Organisation

The Digitalisation Governance Board is a cross‑organisational strategic body with a clear decision‑making mandate. The Board’s primary purpose is to establish coherent strategic priorities and guidelines for SDU’s digital development. With the establishment of the Digitalisation Governance Board, SDU gathers its focus on digital development and creates a formal body in which the AI decision‑making framework and its initiatives can also be anchored.

The Digitalisation Governance Board will consist of competences from across the university, collectively bringing technical insight and strategic perspective combined with a leadership mandate. The Board is serviced by the Strategic Secretariat in SDU IT. The current portfolio governance for digitalisation projects will be discontinued.

The purpose of the Board is to:

• provide strategic advice to university management on digitalisation and technological development
• exercise operational decision‑making authority across faculties and units within certain areas
• prioritise and allocate resources to initiatives within the AI area
• promote cross‑organisational coordination of digitalisation initiatives and AI experiments across faculties and units
• ensure ethical, sustainable, and value‑creating use of digital technology across SDU

It is essential that digital agendas, and the right digital competences, are actively involved in the development of SDU’s core activities; that expertise in technological development enters decision‑making processes at a strategic level. Clear lines of communication must be formalised between the Executive Board, the University Council, the Education Council, the Research Council, and other formal bodies to ensure that digital development, IT issues, and security matters are appropriately addressed.

As part of the strategic effort in realising the AI Action Plan, thematic Communities of Practice (CoP) focusing on artificial intelligence will be established, coordinated by SDU IT.

The aim is to bring together staff across the university who work with or are interested in AI, in order to share knowledge, exchange experiences, and inspire new uses of the technology.

Theoretically, a CoP consists of three central elements:

• Shared interest or domain – the members of the group share a common professional interest or challenge.
• Community – relationships and dialogue create trust and opportunities for exchanging experiences.
• Practice – participants develop and exchange concrete experiences, tools, and methods.

A CoP is therefore not merely a network but a learning community in which knowledge develops and is rooted in practice through active participation. These networks are in demand within the organisation, and with technologies that evolve and change so rapidly, CoPs can act as catalysts for knowledge sharing among those interested, and thereby indirectly contribute to competence development in this area.

The initiative consists of several underlying CoPs focusing on specific areas such as:

• Administration: Explores AI solutions for streamlining workflows and case processing – linked to the Power Citizen Developer network.
• Research support: Shares best practices and tools for using AI in research activities, application processes, and data management.
• Educational development: Examines how AI can be integrated into teaching and support learning and pedagogical practice.

The various CoPs may be driven by academic units outside SDU IT, while the AI Hub holds the coordinating function.

A small unit will be established under SDU IT with the task of coordinating and supporting efficiency improvements and/or quality enhancements in SDU’s core activities through AI.

Its primary focus areas will be to:

• function as a point of entry for the entire organisation regarding questions, guidance, and support in the use and development of AI solutions
• coordinate AI initiatives prioritised by the Digitalisation Governance Board or, where of greater principled importance, by senior management
• establish and coordinate informal knowledge‑sharing forums – Communities of Practice – across SDU
• coordinate competence‑development initiatives in collaboration with, among others, SDU HR, SDU UP, and the Library
• develop a dynamic digital environment for knowledge sharing and communication about the use of AI at SDU
• ensure up‑to‑date information on AI solutions that are security‑approved for use at SDU
• coordinate a task force across SDU IT that can contribute technical knowledge and expertise and ensure effective implementation and operation of new solutions. The task force will also contribute user‑focused material to the organisation to ensure proactive communication regarding updates and changes
• function as a tech radar for the organisation in relation to new technologies and opportunities – drawing on knowledge gained, for example, through the Communities of Practice and SDU IT’s Task Force, and disseminating it across the wider organisation
• ensure close integration with the Power, M365, and automation teams in SDU IT so that initiatives are delivered using the right technology for the right need.