Dear colleagues,
Well, the public and May holidays are well and truly over by the time you read this. I know that many of you have taken longer or shorter breaks, and even if you didn’t, I hope the long weekends will have given you some time to relax. Let’s hope that the nice weather continues while we prepare for the summer period.
Even though many took a break in the past weeks, a lot has happened. We had a very interesting SucCES café, the SOIR team organised three successful information days about the possibilities of ERASMUS+, CELT is very busy with the preparation for the Week of Education, Geoversity was launched this week by the ITC faculty, for which the work of IM was essential, and in all other departments, colleagues are working as hard as ever to finish the current academic year while preparing for the next.
All of this is happening in a turbulent environment: the internationalisation debate about universities continues, students (and others) are demonstrating, the new government plans to spend less on higher education but there may be exceptions for specific regions and disciplines, wars continue, and the financial situation of the UT is challenging. As MT we understand that this affects our colleagues, and can lead to uncertainty, confusion and anger. I know that many of you are looking for clarity about the future, what we as CES do and don’t do and what is expected from CES in the university. Unfortunately due to the many factors that are at play (reduced student numbers, political situation), it is not easy to give this clarity. There are however a few things I can share:
One of the financial targets for UT is to reduce the support staff (OBP) by 10% in four years, starting in 2024. This includes the support staff in the faculties as well as service departments. One of the effects of this is the ongoing process of extending contracts beyond the first year and replacing colleagues who leave or retire. These positions are first discussed within the CES MT, where we consider where a vacant position is most needed to ensure continued support for the teaching processes. This can mean that a vacant position in one CES department is used to meet a need in another. As you can imagine these are very difficult and painful decisions, yet at this stage we have to look at CES holistically. If we decide not to fill a position, this is not a reflection on the colleague in that position or the quality or importance of their work. It is a careful consideration of priorities. This also includes management positions and can lead to a restructuring of departments, as you can read in this newsletter.
Once we have submitted our vacancies, the same process is repeated with all service departments and the final decision is taken by the Executive Board.
Secondly, despite financial challenges, as MT we want to continue to invest in our staff. Training, coaching but also social activities are important. We discuss all requests for training and development in the MT. Here as well, training budgets may be moved across departments, so we can continue to be prepared for the demands of the UT. Social events are important to keep our colleagues together. Don’t forget to sign up for our Spring get-together on 30 May!
Finally, I also want to invite you for a meeting with Vinod Subramaniam, the president of our university. On July 16, he will come to talk to CES about the internationalisation debate, and the financial situation. This will be a dialogue, so you can bring your questions and concerns. We will provide more information nearer the date, but for now please mark the day and time in your agenda.
As said, we are facing many challenges. But please realise that there are so many things that we will continue to do and that we do so well. I have said it before, the paradox of a service department is that we are often invisible; until something goes wrong, or in this situation, we cannot do everything the faculties want us to do anymore, then we are visible. That also means that there is much more appreciation for what we, you, have been doing in the past years. With joint effort, the solution-oriented attitude of CES employees and continued dialogue, we will manage this, even if it is not always easy. I am grateful to be working with these wonderful colleagues.
Best wishes,
Lieke
