We have learned a lot during the last year-and-a-half about what is lost, but also what can be gained through shifting to online fora. As we came together for a first social gathering August 25, we chose to specifically focus on the positive things we would like to keep and explore further as we move forward.
Teamwork and collaboration
At that meeting, Brynjulv and Rune presented new ways of using technology to communicate and cooperate in research and teaching; Anne talked about advantages with digital research workshops and how they facilitated interaction between colleagues across the globe; and Elisabeth spoke about teaching and pedagogy, urging us to leave our lecture notes to the side and engage more directly with students in the classroom. I feel fortunate, and I know that I speak for many of us, to work together with colleagues who are not only experts in their own fields, but are both willing and able to collaboratively re-arrange, on short notice, the way they do things, and then reflect positively on that experience despite all the hardships. With such teamwork, with such stamina and attitude, TF’s future looks very bright.
A Ten-Year Employment Plan
Many things will happen this fall in research and teaching, and new projects will be developed. There is one task, however, that we will be taking on that is especially exciting, but also quite difficult and challenging. Before the end of the year, as per the assignment given us by the Faculty Board last year, we are required to transform a key aspect of our strategic plan, Strategy 2030, into practice and produce a ten-year Employment Plan (stillingsplan). During this ten-year period, we will see several retirements, which means that we will have to think deeply regarding how we want to move forward.
Not only of who we are but also of who we want to become
The Employment Plan will be an expression not only of who we are but also of who we want to become, both in our Norwegian setting and on the international scene. It will be an articulation of our ethos and our vision for how we best can meet the challenges of today and in ten years within research and teaching. What should we retain, or even deepen and expand? How do we today—and ten years down the road—define the core fields of a theological education? What is the role of Religion and Society in our faulty, and how should this field be configured in relation to Theology? What synergies and gains may be found in the intersection between these two fields, Theology and Religion and Society? And how should we best hire new academic staff to reflect and implement the vision we expressed in Strategy2030?
Open and transparent discussions
We have already begun this work, as you know, but this fall we’ll take it to the next level in preparation for the Board meeting in December where the Plan will be put forward for approval. While it is clear that there are diverging views among us as to how Strategy2030 should be interpreted through our Employment Plan, there is also some agreement. The leadership group is currently analysing, in light of a variety of parameters, the information you have all been asked to submit regarding your research expertise and teaching assignments (those of you who have not yet replied to the survey, please do so as soon as possible). The survey confirms both the breadth and depth of TF’s competences, and this will be an asset as we proceed through this process. I’m convinced that, through open and transparent discussions, we’ll be able to produce a very exciting Plan together and I look forward to the many conversations we will have doing so. Onward!