TEK will strengthen in 2022 after a difficult year
Dear colleagues at TEK
We are nearing the end of an unusual year. One more, some of you might with some right think. Our research and interaction with students are still with physical presence. But otherwise, we now meet mainly over video and work from home. We are again in the grip of Corona. I cross my fingers that we stay free of forced lock-down. The situation now is somewhat reminiscent of last year when Corona sent us home with laptops under our arms. But we are, nonetheless, in a different place than we were last December. We know Corona and have a high degree of vaccination. We are experienced at working from home and interacting over video. Not enjoyable, but we know how.
Right now, our research and collaboration with companies is continuing at full speed, and our teaching this term escaped the fangs of Corona. I very much hope we can keep research and teaching activities untouched by Corona also next term. Personally, I, along with most of the administration and central management, have transitioned to virtual meetings. I live with it, pleased that we are not in forced lock-down. The situation now is, after all, brighter than at the beginning of the year.
Early 2021, we were deep in the grip of the Corona and weighed down by debt. The first half of the year was marked by work from home and demands for savings. I know these were turbulent months that created uncertainty and left their mark on us. They probably also left their mark on the Workplace Assessment (APV) we have recently completed. I am pleased that so many of you took the time to respond to the APV. Thank you. The APVs provide a valuable input on how we can further develop and improve the working environment in our workplace.
Your answer shows that working from home, austerity measures and layoffs are wearing. They show that clear and attentive leadership is important. And they show that we have a high level of stress. Here, economic boundaries and ambitions collide. The two must, of course, be adapted to each other. We can influence our economic boundaries, but external circumstances also play a major role. The payments from the state for education have fallen over a number of years. This means that we cannot continue as before without having to run too fast. Our ambitions, including in teaching, must necessarily be adapted to our financial room for manoeuvre. This must be done with care and takes time, but we are well on our way with increased use of joint courses between different educational programmes. This preserves quality and enables a broad educational offering despite reduced payments for education and restrictions on the number of students we may admit in Odense in the future.
In all our activities, whether in daily operation or new development and change, we need to be even more aware of each other, help each other more and remind each other that work is not everything, even if we are passionate about it. Improving our working environment places demands on all of us and not least on management. Even if we are passionate about our job, we should not have a burnout over it. It is our responsibility to ensure that this does not happen. Not even if we have both Corona and austerity. We need to take even better care of each other and of ourselves. We need to improve well-being and cut the top off stress levels. We can only do this together.
In the second half of 2021, we fortunately broke free of Corona and were able to return to work physically. It was great to see colleagues and students again and do what we are best at together. We could again look each other in the eyes and communicate with arms and legs, and not just voice and a little facial mimicry. And we even got the opportunity to party for instance at the annual SDU party and at a slightly curtailed Christmas lunch. It was so great to meet in festive circumstances that during the Christmas lunch we conceive the idea that we should party again when we can be certain to be free of Corona. In the management, we have therefore decided that we will have a party at TEK next summer. Both because we enjoy each other's company and because it is good for cohesion that we meet spontaneously across groupings under festive circumstances.
Despite challenges, we have done well in 2021. Already in the spring but especially in the autumn, there has been full steam on all boilers. Our research and teaching are going well. Three of SDU's four super researchers on Clarivate's list of highly cited researchers are from TEK. Probably the world's most coveted elite summer school in the field of robotics was held this summer at TEK. We are strongly involved with major national initiatives in strategic research and green transformation. Breakthroughs, which I look forward to sharing at our New Year get-together, were created on many fronts. And we have gained good traction in our commercial collaborations with companies, which in addition to exciting projects such as the development of key parts for electric cars for Europe's leading car manufacturers, also contributes to the improvement of our economy. In terms of finances, we will deliver as planned in 2021. Our debt will be settled, and we will build up an appropriate fraction of the financial buffer that we, in respect for the rest of the SDU community, must establish.
You have shown an impressive spirit and dedication to work, and it has paid off. We are past the hardest part and have on our own steam turned deficits into surplus, and that not only on the economic front. Thank you for your efforts! You have all - from administration to lecturers and researchers - made an unusually large effort in an unusual and challenging year. Although there is much we can do better, we have done well and have reason to be proud of what we have delivered in 2021.
In the coming year, we will build on the good development. We will deliver ground-breaking research and inspiring teaching - and that with a super working environment.
I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year - see you in 2022.
All the best,
Henrik Bindslev