– I don't think we realised how big it actually was
Claus Trap Christensen has worked at the University of Southern Denmark for the past 15 years. In honour of the occasion, he reflects on his time at the University, where he has been responsible for a department whose importance has only become clearer over the years – culminating in March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic turned our working lives upside down.
We probably all remember 11 March 2020. The coronavirus pandemic ravaged the world, including Denmark, and fearing the possible consequences of the disease, all public employees – where justifiably possible – were sent home to a new reality of home offices, Teams meetings and the accompanying technical challenges.
A revolution in the way many of us work unfolded before our eyes.
A crucial condition for everything succeeding as well as it did in spite of it all was that the technical setup and the entire digital organisation at SDU were ready to make the transformation. One of the people in charge was Claus Trap Christensen, head of IT support at SDU.
– Maybe we were a bit lucky, but I also choose to believe that we were good. We created a digital organisation in 14 days. It’s crazy to think about the development we’ve been through. It’s something we’ll be talking about for many years to come, but I don’t think we really realised how big a transformation of working life we managed in such a short time, he says and elaborates:
– It was tough, but everyone came together and wanted this to work. Probably very few people had held meetings over Teams or had taught over Zoom before the pandemic, but just look at us now. We had a unique zeal with us, which I think helped make things go so well. Imagine if we’d had to implement this in the traditional way – it would have been enormously expensive in money and time.
A rather more analogue start
When Claus Trap Christensen started work one October morning about 15 years ago, it was a more analogue reality that characterised working life at the University of Southern Denmark. Although he also had a managerial position for IT support back then, the size of the department and the tasks today are now of a completely different character.
- If the computer didn’t work, it usually meant analogue work in the folders. Back then, things were slow during the exam periods, and now they are the busiest times of the whole year.
The IT skills have been brought together from previously having been divided at faculty level, so that IT help today consists of 42 permanent employees, 15 trainees and 22 student assistants divided into three teams, a smaller staff and with Claus as overall head of support.
That is to say, the people you call when you’ve forgotten your password – and who remind you that the updates on your computer are actually important. They are also the people you drag your IT equipment to when you need help.
- In short, we are responsible for all the things that are aimed at the users at SDU: in other words, your phone, Outlook and so on.
A technological infrastructure
According to Claus Trap Christensen, working life at SDU has been a good experience, and the tasks have developed with increasing importance and quantity. IT security has become a business-critical task, because with the wrong intentions and the right skills, we can be robbed of the great knowledge we generate here.
When IT infrastructure develops as massively as it has done in recent years, it is important that we keep up and take the necessary precautions in relation to data security. And even though it has been challenging at times, the department has a good reputation today, says Claus Trap Christensen.
- Out among our colleagues, the IT department was often seen as tiresome, a little unimportant and was only good for distractions. However, I believe that we have a different role today. We have matured, and technological circumstances have matured our role at the University. We’ve come a long way and there’s a good relationship today, but I have sometimes felt that we’ve had to convince colleagues that we’re here to help and that we have no intention of obstructing people, he says.
Flexible workspace with room for differences
This month, Claus Trap Christensen celebrates his 15th anniversary at SDU and 25 years of working for the state. According to him, a challenging everyday life has kept him at the University for so long.
- It has been fun and challenging, and I have been allowed to develop at my own pace and had influence on shaping my workflow. I’m proud to be here. At SDU, we’ve also been very much at the cutting edge compared to other companies and organisations – including several private companies. And I like that very much, that you’re not at the back end of the bus.
Every day, the seasoned boss has a mantra that it should be fun to go to work, and when asked what is in the office that others would not have expected, with something resembling the sparkle of Christmas lights in his eyes, he pulls out a Lego monster truck.
- This is something I use when we recruit trainees. It’s used for a team exercise in guiding others to assemble it, without you being allowed to watch – and only the instructions to guide you.
Although it has been an eventful work journey for the past 25 years, he is convinced that 25 years in the future he will not be at the University of Southern Denmark.
– By then I’ll have retired and will be looking out over some water and drinking coffee. And by then I’ll have an AI bot that does it all for me, he says with a big smile.