Community and Unity in a Time of Change

Dear staff

These days, it can be difficult to stay fully focused on work with the unrest affecting the situation in Greenland and many other places around the world. It is a heavy start to 2026, and much suggests that we are once again facing a year of major changes and new concerns. That is precisely why it is important that we talk to each other, take care of one another, and safeguard the trust and security that are fundamental to our shared workplace.

I was genuinely pleased with the strong support for the New Year’s reception. Poul and I shared our perspectives on the year ahead, and I also took a moment to look back on 2025. We concluded the old strategy (2021–2025), and it was impossible to mention all the initiatives and results we have achieved together. Many of them have now become a natural part of the way we work – such as structured onboarding, recruitment, close leadership, and competence development within digitalization – just to name a few.

This year, we are embarking on a new strategy, which I expect will be finally adopted at the end of January. After that, the work begins to roll out the strategy across the faculty and initiate concrete actions. The first thing we will focus on is the innovation strategy, which stems from the national expectation that universities should contribute more actively to innovation. We hope to launch several initiatives already at the beginning of the year, and the department heads are currently exploring possible local projects.

Poul explained the background for establishing a new NAT IT study board. The need is simple: our IT programmes have grown significantly, and the tasks have become too extensive for a single study board. He illustrated this very clearly with his – quite complex – diagram. In addition, he presented the two strategic educational initiatives, where we continue working on the pedagogical framework while also focusing on AI-enhanced learning. There is no doubt that AI will play an even greater role in education, research, and administration in 2026. This offers great opportunities – but also requires that we learn to use the technology wisely.

Whether it was the themes from the speeches or the global situation that sparked the conversations at the reception, I do not know – but lively, it certainly was. And that means a lot to me. These shared meetings give us the opportunity to connect across the faculty, build new relationships, or simply put a face to a colleague you normally only meet in two dimensions on a screen. They play an important role in our culture and in our academic and social community. We grow every year, and the departments naturally have a central role in everyday life. But I will continue to maintain these shared meetings, where we come together, share knowledge, and gain a common view of the faculty’s most important activities.

Happy New Year to you all.

Marianne Holmer, dean