AU has decided to merge its four teaching development centres – CUDiM, CUL, CESU and STLL –and the EDU IT unit into a single unit under one roof: a joint teaching development centre which will report directly to the Rector’s Office.

The merger is taking place because the senior management team has a strong desire to strengthen teaching development and give it a higher priority at Aarhus University. Pro-rector Berit Eika is in charge of the merger, and she sees a number of advantages to bringing the university’s resources in this area together in a single centre serving the entire university:

"We can develop greater expertise, ensure the latest knowledge is available in every corner of the organisation, and strengthen collaboration on the university's teaching development efforts – ultimately for the benefit of our students.” Eika emphasises that technological support for teaching will integrated into the centre’s services.

The new joint centre will be responsible for supporting teaching staff competency development, assisting and supporting subjects in curricular development and providing guidance and support on teaching development at different levels of management. The centre will also contribute to innovation and the advancement of research in the field of teaching development internationally.

Close contact to research and teaching

Even though the new unit will be centrally located, it will operate in close contact with research and teaching programmes at the university.

“At the new centre, we will prioritise close contact with the degree programmes and targeted support for teaching staff. And we expect that our teaching staff can look forward to even better advice and service, based on the latest research and increased specialisation,” Eika says.

The new centre will be located in the 1910 building complex on Trøjborgvej, a central location close to the University Park, the Nobel Park and the University City.

Most of the centre’s staff will relocate to the new centre, where they will continue to perform their current tasks. In addition, there are a some staff members at the teaching development centres at Arts and Health whose tasks are not related to teaching development. They will be transferred to a department.

We listen to our staff

The merger was approved by the senior management team on 15 April based on a recommendation from the Education Committee. This was the culmination of a process involving all of the relevant liaison committees for the affected employees, who have also had an opportunity to submit their input.

“Both the liaison committees and staff submitted a lot of constructive, relevant input. Now our task is to work together to create a framework that will make our staff’s high level of commitment and the general positive attitude towards the merger into the foundation of a new common culture,” Eika says.

In this regard, there a number of important tasks coming up. A centre director must be hired to head the new centre, and the organisation of the centre’s activities is still on the drawing board. Discussions about the internal organisation of the new centre will begin soon, and staff will be involved.

FACTS about the next steps

·        The new joint teaching development centre will have about 60 employees.

·        The position of centre director will be advertised in late April, and the new director is expected to start on 1 September.

·        The Education Committee is planning an employee seminar on 26 May where the internal organisation of the new teaching development centre will be discussed. Whether – and how – the seminar will take places depends on developments in the coronavirus situation. How the process of involving stakeholders in this process under the given conditions will take place is being clarified.

·        The new university-wide teaching development centre will open on 1 October 2020.

·        The centre’s staff will move into the 1910 building complex on Trøjborgvej by the spring of 2021 at the latest.