kernteam
Dossier kernteam Physics & Astonomy
Samenstelling kernteam: Daniel Bonn (UvA, contactpersoon), Annemarie van Groenestijn (UvA), Niels Laurens (VU), Joost van Mameren (UvA, secretaris), Wim Vassen (VU), Ralph Wijers (UvA), Gijs Wuite (VU)
Samenstelling verkenningscommissie onderwijs: Wim Vassen (VU, voorzitter), Marcel Vreeswijk (UvA), Sera Markoff (UvA), Ben van Linden van den Heuvell (UvA), John Kennis (VU), Erwin Peterman (VU), Kareljan Schoutens (UvA), Tim Barenbrug (UvA, student), Ruud van der Beek (VU, student), Zazo Meys (UvA, student), Jim Visschers (VU, student), Joost van Mameren (UvA, secretaris)
Werkwijze en producten Het kernteam is april 2014 gestart met een heidag voor stafleden en studenten, begeleid door twee externe adviseurs (document 2). De externe adviseurs hebben in het voorjaar ook stafleden geïnterviewd over hun opvattingen, gevoelens en zorgen over de samenwerking (document 3). Op basis van de uitkomsten van de heidag heeft het kernteam in mei de volgende stappen op papier gezet en de instelling van een verkenningscommissie onderwijs aangekondigd (document 4). In de zomer van 2014 heeft het kernteam een discussiestuk geproduceerd, waarin het accent ligt op de ambities voor onderwijs en onderzoek en de randvoorwaarden voor de samenwerking (document 5). Deze notitie is als bijlage bij de nieuwsbrief P&A van 28 juli breed verspreid en vervolgens tijdens verschillende bijeenkomsten, waaronder een heidag van de gezamenlijke staf op 3 oktober, besproken. Het kernteam heeft de stand van zaken en de knelpunten 17 september besproken met het DT FNWI en FB FALW/FEW en afspraken voor de komende periode gemaakt (document 6 en 7 ). Op 13 oktober heeft het kernteam, op verzoek van de decaan, zijn ambities voor advies aan het ‘international advisory board’ voor de bètasamenwerking voorgelegd (document 8)
Relevante documenten (1) 1. Opdracht aan kernteam Datum 8 april 2014 Status Alle kernteams hebben dezelfde opdracht gekregen. In de opdracht wordt het kernteam verzocht een strategisch meerjarenplan te maken en, in afstemming met het Team Directeuren Onderwijs (TDO), verkenningscommissies in te stellen die voorstellen voor de inrichting van het onderwijs moeten formuleren. De opdracht bevat richtlijnen voor de werkwijze van kernteams en verkenningscommissies en voor de samenstelling van de verkenningscommissies (deelname studenten). Alle producten van de kernteams en de verkenningscommissies hebben de status van ‘advies aan de decaan’ en zijn dus per definitie concepten. In mei 2014 is voor het domein ‘Environmental Sciences’ (ES) een negende kernteam ingesteld. December 2014 is dit kernteam met het kernteam Earth & Ecology samengevoegd tot het kernteam Earth, Ecology & Environment. t 2. Summary retreat 'virtueel department Physics and Astronomy', Datum 7 april 2014 Status Dit document is een beknopt verslag van de heidag van 7 april. De gestelde vragen en de gevoerde discussies worden samengevat en waar mogelijk worden vervolgacties geformuleerd. 3. Management summary based upon interviews with UvA and VU staff representatives Datum voorjaar 2014 Status Twee externe adviseur hebben 22 stafleden gevraagd naar hun opvattingen, gevoelens en zorgen over de samenwerking. In dit document worden de conclusies van de interviews samengevat en worden aanbevelingen voor het vervolgtraject gedaan.
Relevante documenten (2) 4. VU/UvA collaboration within domain Physics and Astronomy: the next steps Datum Mei 2014 Status In deze notitie worden – als vervolg op de heidag – de vervolgstappen m.b.t. de strategie, het onderwijs en de huisvesting geformuleerd en wordt de instelling van een verkenningscommissie onderwijs aangekondigd. 5. Top Physics and Astronomy in Amsterdam; UvA/VU collaboration in Physics and Astronomy: towards a strategy for excellence Datum 28 juli 2014 (verspreid bij nieuwsbrief P&A) Status In dit discussiestuk formuleert het kernteam zijn ambities en de randvoorwaarden voor de samenwerking. Het is de eerste aanzet tot het strategisch plan voor onderwijs en onderzoek. Het document bevat ook de samenstelling van en opdracht aan de verkenningscommissie onderwijs en de samenstelling van een in te stellen klankbordgroep. 6. Presentatie kernteam voor overleg met FB FALW/FEW en DT FNWI Datum 17 september 2014 Status De presentatie voor het overleg met FB en DT gaat in op de verschillende samenwerkingsinitiatieven, de voortgang van het kernteam, het onderwijs en de voorwaarden voor succes. 7. Verslag overleg kernteam met FB FALW/FEW en DT FNWI Datum 10 september 2014 Status Het verslag geeft de inhoud van de bespreking tussen het kernteam en FB en DT weer, waaronder de gemaakte afspraken voor de komende periode. Top Physics and Astronomy in Amsterdam Datum 13 oktober 2014 Status In deze korte notitie worden de ambities van het virtueel departement samengevat en met een aantal vragen voorgelegd aan de internationale externe adviseurs voor de bètasamenwerking.
Verdere planning en procedure Het strategisch plan voor het virtuele departement, inclusief het voorstel voor het onderwijsportfolio, zal februari 2015 beschikbaar zijn. Dan moet ook het programma van eisen voor de huisvesting van de P&A op Science Park gereed zijn.
Van: Karen Maex Aan: Kernteams samenwerking FALW, FEW, FNWI Datum: 8 april 2014 Begin dit jaar is besloten de verdere samenwerking tussen FNWI, FALW en FNWI langs de hiërarchische lijn van de instellingen op te bouwen. Samenstelling kernteams Zoals eerder met de instituten en afdelingen is besproken, wil ik de vertaling van plannen en visies van de staande organisatie naar gezamenlijke projecten in handen geven van acht kernteams die elk een virtueel departement vertegenwoordigen: 1 Physics & Astronomy 2 Chemistry & Molecular Life Science for Sustainability 3 Mathematics & Logic 4 Neuroscience 5 Earth & Ecology 6 Informatics 7 Chemistry & Molecular Life Science for Human Health 8 Interdisciplinary Units Ieder kernteam bevat vijf tot tien sleutelpersonen. Betrokken onderzoeksdirecteuren en afdelingshoofden maken per definitie deel uit van de kerngroep. Daarnaast omvat elke kerngroep enkele medewerkers die een inhoudelijke sleutelrol vervullen in het gerelateerde onderwijs, bijv. opleidings- en onderwijsdirecteuren. Opdracht aan kernteams 1. Stel een meerjarig strategisch plan op met de wetenschappelijke expertise/accenten waarop wordt ingezet. Het plan kijkt minstens drie jaar vooruit maar maakt ook een doorkijk voor 10 jaar, rekening houdend met de projectie voor vrije ruimte door natuurlijk verloop (emeritaat/pensionering) per afdeling/onderzoeksinstituut. 2. Vertaal het strategisch plan naar een concrete invulling van de samenwerking op het gebied van onderzoek en mogelijke valorisatie. 3. Vertaal het strategisch plan naar een concrete invulling van de samenwerking op het gebied van onderwijs: Aan welke (onderdelen van) opleidingen kan het virtuele departement een bijdrage leveren (incl. minoren en majoren, denk ook aan opleidingen buiten FNWI, FEW of FALW)? Voor welke opleidingen wordt een joint degree nagestreefd? Welke opleidingen zullen opleidingen worden met een gezamenlijk programma en voor welke wordt gezamenlijk toegewerkt naar een gedifferentieerd programma? Voor het uitwerken van de ideeën op het gebied van onderwijs kan het kernteam verkenningscommissies instellen waarin inhoudelijke expertise wordt samengebracht. Daarbij worden in principe de volgende stappen onderscheiden. Een 1e verkenningscommissie onderwijs adviseert het kernteam over de oplijsting van de opleidingen (Bachelor en Master) en stelt een eerste inventaris op van vragen, zorgen, knelpunten en kansen. Een 2e verkenningscommissie onderwijs buigt zich over de visie op het onderwijsportfolio, de strategisch positionering van de opleidingen in het portfolio en mogelijke samenwerkingen. Studenten maken deel uit van dit team.
Een 3e verkenningscommissie onderwijs krijgt als opdracht keuzes uit te werken voor de organisatie van het onderwijs. Studenten maken deel uit van dit team. De 2e en 3e verkenningscommissies zullen samengesteld worden in nauw overleg met het team directeuren onderwijs (TDO) bestaande uit de onderwijsdirecteuren van FNWI, FALW en FEW. De rapporten van verkenningscommissies worden door het kernteam ter kennisname gebracht van de decaan. De decaan bespreekt alle rapporten met het Directieteam van de FNWI en het Faculteitsbestuur van FEW en FALW. Relatie tot team directeuren onderwijs (TDO) Plannen voor het onderwijs worden afgestemd met TDO, bestaande uit Michel Haring, Johan Vermeer en Nellie Harms. Voor specifieke onderwijs gerelateerde vraagstukken zullen door het TDO projectteams worden ingesteld. Deze zullen onder meer adviezen uitbrengen over een gezamenlijke onderwijsvisie en internationaliseringsstrategie, de inrichting van een gemeenschappelijke ondersteuningsorganisatie, doorontwikkeling Datanose, onderwijs financiën, de joint degree aanvragen, kwaliteitszorg en honoursprogramma’s en een voorstel maken voor één OER A en één Regels & Richtlijnen van Examencommissies. Het team directeuren onderwijs onderhoudt tevens de contacten met de NVAO en stemt activiteiten af met UvA en VU centraal. Het team directeuren onderwijs is verantwoordelijk voor de verdere uitwerking van de organisatie en de randvoorwaardelijkheden van het onderwijs. Timing Elke kerngroep doet uiterlijk 1 mei 2014 een voorstel aan de decaan voor de fasering die zij passend acht voor de situatie van het betreffende virtueel departement. De decaan heeft op regelmatige basis contact met de aanspreekpersoon van elk kernteam om voortgang te bespreken.
SUMMARY RETREAT 'VIRTUEEL DEPARTMENT PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY', AMSTERDAM - 7TH APRIL 2014
INTRODUCTION
Karen Maex, dean of the faculties of FNWI, FEW, and FALW has requested a strategic plan from her department heads and institute directors in which they explore and strengthen possible collaborations between the UvA and VU. She explicitly instructed to engage in a broad discussion on these topics within each department. Therefore, a meeting led by Wim Ubachs, Daniel Bonn and Ralph Wijers was organized to discuss the formation of a virtual department of Physics and Astronomy (vDPA) and map out the possibilities for bringing the Institute of Physics (UvA), the Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy (UvA) and the department of Physics (VU) closer together. This document provides a brief summary of the questions asked, discussions held, and, where possible, defines concrete actions that can be started.
PARTICIPANTS *
Mylène Akkerman (Tracé ) * Roel van As (Tracé ) Stan Bentvelsen (IoP) Jan de Boer (IoP) Daniel Bonn (IoP) Ineke Brouwer (VU) Miranda Cheng (IoP) Roberta Croce (VU) Patrick Decowski (IoP) Carsten Dominik (API) Tom Gregorkiewicz (IoP) *
Marloes Groot (VU) Olga Hartoog (API) Erik van Heumen (IoP) Paul de Jong (IoP) Michiel van der Klis (API) Niels Laurens (VU) Ben van Linden van den Heuvell (IoP) Fred MacKintosh (VU) Joost van Mameren (IoP) Kareljan Schoutens (IoP)
Tracé is an external company that guides and advices the formation of the vDPA .
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Lidewijde Stolte (API) Wim Ubachs (VU) Wim Vassen (VU) Xanthe Verbeek (NSA) Rogier Vlijm (IoP) Marcel Vreeswijk (IoP) Anna Watts (API) Ralph Wijers (API) Gijs Wuite (VU) Jim Visscher (Aik)
SUMMARY OF TOPICS DISCUSSED
EDUCATION
Visibility VU research in BSc program: st o Mandatory visit to VU research labs in 1 year (without the feel of it being mandatory) o As part of the orientation in the first year (info Vreeswijk) Numerus fixus for BSc program: o Capacity now logistically ‘capped’ by student labs to ~200 students o Should we see this as upper limit? Or should we simply build more facilities when needed? o Introduction of a fixus at 200 may easily lead to equilibrium at <200 students (strategic behavior among students: ‘I’ll go elsewhere in that case’) o Can a fixus really increase the general quality? Is a fixus needed for this or can this be reached otherwise (e.g. matching, BSA). o Communication aspect of introducing a fixus right after merging two (intensive and expensive) programs is discussed. Politically tricky. o No consensus that a fixus should be introduced English-language P&A Bachelor: o What is the goal: more or better students? (Consensus: better students) o Suggestion: first year both in NL and EN? Pitfall: two subgroups that will remain separate For Dutch students, Dutch education in first year seems very valuable. Mixing of NL+EN subpopulation requires attention! o Housing arrangements for non-Dutch students should be made by VU/UvA Pitfall: no such arrangements for Dutch students? o Taskforce headed by Ralph Wijers to be installed, including bachelor directors Should the joint Physics and the UvA Astronomy and Astrophysics programs be merged before a joint degree is requested? o Various pros and cons o API colleagues indicate resistance among staff o Will be discussed during the upcoming API retreat/heidag. Ralph Wijers will report back to Ben van Linden van den Heuvel Discussion about renaming the acronym AMEP: Advanced Matter and Energy Physics to Amsterdam Master of Experimental Physics (suggestion WU) o Positioning towards Physics of Life and Health track and the Science for Energy and Sustainability program is unclear o Suggestion will be discussed with the AMEP leadership
HOUSING DB updates on the space requirements for the LaserLab and how this can be (partially) housed at SPA904. Groups Ubachs/Eikema, Wuite/Peterman/Mackintosh, Croce/vGrondelle, Hauff should at all cost be housed at SPA904 dBoer/Groot/Iannuzzi will stay close to VUmc (office pied a terre at SPA?) The question is discussed whether we need to propose several options of decreasing attractiveness. Consensus that we will need to propose the ideal case: “this is what we need”. 2
Include in proposal: o How many m² of what type o Need to be close to what other parties? Taskforce housing installed, with the following members proposed: o Eikema o Croce o Wuite o Gregorkiewicz o Laurens o van Mameren
PHD POLICY (BY PHD STUDENTS)
Discrepancy between the education tasks for PhDs. Proposal to make this uniform at 10% time investment (bachelor and master project supervision not included). At IoP, this roughly corresponds to 24ECTS. This implies a significant reduction at API and would thus require additional student assistants. Request to introduce an external assessment for all PhDs within vDPA. Current state: o ‘Inquisition’ at API (NOVA model) o C3 committee at Nikhef o Second supervisor at IoP (ITFA+WZI) o Not in place at the VU no need to make the way external assessment is done identical, but the external assessment is generally viewed as valuable since the process is monitored not just the content. The need for a shared course package for PhDs is discussed. o Hard skills within research school where appropriate (NOVA, DRSTP) o Soft skills sometimes FOM, sometimes via FNWI, VU or on individual basis o Mutually open existing courses for PhDs from other university (request to dean) Introduce a vDPA PhD council to ensure that the vDPA core team has a point of entry for PhD matters Introduce periodic vDPA newsletter to increase awareness about each other’s activities and successes.
JOINT APPOINTMENTS & TALENT POLICY
UvA+VU standing policy: appoint tenure trackers only when long-term budget allows this Search committees always have members from UvA and VU (at least one, preferably two) Introduce a joint Scientific Advisory Council to define a joint, coherent strategy Strive towards joint policy for (evaluation of) tenure tracks
GENDER POLICY
Strive towards the 2020/20 goal (20% female staff in 2020) defined by FOM Pay explicit attention to gender bias in search process (make a male committee member responsible for this) Accept higher burden on female staff for role model tasks (outreach/open days/etc.)
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SCIENTIFIC INTEGRITY
This topic starts with awareness. NWO Code of Conduct for Scientific Practice should be discussed more intensely. Introduce in educational programs? Data storage/analysis vs. open data initiatives
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER TOPICS
Technical support for experimental groups Make inventory of current situations (local technicians and mechanical/electronics workshop)
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Collaboration UvA/VU Physics and Astronomy Management summary based upon interviews with UvA and VU staff representatives
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Management summary
Collaboration in general opens up great new (international) perspectives according to the majority of the interviewees. About 90 % of the group is enthusiastic about the opportunities an Amsterdam science cluster would provide. However, among the group mentioned, no clear, unambiguous and accepted strategy for collaboration is perceived, because of which an unstructured, non-transparent and slow change process is experienced. In order to create a clear, unambiguous and accepted strategy for collaboration, this perception has to be explored fully and transformed into a major managerial change topic. As far as strategy is concerned, the question arises whether the Astronomy institute will join in the process or not. This requires a clear answer to this question before the actual change process is developed into a further stage. A slow change process influences enthusiasm for change, so making progress is required. Inextricably bound up with what is perceived in relation to strategy, is a diffuse style of management in the change process. The basic motive for the managerial staff now, is to maximize personal freedom related to relations and content. The basic motive for collaboration on the other hand, is to maximize collective, mutual relations and content. Therefore, the managerial motive and that for collaboration do not match in the present situation. This implies that the management should be equipped with proper pre-conditions, managerial skills and time available to lead the process. Pre-conditions, managerial skills and time in order to lead a complex and great change process like the one aimed at. In order to maximize collective, mutual relations and content, the importance of shared values becomes eminent. That is, it’s important to define and translate shared values into managerial behaviour and actions, so that these make a shared management style subservient to the strategy.
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Recommendation In a context in which management is required to manage a major change, whereas it has not been selected on or fully developed in management, we understand the difficulties that the management of such a change experiences. Nevertheless, in order to lead a successful change process like this, we recommend the development of the core team (“kernteam”) in relation of the following subjects: • • • • • • • • • •
Mission, vision, strategy : How clear are these, which are our objectives ? Where are we now, where do we want to be within 2 years? (What? Why?) What do we need to realize this? How will we realize this? Mutual relationships? What is collaboration? What do we need to realize this? How do we realize this? Which are the main bottlenecks? Which shared values and management style are important? Culture. Which person has which role and responsibilities? Social identity and positioning? What is the result required? What does this imply for everyone? Which engagement does this require?
The above-mentioned development is aimed at change in behaviour and attitude and makes the participants aware of (the required) effectiveness and efficiency of these change elements in a shared context. They get a proper insight into their personal contribution to the collaboration. What is implicit becomes explicit, silence becomes openness. Subsequently, the essence of the change aimed at, is transformed into collective, shared action. The strategy defined by the core team will be used as the input for the development of an operational pilot group. This pilot group consist of volunteers that want to develop themselves in the change of behaviour, attitude and actions, so as to improve and inspire the effectiveness and efficiency in a shared context of overall change.
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Introduction Starting from a situation in which the development of the collaboration between the Physics and the Astronomy departments/institutes of the University of Amsterdam and that of the VU University is the objective, a number of 22 interviews have been held, by order of Daniel Bonn, Wim Ubachs and Ralph Wijers. The target group for the interviews consisted of a cross section of the staff of both universities. The main purpose of the interviews was to gather information about people’s views on and feelings about the collaboration, as well as to get insight into their concerns. The quick reactions upon the invitations to schedule an appointment for the interviews, as well as the degree of openness people exposed in the actual interviews, demonstrate enthusiasm about and commitment to the intended development of collaboration. In order to report our observations in a structured way, we have used the McKinsey 7S framework. This framework is often used as a tool to assess and monitor changes in the internal situation of an organization. The model is based on the theory that, for an organization to perform well, the seven elements of the framework need to be aligned and mutually reinforcing. So, the model can be used to help identify what needs to be realigned to improve performance, or to maintain alignment (and performance) during other types of change (collaboration in this case). Whatever the type of change – restructuring, new processes, organizational merger, new systems, change of leadership, and so on – the model can be used to understand how the organizational elements are interrelated, and so ensure that the wider impact of changes made in one area is taken into consideration. The basic premise of the model is that there are seven internal aspects of an organizational change that need to be aligned if it is to be successful. The 7S framework consists of the following 7 elements:
Underneath we will present the definitions and our observations per element.
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1. Strategy Definition: Strategy is a plan developed to achieve sustained competitive advantage and successfully compete in the market. In general, a sound strategy is the one that is clearly articulated, is long-term, helps to achieve competitive advantage and is reinforced by strong vision, mission and values. Observations: In relation to strategy in general, the target group indicated that it doesn’t have a clear, complete and unambiguous picture of the (long-term) plan for collaboration. Issues like vision, international competitive strength, objectives, time schedule, synergy and governance are perceived and interpreted differently by the respective interviewees.
2. Structure Definition: Structure represents the way divisions and units are organized, it is the organizational chart. It is also one of the most visible and easy to change elements of the framework. Observations: With reference to structure, the interviewees referred to the elements of hierarchy, roles, tasks, responsibilities and accountability. It is not transparent to them, what these elements include for the governing boards, the dean, the professors, the UHD’s, the UD’s and the supporting staff members and how differences between UvA and VU will be coped with. The hierarchical structure determines the communicative structure: communication is filtered throughout the various top-down levels. Other aspects mentioned in the interviews, are the influence students preferably have on and how students are (to be) involved in the process of collaboration.
3. Systems Definition: Systems are the processes and procedures of the organization. Observations: In relation to systems, there are many differences between the two universities. These differences are found in the educational, financial and administrative systems. As far as the educational systems are concerned, both content, exams and organization around education show great differences. These differences are not easily to be coped with according to the interviewees. The content of UvA Physics is said to be very traditional, whereas that of VU is said to be more interdisciplinary. Because of this, exams are sometimes different. The supporting organization on behalf of education is said to be more effective at VU than at UvA.
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Direct and indirect fundings have changed over the last few years and will change in future. This implies that new ways of funding will become essential. Collaboration may create new funding opportunities. A big issue as far as systems are concerned, is housing. On the one hand there is a great concern about all the requirements to be fulfilled. On the other hand, the big advantage of one building in which all participants are present, is mentioned. One building saves time and stimulates creativity. Scientists get enthusiastic if they can meet at work informally. Astronomy doesn’t feel the urgent need to be united with the Institute of Physics within one building, as the Institute of Physics does. While the Laserlab colleagues know that presence at VU Medical Center is actually essential, they are afraid of losing direct contact with the other Physics colleagues once those move to Science Park.
4. Staff Definition: This element is concerned with what type of and how many employees an organization will need and how they will be recruited, trained, motivated and rewarded. Observations: The type of employee hired by both universities is content driven. People get recruited upon their content of research and education. As management is seen to be an additional, though obligatory, task for people driven by content, the manager is often “self-made” and management no big challenge. Employees experience uncertainty about tasks, responsibilities, roles, power of decision and process management and are worried about different remunerations. They are also worried about keeping their jobs or their career perspectives. A specific coaching program is available for VU employees.
5. Style Definition: Style represents the way the organization is managed by top-level managers, how they interact, what actions do they take and their symbolic value. In other words, it is the management style of the organization’s leaders. Observations: The management style at both universities is based upon hierarchy. Hierarchy blocks openness and stimulates the feeling of being vulnerable. That is, throughout both organizations the management style is non-transparent. As mentioned before, communication is filtered top-down, resulting in a feeling of not being taken seriously, for some employees resulting in a feeling of not knowing how to commit to what. The style of management is diffuse to people. 6
6. Skills Definition: Skills are the abilities that employees perform. They also include capabilities and competences. During organizational change, the question often arises of what skills the organisation will really need to reinforce its new strategy and structure. Observations : Skills in both universities are mainly described in terms of content. The ideas about the quality of the respective contents, however, differ widely. So the respective skills are perceived differently. Communicative and managerial skills are said to be underdeveloped, because of which many unintentional mistakes are being made unnecessarily. This has a great effect on the enthusiasm for the change.
7. Shared values Definition : Shared Values are the core of the 7S framework. They are the core values that guide employee behaviour and actions. They are the fundamentals of every organization. Observations: Whereas there is a common faith in a positive result of the collaboration, behaviour and actions, internal and external, are mainly based upon content. Openness, equality and recognition are not experienced as being (shared) values, whereas authority stimulates fear. The management’s shared values are invisible and personal freedom of action is very important.
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VU/UVA COLLABORATION WITHIN DOMAIN PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY – THE NEXT STEPS – MAY 2014 – BACKGROUND Within the Physics and Astronomy domain, collaboration has begun already many years ago and has strongly intensified over the past decade. The Physics Master program has been offered jointly since 2002, and the Sectorplan for Physics and Chemistry sparked a further collaboration in research and education, leading to a well-defined portfolio of both UvA and VU with clear priority areas (‘zwaartepunten’) within the physics research institutes/departments of UvA and VU. More recently, a joint Physics and Astronomy Bachelor program has been worked out and agreed upon, which will start in the fall of 2014. This clearly gives the core team (‘kernteam’) of the virtual department Physics and Astronomy (vDPA), consisting of the institute directors/department heads and the education program directors, a head start to shape the future collaboration within the vDPA. On 7 April 2014, the core team met with a cross section of the staff and students in the vDPA during a retreat (‘heidag’) to discuss various strategic and policy matters within the domain.
COMPOSITION OF THE PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY CORE TEAM:
Daniel Bonn (director IoP;
[email protected]) Ralph Wijers (director API;
[email protected]) Wim Ubachs (head VU Physics;
[email protected]; replaced by Gijs Wuite from June;
[email protected]) Wim Vassen (director Physics programs VU;
[email protected]) Marcel Vreeswijk (director joint Bachelor;
[email protected]) Sera Markoff (director Astronomy and Astrophysics Master;
[email protected]) Ben van Linden van den Heuvell (director Physics Master, UvA;
[email protected])
The core team is supported by Niels Laurens (department manager VU Physics;
[email protected]), Annemarie van Groenestijn (institute coordinator API;
[email protected]) and Joost van Mameren (institute manager IoP;
[email protected]; secretary to the core team).
NEXT STEPS: HOUSING For all further steps in the collaboration, it is crucial that the housing plan that was proposed within the framework of the preparations for the Amsterdam Faculty of Science will still be realized with as little delay as possible, to ensure a situation of unilocation in the intermediate term. The vast majority of staff members of VU physics have expressed a clear preference for moving the Laserlab facilities to Science Park, in the vicinity of the UvA P&A colleagues, as well as to AMOLF, Nikhef, ARCNL and SRON. Naturally, UvA staff members are enthusiastic about this, too. The present state of affairs of the construction plans for new UvA/VU science buildings prescribes a physical move of the Laserlab not before 2018. Together with the management of FEW/FNWI, an ‘Atelier’ will be organized with vDPA stakeholders before or in the summer of 2014 to start detailing the plans for moving the Laserlab facilities to Science Park.
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NEXT STEPS: EDUCATION As mentioned in the introduction, the bachelor Physics & Astronomy and Physics master programs in vDPA are already offered jointly. The two Physics masters were merged in 2002, and a coherent educational program for the joint bachelor was designed by a broadly composed ad hoc curriculum committee consisting of:
Wim Vassen and Marcel Vreeswijk (program directors BSc N&S VU resp. UvA) Fred MacKintosh and Lex Kaper (chairs program committees (OC) N&S VU resp. UvA) Gijs Wuite (VU) Gerrit Kuik (VU) Jean-Sébastien Caux (UvA) Ben van Linden van den Heuvell (UvA) Ruud van der Beek and Tim Barenbrug (students VU resp. UvA)
This renders the task for the three separate exploratory committees (‘verkenningscommissies’) somewhat different than originally suggested by the dean. The core team has therefore decided to form a single exploratory committee, with the task of advising the core team on the following educational matters:
Proposal for measures to increase student satisfaction, particularly in view of the increasing student numbers in the bachelor. Potential introduction of an all-English bachelor program Physics and Astronomy. Potential introduction of a numerus fixus for the bachelor program. Further shaping and organization of the educational programs: o position of A&A as either independent MSc or track in a joint MSc P&A, and relation to P&A tracks; o construction of new tracks relating to SRON/Earth Sciences; o future of PoLH and SfSE tracks; o should tracks be maintained in the first place? o alignment with other programs, primarily MNW/MNS/SBI; o formulation of potential admission requirements for the master programs.
The committee will be composed of the program directors and a representative selection of staff members, as well as a representation of students. Advice regarding the final committee composition will be sought from the Team Directors Education (‘TDO’). The committee’s advice on the above topics should be formulated by October 2014.
NEXT STEPS: STRATEGIC RESEARCH AGENDA The dean of the three Amsterdam science faculties has invited the core team to work out a strategic research agenda for the next 3 and 10 years, taking into account the positions that will become available through retirements. It seems natural to integrate existing joint collaborations such as ‘Are we alone’, Solardam, Amsterdam Soft/Bio initiative (ASBI) as well as possible extensions to GRAPPA and QM&QI in this strategic agenda, in which the various NWO institutes on Science Park (Nikhef, AMOLF, ARCNL, SRON) are important assets. In addition, the advice of the exploratory educational committee will be integrated. VU Physics and API have recently had their mid-term review; for the IoP this will happen in 2014. The assessments of these reviews will be valuable for the joint strategic agenda. Therefore, the core team aims at finalizing this document in the fall, by the end of 2014. 2
Top Physics and Astronomy in Amsterdam UvA/VU collaboration in Physics and Astronomy: towards a strategy for excellence
Dear Colleagues, The time has come for making the next step in our collaboration and making Amsterdam an even stronger centre of excellence for research and teaching in Physics and Astronomy. Our collaboration started gradually years ago, and has picked up speed more recently. While a full merger of the faculties of science of UvA and VU has been called off, good reasons remain for close collaboration in Physics and Astronomy. A recent example, as you all know, has been the merger of the BSc programmes in Physics and Astronomy of UvA and VU starting September 2014, with explicit approval from the Student and Works Councils. We realise that the past semester has been confusing in terms of what our future goals are and how we will shape the collaboration. Worries about this uncertainty and the changes accompanying possible closer collaboration were clearly evident in the interviews with a selection of UvA and VU P&A staff members: Where are we going? How are we getting there? We should provide a clear and ambitious plan to ensure a strong future of Physics and Astronomy in Amsterdam and clarity on our future course. Karen Maex, our joint dean, has asked that we ourselves devise a strategic plan for the future of our collaboration, under the working title ‘virtual Department of Physics and Astronomy’ (vDPA). This strategy should: (i) clearly define our long-term ambitions as a ‘mark on the horizon’; (ii) outline practical requirements, boundary conditions, and steps in order to achieve those ambitions; and (iii) be discussed widely with staff and students prior to adoption. To guide this process, the dean has appointed a core team consisting of the current institute directors and managers, as well as the chair of an exploratory committee for education. The exploratory committee for education consists of students and staff members and will advise on a number of issues related to education that are relevant to our strategy (see also the appendix). The target date for completing the strategic plan is the end of 2014. As a first step, we wanted to create a brief document that succinctly states those long-term ambitions, as well as the boundary conditions needed to achieve them. The separation between long-term ambitions and boundary conditions is deliberate, as is the outline nature of the initial document: we want to establish common goals and ambitions first, and define what is broadly needed to achieve them, from the universities and from ourselves. We hereby send you a very first draft, which is intended to start off the discussion on our strategy, not as a near-final document. We strongly welcome all and any discussion of and input to this document. We will organise some opportunities for discussion, but
there is no need to wait for those. It is an explicit goal of our planning process that it be fed as much as possible by comments from staff members and students. After discussion, we will present the resulting outline strategy to the dean, and discuss the conditions and requirements with her; this may of course lead to some iteration, after which a final version is established. Based on that, we write a more detailed strategy. We expect the collaboration to intensify gradually, and some goals such as the co-location of research in Physics and Astronomy at Science Park to take a number of years, so naturally our plan will not provide a complete blue-print of the eventual situation we wish to achieve. Rather, it should define what we aim for in that eventual situation, and be very concrete on the steps we shall take towards it in the first few years. Cordially yours, The vDPA Core team: Daniel Bonn, Annemarie van Groenestijn, Niels Laurens, Joost van Mameren, Wim Vassen, Ralph Wijers, Gijs Wuite.
Top Physics and Astronomy in Amsterdam – Strategic objectives v.0 As a first step towards a strategic outline, the core team has defined five strategic objectives for Physics and Astronomy in Amsterdam, to define what we are aiming for in the longer term.
The five strategic objectives 1. A leading international position of (inter)disciplinary Physics and Astronomy in Amsterdam 2. Top level education offering the whole range of (inter)disciplinary Physics and Astronomy, connected to top level research 3. A dynamic, lively, inspiring meeting place 4. Top level research facilities 5. Clarity and quality in governance The overarching goal behind these five strategic objectives is to take research and teaching of Physics and Astronomy in Amsterdam to a higher and more ambitious level, with a leadership position in Europe. For each objective, one can define conditions that need to be fulfilled or goals that need to be achieved, listed in the next section. Some of these may seem obvious, yet it is still important to jointly agree on those, too. Others imply a clear choice for the future, accompanied by marked changes to the present institutions that jointly form the vDPA. A selection in the latter category:
No distinction between as well as equal opportunities for VU and UvA employees Transparent system for career planning (including tenure track) Excellent facilities in a coherent experimental physics facility at Science Park Successful move of the LaserLab facilities to the Science Park with maximum compliance to space, vibration and climate requirements Fostering strong connections with Neuroscience campus, VUmc and O|2 to optimise the embedding of physics of life research Ambitious teaching, with a wider range of options in classes and projects for all students All BSc and MSc education will in principle be in English Teaching performance becomes more important in scientific careers Reporting, evaluation, etc. as a true single entity
Pre-conditions to the strategic objectives 1. A leading international position of disciplinary and interdisciplinary Physics and Astronomy in Amsterdam: a. Excellence in a broad range of subfields of physics and astronomy, as well as in interdisciplinary connections with other fields b. Represent Physics and Astronomy in Amsterdam as a single entity to the outside world (“one website”) c. Staff talent magnet:
d.
e. f. g. h. i.
i. Use start-up packages to be more competitive on the job market ii. Transparent system for career planning (including tenure track) iii. Make everybody feel at home iv. Excellent office facilities v. Good supporting staff vi. Official language: English vii. Attractive guest accommodation viii. Visiting programme Student talent magnet: i. High-quality mentoring and tutoring ii. Creation of an international visibility/image iii. MSc scholarships iv. Active participation of students v. Smooth and easy processes Excellent research facilities; Fostering strong connections with Neuroscience campus, VUmc and O|2 to optimise the embedding of physics of life research Active, strong bonds with other research institutes in Amsterdam, in particular with ARCNL, SRON, AMOLF, and Nikhef Increased attractiveness of Science Park Robust budget i. Good internal and external funding/earning power ii. Opportunities and resources for collaboration
2. Top level education offering the whole range of (inter)disciplinary subjects and top research: a. Ambitious teaching, with a wider range of options in classes and projects for all students b. The virtual department is home and host for BSc and MSc students from Physics and Astronomy, Medical Natural Science and Science Business and Innovation 1 c. All BSc and MSc education will in principle be in English d. A lively and happy student population: i. Frequent direct contact between research staff and students, in relatively small settings ii. Attract international students: reputation, branding, housing iii. Flourishing students’ association with close links to research organisation iv. Adequate staff members/facilities to support students in projects, internships, labs e. Teaching performance becomes more important in scientific careers: i. Educational quality: explicit recognition of educational skills in annual performance reviews 1
To ensure strong connections with VUmc and Human Life Science research required by the MNS and SBI programmes, these should be shared with other departments.
ii. Recognition of education: 1. Award ‘best teacher of the year’, ‘principal educators’ 2. Bonus or other reward for top teaching / exceptional teaching load iii. Fair and clear teaching expectations for staff at all levels, in particular for TA work by PhD students iv. High-quality support for students and teachers from tutors, coordinators, advisors, administrative staff
3. A dynamic, lively, inspiring meeting place: a. Campus life: i. Creation of a campus feeling ii. A meeting place for many international visitors iii. An inspiring place with good coffee :-) iv. High-level department-wide colloquium with exclusively top level speakers v. Students, researchers and staff intermingle, no entrance gates b. Culture: i. An open culture and management style ii. A transparent, flat organisation that feels safe iii. Respected staff, regardless of job description or background iv. Personal professional autonomy c. Connections: i. Enhanced ties with local, national and international organisations and institutes ii. Close relation between education and research iii. Good connections and collaboration with Zuidas Campus and the other faculties of UvA and VU iv. Active role in relevant societal debates and outreach, open attitude to society in general, projecting the image of a ‘happening place’
4. Top level research facilities: a. Excellent facilities in a coherent experimental physics facility at Science Park b. Successful move of the LaserLab facilities to the Science Park with maximum compliance to space, vibration and climate requirements c. Successful move of SRON and VU Earth Science to the Science Park in direct vicinity (‘gangway distance’) of the vDPA facilities d. Excellent technical support staff and facilities e. Attraction of internationally prominent research or shared user facility/ies to Science Park that generate a large international visitors throughput
5. Clarity and quality in governance: a. Governance is through broad goals and result-oriented, respecting appropriate autonomy of sub-units and individuals (“micro-management is mismanagement”) b. Responsibility and accountability on matters lies with those who have the authority c. External governance: i. Well-defined, adequate, fair and identical funding arrangements with FEW/VU and FNWI/UvA ii. Well-defined representation of Physics and Astronomy in FEW and FNWI iii. Autonomy in arranging internal governance and support to suit the needs of Physics and Astronomy iv. Minimise the administrative load on scientific staff v. Well-defined support arrangements for Physics and Astronomy vi. High-level support from VU and UvA in external representation and attracting large projects vii. Reporting, evaluation, etc. as a true single entity, avoidance of ‘double jeopardy’ viii. Balanced and fair distribution of management and education tasks over all staff d. Internal governance: i. No distinction between as well as equal opportunities for VU and UvA employees ii. vDPA is subdivided into institutes/divisions, with a significant level of autonomy, and preserved ‘brand names’ iii. Clear structure of departmental governance iv. Clear division of responsibilities between department and institutes/divisions v. Clear financial management of department and institutes/divisions
Appendix - Membership and tasks of the teams Core team Members The core team consists of the following people: • • • • • • •
Daniel Bonn (contact person): director UvA Institute of Physics Annemarie van Groenestijn: institute coordinator UvA Anton Pannekoek Institute Niels Laurens: department manager VU Physics Joost van Mameren: institute manager UvA Institute of Physics Wim Vassen: chair exploratory committee Ralph Wijers: director UvA Anton Pannekoek Institute Gijs Wuite: department head VU Physics
Task Direct and oversee the development of a strategy for the virtual Department of Physics and Astronomy (vDPA).
Exploratory committee for education Members The exploratory committee for education, which advises the core team on strategic matters regarding education, consists of: • • • • • • • • • • • •
Wim Vassen (chair): programme director MSc Physics VU Marcel Vreeswijk: programme director joint BSc P&A Sera Markoff: programme director MSc Astronomy & Astrophysics Ben van Linden van den Heuvell: programme director MSc Physics UvA John Kennis: programme director Medical Natural Sciences Erwin Peterman: teacher VU Kareljan Schoutens: teacher UvA Tim Barenbrug: MSc student (UvA); former chairman student association NSA Ruud van der Beek: MSc student (VU) Zazo Meys: BSc student (UvA); member FNWI student council Jim Visschers: BSc student (VU); former chairman student association Aik Joost van Mameren will act as secretary to the committee
Task Advise on the following specific educational matters, as well as other matters that may arise:
• • • • • •
Proposal for measures to increase student satisfaction, particularly in view of the increasing student numbers in the BSc programme Physics & Astronomy Implementation of an all-English BSc programme Physics & Astronomy Pros and cons of a numerus fixus for the BSc programme Physics & Astronomy Organisation and embedding of SBI/MNW/MNS programmes within the vDPA Embedding of A&A programme as track in a joint MSc programme Physics & Astronomy, and relation to other Physics & Astronomy tracks Further shaping and organisation in the MSc programmes and their tracks: o alignment of all tracks o future of tracks system o construction of new tracks relating to SRON/Earth Sciences and/or NanoLithography o alignment with other programmes in vDPA, primarily MNW/MNS/SBI o formulation of potential admission requirements for the MSc programs o issues related to double BSc programmes
Sounding board to the exploratory committee For several of the above educational subjects, the exploratory committee will need to obtain expert opinions from within the community. In order not to make the committee unworkably large, and still ensure a proper consultation/discussion on those topics, a sounding board / expert group will be in place. Individual members can be invited to committee meetings depending on the topics. Preliminary list of members to the sounding board • Jan de Boer: general advisor as member of the former ‘Fundamentals of Science’ education duo (with Romanu Orru) • Carsten Dominik, Rudi Wijnands and 1 or 2 A&A MSc students (advising on the embedding of the A&A programme) • Bart Bossink and Jan Dekker (advising on matters related to the SBI programme) • Coordinators of the MSc tracks (advising on matters related to the various tracks): o GRAPPA/particle: Patrick Decowski and Henk-Jan Bulten o TP: Bernard Nienhuis and Piet Mulders o AMEP: Peter Schall and Maurice Janssen o PLH: Ton van Leeuwen and Stefan Witte o SfES: Bas de Bruin (HIMS) and John Kennis • Gerrit Kuik (advising on matters related to the student laboratories)
Virtual Department Physics & Astronomy Bijeenkomst vDPA kernteam met ‘virtueel bouwteam’ 17 september 2014
Virtual Department Physics & Astronomy • ‘SOLARDAM’: gezamenlijk consortium van fysica, chemie, biologie (incl. AMOLF/ECN) over zonne-energie • Amsterdam Soft-Bio Initiative: complementair onderzoeksprogramma van UvA, VU en AMOLF • Hoge Energiefysica UvA + VU coherent in Nikhef + GRAPPA • Physics of Health: nauwe banden met VUmc, NeuroScienceCampus, O|2 • Theoretische natuurkunde thematisch breder • QM&QI / AMO fysica complementair • ‘Are we alone?’: uniek initiatief van API, aardwetenschappen en SRON • ARCNL + SRON: meer toponderzoek met valorisatiepotentieel op SPA
Progressie vDPA • Heidag 3 oktober 2013: kennismaking met alle 100+ stafleden (met Cliniclowns) • Samenvoeging BSc programma N&S • Interviews stakeholders met externe adviseurs (Tracé): dromen, zorgen, angsten • Heidag 7 april 2014 met P&A stakeholders (incl. studenten en PhD’s): open discussie • vDPA nieuwsbrief als reactie op in interviews geuite angsten/ onduidelijkheden • Verkenningscie onderwijs: adviseert kernteam over relevante onderwijsthema’s
Verkenningscie Onderwijs • Adviseert kernteam over o.a.: – Engelstalige Bachelor P&A? – Numerus fixus? – Portefeuille master(track)s P&A – Inbedding andere vDPA programma’s (MNW, SBI) – Inbedding MSc A&A als track in MSc P&A
• Brede samenstelling (incl. studenten) en toegang tot nog bredere klankbordgroep
Voorwaarden voor succes • Helderheid over Huisvesting – Angst: LaserLab past niet in SP904 – twijfel bestaat ook bij kernteam onrust, onzekerheid, twijfel
• Helderheid over Huisvesting! • Helderheid over Huisvesting! • Succesvol inbedden van Biophotonics in het vDPA op de Zuidas
Voorwaarden voor succes (2) • Financiële systematiek / allocatiemodellen – Twijfel: worden UvA en VU gelijk behandeld? Bijv. 40/60% vs. 20/80% in onderwijs – Andere systematiek m.b.t. commitment ARCNL – Omgang met iOZI’s / zwaartepunten
• Creëren financiële ruimte voor flagship projecten (is AAA-fonds genoeg?) zo blijft/raakt men enthousiast!
Vragen voor virtueel bouwteam • • • •
Tijdspad voor beslissingen huisvesting? Stand van zaken t.a.v. SRON (incl. huisvesting)? Tijdspad helderheid allocatiesystematiek? Meeverhuizen werkplaatscapaciteit naar SPA?
Faculteit der Natuurwetenschappen, Wiskunde en Informatica Faculteit der Aard- en Levenswetenschappen Faculteit der Exacte Wetenschappen
Bijeenkomst Kernteam Physics & Astronomy Datum: woensdag 17 september 2014 Tijd: 16.30 – 18.00u Aanwezig Kernteamleden: Daniel Bonn, Ralph Wijers, Wim Vassen, Joost van Mameren, Annemarie van Groenestijn, Niels Laurens Staf uit de faculteiten: Hanneke van Doorn, Gert Grift, Hubertus Irth, Karen Maex, Peter van Tienderen, Marcel Vreeswijk (vervangt Michel Haring)
DB licht met een presentatie toe welke stappen tot nu toe zijn gezet door het kernteam De instroom in de gezamenlijke bachelor is iets hoger dan de optelling van VU en UvA samen, in voorgaande jaren. Hiermee is in Amsterdam de grootste opleiding natuurkunde in Nederland. De betrokken afdeling/instituten zien veel potentie in verdere samenwerking maar er zijn ook veel zorgen en angsten. De nieuwsbrief is positief ontvangen maar er waren wel kritische reacties met betrekking tot de inhoud (te weinig vlees op de botten, niet allesomvattend). Draagvlak bij de VU voor verhuizing nar Sciencepark is groot hoewel er ook enkele tegenstanders zijn. Omdat de opkomst van studenten voor bijeenkomsten vaak laag is, nodigt het kernteam nu gericht een aantal studenten voor bijeenkomsten uit. De nieuwsbrief is ook naar studenten gegaan. In verkenningscommissie werken de studenten actief mee Huisvesting Om een stap verder te komen in de samenwerking is helderheid over de huisvesting een voorwaarde. HI licht toe dat er wordt gezocht naar een goede oplossing voor de huisvesting van LaserLaB binnen de strikte financiële randvoorwaarden die het CvB heeft gesteld. Belangrijk is de stuurgroep bijeenkomst SRON maandag a.s. en het commitment van externe financiers en CvBs. Als LaserLaB niet past in de Dvleugel moet er een plan B komen. Het zal lastig worden om het hele departement in 1 gebouw te krijgen, maar elke concretisering plan zal in afstemming met gebruikers worden gemaakt om de meest optimale situatie te vinden. HI benadrukt het belang van gevalideerde en gespecificieerde feiten voor planvorming voor huisvesting en een inhoudelijk plan (wie bij wie in de buurt moet zitten). Besluitvorming rondom huisvesting SRON heeft consequenties voor het hele SciencePark. Voor einde van het jaar moet er duidelijkheid zijn over de huisvesting. Werkplaatsen: een groot deel van werkplaatsen zal naar Sciencepark gaan, dit worden meegenomen in de actualisatie huisvesting. DB benadrukt het belang van het tijdig meeverhuizen van de werkplaatsen. Een ander zorgpunt voor het kernteam is de huisvesting van de Biophotonics groep op de ZuidAs: hoe kan worden gewaarborgd dat dit een levensvatbaar onderdeel van het departement blijft? En hoe kan een goede relatie met de rest van het departement worden gewaarborgd? HI merkt op dat het vDPA niet uniek is het hebben van kleine groepen en onderschrijft het belang dat deze groep zich veilig en vertegenwoordigd voelt in het vDPA N.a.v. de vraag of het kernteam CMLS-Sustainability contact heeft opgenomen antwoordt NL dat gesproken is met betrokken natuurkundigen, allen hebben aangegeven binnnen vDPA te willen blijven. Deze Page 1 of 2
Faculteit der Natuurwetenschappen, Wiskunde en Informatica Faculteit der Aard- en Levenswetenschappen Faculteit der Exacte Wetenschappen
groepen zullen net als degenen die samenwerken met aardwetenschappen zo worden gepositioneerd op het Sciencepark dat samenwerking met de andere departements optimaal is Financiën Het kernteam roept op om meer duidelijkheid te scheppen in de financiële systematiek/allocatiemodellen m.b.t. gezamenlijk onderwijs, commitment ARCNL en financiering flagship projecten. Voor het ontwikkelen van een toekomststrategie is helderheid over financiering nodig. KM geeft aan dat het creëren van beleidsruimte voor flagship-projecten pas mogelijk is vanaf 2016 als de systematiek VU en UVA meer in lijn zijn gebracht. GG benadrukt dat tot die tijd afspraken moeten worden gemaakt om strategisch gedrag te voorkomen. GG zal een visuele weergave opstellen van de doorrekening van onderwijs. HI voegt toe dat budgettering van verhuiskosten een ander punt van aandacht is; een deel hiervan zijn onderdeel van het bouwproject. Verdere stappen: Het kernteam heeft een voorstel gekregen van de extern begeleider voor een vervolg-traject en heeft het voornemen hier positief op te reageren. Het kernteam zal eind februari een strategisch plan gereed hebben. KM nodigt het kernteam uit om op 13 oktober een presentatie te verzorgen voor de externe adviseurs en vraag het kernteam hiervoor uiterlijk vrijdag 26 september 1 A4 voor te bereiden met enige achtergrond informatie en met adviesvragen. HvD stuurt de details van de bijeenkomst. Communicatie Contactpersoon communicatie van Kernteam vDPA: Joost van Mameren. Afspraken - Duidelijkheid over huisvesting Actiehouder: MT/FB Tijdpad:december 2014 -
Strategieplan gereed Actiehouder: kernteam vDPA; Tijdpad: eind februari
Vergadering plannen februari
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Top Physics and Astronomy in Amsterdam
The overarching goal of joining efforts between UvA and VU is to take research and teaching of Physics and Astronomy in Amsterdam to a higher level, with a leadership (top-10) position in Europe. To this end, we define 5 main goals: 1. A leading international position of (inter)disciplinary Physics and Astronomy in Amsterdam 2. Top level education offering the whole range of (inter)disciplinary Physics and Astronomy, connected to top level research 3. A dynamic, lively, inspiring meeting place 4. Top level research facilities 5. Clarity and quality in governance The practical implementation and concrete actions related to these ambitions are the subject of a lively bottom-up discussion with faculty and students. Research areas on which we currently focus are: • Physics of energy (SOLARDAM) • GRAPPA, gravitation and astroparticle physics Amsterdam, plus Nikhef • Theoretical physics • Amsterdam Soft Bio Initiative
• Physics of Life and Health • QMQI/AMO Physics • Are We Alone? (exoplanetary science and star formation) • High-tech instrumentation (ARCNL, SRON)
We feel that a department as big as vDPA (~350 scientists) should be broad, and able to sustain a significant number of areas of strength. But a further internal discussion on how we position and extend our different themes is developing. Yet, our ability to attract and retain the best talent will impact our long-term quality even more than our current choices of subject. What will we change in order to achieve our goals? • Concentration of most research and teaching on one campus, along with many directly relevant external institutes such as Nikhef, AMOLF, SRON, ARCNL, CWI while keeping the strong ties with the human health and life science initiatives at the VU-campus • Joint strategy for all of physics and astronomy in Amsterdam • Increasing the fraction of international students and scholars • More impact on regional society and industry, through greater involvement with the world outside academia Overarching questions: • Do we choose the right research themes? • Do we aim for a broad student population or an elite one? • How do we position ourselves optimally to compete for talent?
• Is top-10 Europe/top-25 globally a realistic aim? Practical concerns: • How to handle the campus split? (e.g., biophotonics and medical imaging research of vDPA at VU campus, connection with life science and computer science, interdisciplinary BSc programs with big physics component mostly at VU campus) • How to optimize the labs and housing plan at Science Park for maximum synergy/collaboration? • Logistics of international BSc programs • Logistics and management of multiple governance and finance models of UvA&VU • How to forge unity in the first 5 years, when we are still on multiple locations?
