A word from the Dean
Dear Staff and Students
After a spring of cutbacks resulting from the implementation of SDU's budget strategy, summer is now fast approaching. Before wishing you all a good summer, I would like to round off by orienting you about a number of important subjects that will dominate in the coming year.
First of all, I would like to emphasise that all permanently employed staff who could be affected by the strategic deselections in SDU's budget strategy for 2016-2019 have now been oriented. However, our faculty is yet to implement annual cutbacks to education of DKK 2.7 million. These cutbacks will primarily be made by reducing the number of part-time teachers and instructors, and the departments are well underway with identifying these cutbacks.
As a result, there will be a new budget model at the Faculty, which from 2017 will distribute the Faculty's revenue to the departments. The budget model has just been under consultation by the departments and relevant councils, and it has been prepared based on a wish to give the departments a predictable and stable budget model with inbuilt incentives that reflect SDU's overarching budget model.
In the field of education, one of the exciting initiatives is our new master's study programme in Computational biomedicine which will accept its first students after the summer break. In addition, I expect the Faculty to become even more engaged in the Platform X initiative in the coming study year. With regard to research, the Faculty is exploring opportunities for strengthening collaboration with universities in the German border area, particularly Lübeck and Kiel. We hope to be able to support concrete research projects initiated by researchers with common interests as well as participating in common excellence and education initiatives.
The establishment of SDU Research & Innovation Office, internally also known as SDU RIO, is one of several initiatives which will strengthen the University's engagement with society. As a university, we want to make a bigger difference - and not least disseminate our knowledge and competences into regional, national and international businesses. Consequently, three new beacon projects in welfare innovation, open data and drones will be established. Each of these projects is expected to be provided with DKK 20 million over the coming three years. The aim is to significantly increase SDU's society-oriented education and research activities in these three areas - including the scope of business-financed research activities at SDU.
Finally, by means of a video greeting from Svanninge Bjerge, I would like to wish you all a good summer!
Martin Zachariasen, Dean