Updated information on seminar “University Governance Reforms – Expectations and Experiences”
“University Governance Reforms – Expectations and Experiences”
6 May 2021
11.00 -13.30 EEST (Riga)
In the 1990’s many future members of BSRUN (Baltic Sea Region University Network) from Estonia, Finland, Latvia and Lithuania participated in TEMPUS projects on University Management and Administration. When BSRUN was founded on the initiative of the University of Turku in 2000 they were joined by partners from Poland and Russia.
Various aspects of University Management and Administration have been discussed at BSRUN events from the very beginning of the organisation. International expertise has been contributed by the programme on Institutional Management in Higher Education (IMHE) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Nordic Association of University Administrators (NUAS).
In the beginning discussions often concentrated on the organisation of the central administrations of universities when universities were establishing new and more appropriate structures or on a broader theme for the whole university like Internationalisation.
In 2010, BSRUN defined itself as a network for University Governance, Management and Administration. Our slogan is BSRUN for Strategy and Practice. More recently, e.g. University Campus Management and Development and University Mergers have turned out to be popular topics with several events.
Before 2010 representatives from outside the university in the decision-making bodies of BSRUN members were a rarity. In Finland this changed when the Universities Act came into force in 2010. In Estonia the reform started with the University of Tartu in 2011. In May 2019 BSRUN organised an event at the University of Warsaw when new legislation had already been approved in Poland. At the moment, new legislation is being discussed for Latvia.
Expectations and experiences are not always the same in the universities and the responsible ministry before and after the reform. In addition to the current situation in Latvia, this BSRUN event will give an overview of the reform in two universities in Estonia, three universities in Finland and one university in Poland.
Gdansk University of Technology (GUT) was recently awarded a prestigious project within the Ministry of Science and Higher Education call “Excellence Initiative – Research University” (EIRU). All beneficiaries of the EIRU programme in 2020-26 will receive a subsidy from the state budget increased by 10% which will be allocated to the further, dynamic development of the university. Amongst the non-scientific GUT targets within the programme is to test the potential for federalisation of the three leading Pomeranian universities, namely the Medical University of Gdansk, the University of Gdansk and GUT. So far the Fahrenheit Union of Gdansk Universities has been established.
Overview of the issues to be covered:
- objectives of the reform;
- autonomy of the universities after the reform (incl. financial autonomy);
- funding of the reform;
- encouragement of mergers as a government policy;
- definition of the university community and its groups;
- election/appointment of rector;
- governing bodies, their composition and the appointment of members;
- attendance allowances/meeting fees/remuneration of council/board members;
- possible topics for future events.
Timing and outline: 2,5 hours with three keynotes and discussion panel chaired by Prof. Mārcis Auziņš, Chairman of the University of Latvia Senate, former rector of the University of Latvia (2007 – 2015)
Keynote speakers:
Prof. Indriķis Muižnieks, Rector of the University of Latvia since 2015. Dr. Muižnieks is Full Member of the Latvian Academy of Sciences.
Prof. Alar Karis, Chairman of the Board of the Estonian University of Life Sciences. He served as the Rector of the University of Tartu (2007-2012) and the Estonian University of Life Sciences (2003-2007).
Prof. Kalervo Väänänen, member of the board of the University of Oulu. He served as the Rector of the University of Turku between 2012 and 2019 and, before that, as the Academic Rector in charge of research at the University of Eastern Finland from the beginning of 2010. Professor Väänänen is also a member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters and a member of the Finnish Academy of Technical Sciences.
Prof. Dariusz Mikielewicz, Vice-Rector for Organization and Development, Gdansk University of Technology, since 2019. In early 2021 he also served as Dean of the newly formed Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Shipbuilding (a merger of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and the Faculty of Ocean Engineering). Prior to that he served as Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in 2016-19 and as Head of the Department of Energy and Industrial Apparatus of the same faculty in 2012-20.
Event programme
Contact details
Annija Apsite, annija.apsite@lu.lv
BSRUN Secretariat at University of Latvia
To register for the seminar, please,
use our registration form – https://forms.gle/DZLLDBWYKZ6eCtDCA
Please, register until 03.05.2021.
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