior management team recently announced that they will work to reduce cumbersome administrative processes – I certainly support that. If ever there was a good opportunity to tidy up bureaucratic procedures, it’s now.

Christina C. Dahm:
I’m happy to see we’ve moved on from wishful thinking. The coronavirus pandemic isn’t going to disappear by itself, and the simple realisation that this situation will continue for some time has calmed things down. This means we’ve entered a new phase in planning and carrying out the teaching during a corona period.

Lise Wogensen Bach:
Over the last many months, I’ve been very reactive in terms of dealing with things, because external circumstances have determined what I should be working on. That's probably been the case for most of us. What I hope is that I can steadily become more and more proactive. I think we’ve reached a point where we can look a little more forward. We’ve pretty much got the reorganisations under control. So now we can start to look at how we ensure that we have the energy and focus needed to propel the university forward despite everything. How do we maintain the commitment and the driving force – both in the administrative support and among the teaching staff? That is what’s preoccupying me right now.

Where should we be making a real effort now – is there anything we need to focus on in particular?

Lene K. Konrad:
Meeting face-to-face is really beneficial and it should be given high priority, both among staff and students, and not least in student counselling where I work. For a student, just being able to drop by and look someone in the eye – and see someone who wants to help. That is really valuable in terms of creating affiliation with the university and the degree programme. The students are missing out on some of the important elements which a good course of study normally includes: the interplay between the lecturers and the students; the academic and social community; moving around on campus; chatting with someone during a break; and just the feeling of being part of something bigger.

Christina C. Dahm:
The next step is to flesh out the framework for the teaching that is now in place. This applies both practically and strategically, and the latter in particular is a challenge. I've noticed that even though corona has taken a great deal of focus for months, the strategic work has actually continued at the same time. For better or worse. Strategic work and the internationalisation of the degree programmes are important, and it’s also important that we don’t lose focus here because we find ourselves in the midst of a global health crisis. But the strategy processes can – generally speaking – seem like a pointless extra burden at a time when people may feel that they’ve almost given as much as they can. I would call for focus on improving the quality of our (digital) teaching, and being cautious in terms of high expectations for strategic work and development according to the models that were in play before corona.

We also need to focus on the teaching community. The teaching staff need to have the opportunity to meet with their colleagues face-to-face under orderly conditions. To have the opportunity to discuss the academic development of the teaching and evaluate the EDU IT initiatives that have been brought in more-or-less overnight. We need to feel like we are part of a team, a teaching community, so we don't become lonely or succumb to the workload. In my opinion, this is most important thing right now as the days get shorter and shorter at the same time as the busiest part of the semester.

Lise Wogensen Bach:
When I venture to bring up development in a time like this, it may feel like an extra strain on the employees. That’s not my intention. I would like us to find the small spaces for development in the existing situation. It shouldn’t be an add-on. One way of boosting internationalisation could, for example, be to invite some of our colleagues from the Circle U alliance or some of our Honorary Skou professors to take part in lectures via Zoom. It’s certainly conceivable, as universities around the world are working remotely anyway. Perhaps we should also continue further along the EDU-IT path? How can we use the new digital skills we have acquired in record time to elevate teaching – even after the pandemic is over?

Lise Wogensen Bach invites all teachers at Health to an online meeting about the current teaching situation and the plans for conducting exams in this and the coming semester on Wednesday 18 November 2020. Read more about the meeting in the faculty calendar.

Contact

Educational Counsellor Lene K. Konrad
Aarhus University, HE Studies Administration
Mobile: (+45) 9352 2240
Email: lkonrad@au.dk

Degree Programme Director Christina C. Dahm
Aarhus University, Department of Public Health
Mobile: (+45) 2332 1875
Email: ccd@ph.au.dk

Vice-dean for Education Lise Wogensen Bach
Aarhus University, Health
Mobile: (+45) 2548 8522
Email: lwb@au.dk