In an interview with our Dean and Professor of Waste Treatment and Resource Management, Anke Bockreis, we summarised the most important points of the meeting.
What was the reason for the meeting and what expectations do you have of the format?
A few years ago, we launched a strategy process to find out where the faculty stands and where it wants to go. With this year's conference, we wanted to pick up on this process again and initiate an open discussion on future concepts and strategies for our Faculty together with the professors from our four institutes. Teaching and research must also adapt to changing conditions. Ultimately, we need to consider how we can position ourselves for the future. This has a positive impact on the curriculum and therefore also on students. It's a lot about teaching the basics and the question of how we can react more flexibly to current topics in the field of research. In the past, it was also often the case that professors were simply replaced. Given that funding will tend to become scarcer in the future, we need to consider what teaching can cover and what it must cover in any case. In other words, where should teaching and research correlate directly with each other and where can research perhaps have a slightly different focus than teaching?
Which topics are considered particularly relevant at our faculty?
We are striving for structural development towards a sustainable faculty that is attractive for both students and staff. To this end, some points have also been specified in the target agreements for the period 2025 - 2027, which are expected to be adopted in the spring. For example, the visibility of our research output and an increase in student examination activity. In addition, the question of how we can manage to become more sustainable as a faculty was also part of the discussions. Furthermore there is a clear need for action in the structural promotion of women in research. There is clearly still room for improvement in the proportion of women, particularly in the technical fields.
What happens now?
We would like to continue the format over the next three years. Of course, the other members of our faculty must also be involved in the ongoing process in order to develop a holistic faculty strategy and not just a strategy for the professorial curia. The upcoming adoption of the faculty target agreements for 2025-2027 in the spring is a good starting point for determining which requirements we need to fulfil as a faculty and where we can possibly choose to change the focus of our strategic goals. A start has been made, I look forward to continuing to work together on these topics and am curious to see where the development goes.
Thank you very much for the interview!