Project managers meeting (2024)

Project managers meeting 22 May 2024

After the kick-off meeting in 2023, a similar event was held in 2024 for the project managers of the Fit for Future programme. In contrast to the previous year, the format of the event was more interactive. For each action area, a poster was prepared in advance, which was used in the first part of the afternoon by those responsible, to explain the status of their projects, to answer questions and to hold discussions.

Discussion results

In the second part of the meeting, questions were discussed in groups of 6-7 people and the conclusions were subsequently presented in the plenary session.

One of the issues raised was that Fit for Future is often equated with the ‘university structures’ action area, which puts other interesting and important topics in the background. In general, the action areas and the assigned projects are perceived as very heterogeneous, both in terms of scope and impact on the university as a whole as well as status. This makes it difficult to create a reasonably homogeneous and comprehensible unit from the whole. Accordingly, the wish was expressed to define clearer criteria as to what kind of projects are to be included in the Fit for Future programme and when they are to be removed from it (transition to operational status).

The ‘re-emphasisation’ of the 2030 strategy for the further development of FfF is generally welcomed. Everyone involved should think about the big picture and keep the overall goals in mind.

A visualisation emerged from one of the group discussions: it places the topics culture - structure - communication at the centre of the Fit for Future programme, around which the other topics such as space, teaching, leadership, etc. are grouped as ‘satellites’.

Challenges

The scarcity of resources in terms of personnel, time and funds was repeatedly emphasised as a major challenge. Another important issue is the involvement of the ‘right’ people, which is classically achieved through a stakeholder analysis. This is also a useful tool when analysing willingness to change and change communication. Communication between the projects, between the Central Administration and the faculties and from the Executive Board to the faculties is perceived as a further challenge. As the flow of information cannot be controlled centrally, it is hardly possible to ensure that the right information is forwarded to the right people.

Conclusion

In addition to the thematic discussions and the mutual update on the status of the various projects, the exchange between the projects and people was also a main concern of this year's workshop. This was further encouraged by a small aperitif at the end.