News from the NAT (SCIENCE) and LIFE deans

Dear Colleagues and Students,

On December 15, The University of Copenhagen’s Board will decide whether there will be a reorganisation of the “wet faculties”, and, if so,whether NAT and LIFE - excluding the veterinary departments - shall merge. Should the merger proceed, it is important that we lay the best possible foundation for it. This can be accomplished by harnessing the input and opinions of as many people as possible regarding the merger, the rough outline of departments, etc… There are a number of ways for this process to move ahead, including the use of the intranet and meetings to engage in debate and discussion.

Learn more about the new NAT-LIFE departments – and share your views
Over the past few weeks, departmental meetings have addressed the rough outline of the departments, as presented at the September 20 public meeting. Subsequently, work groups have developed a vision statement for the proposed NAT-LIFE departments. All proposals and comments will be posted on the ‘new faculties website’ found on KUnet (Danish site) (English site) by Saturday, October 15. There will be a chance to comment on and propose alternatives in relation to each of the proposed NAT-LIFE departments by mail. You can also comment on the first draft of a comprehensive merger proposal for the NAT-LIFE faculty. This draft will be posted on the ‘new faculties’ topic website no later than October 17.

On October 24, 25, and 26 we will hold 10 open discussions at NAT and LIFE, where all will have the chance to contribute input regarding the merger. The one hour meetings will be held for each of the proposed departments in the rough outline. The time and place of the meeting will be communicated both locally and via the ‘new faculties’ topic website. At the meetings, we will deliver a short presentation about the merger and the coordinator of each department’s working group will present the group’s visions for the department. Discussion will follow.

Input from the discussions, intranet, councils, committees, etc… will accompany a certified NAT-LIFE merger proposal, to be sent to the Rector and Prorector on October 28. Thereafter, a hearings phase for the “wet faculties” merger proposal will occur from November 3 – 25.

The process of combining the NAT and LIFE administrations
Should the KU board decide to merge NAT, LIFE, SUND and FARMA into two new faculties, two new faculty administrations will be established. In this context, many will be asking questions such as – “will I be a part of NAT-LIFE or MEDFAK?, “where will I work?”, “who’s my boss?” and “will my position be cut in the wake of the merger?” The last question has already been addressed by the Rector. He has guaranteed that an eventual faculty merger will not result in merger-related job cuts through 2012. You can read more here.

The other questions cannot yet be answered, but we will clarify the processes related to administrative staff in the near future. This clarification should alay any fears administrative employees may have. Union representatives at NAT and LIFE have provided constructive recommendations to these processes. Yesterday, the Collaboration Committees at NAT and LIFE dealt with the merger process for administrative staff. You can read more about that here (in Danish). On the ‘new faculties’ topic website you will be able to stay informed with constantly updated questions and answers which will serve to clarify the merger process.

In the coming weeks, we hope to provide further clarification and transparency with regards to the process, so that the turbulence which inevitably comeswith a merger is mitigated, and so that we may nurture a healthy working environment with exciting professional challenges for all staff and students at NAT and LIFE.

Sincerely,
Per and Nils