(briefly in English below)

Det är nytt akademiskt år och med det följder nya utmaningar. Enligt prorektor Gunilla Widéns beslut i februari 2024, skall minimiantal deltagare för en kurs vara 5-6. Det här väcker frågor.

Från min sida vill jag betona att studerandena fortsättningsvis har rätt till undervisning, och en god sådan som garanterar inlärning och progression. Lärarledd undervisning på campus behöver också fortsättningsvis vara prioriterad. Det här är saker som vi inte skall tumma på.

Enligt beslutet kan en obligatorisk kurs som inte uppnår minimiantal deltagare med dekanbeslut erbjudas i ett alternativt format. Det finns knappast några givna lösningar för vilka alternativa former det här kan handla om, vare sig på lednings eller fakultetsnivå. Så måste det också vara. Det är lärarnas expertområde som vi talar om och den integriteten kan vi inte heller tumma på.

Överlag känns situationen lätt lite catch-22 och jag tror därför att vi i första hand behöver se den kommande tiden som ett övergångsskede, och ett skede där vi på sikt söker nya sätt att arbeta med undervisningen.En lösning som prorektor pekar på är att ge kurser bara vartannat år. Det är kanske en möjlighet i vissa fall, men i många fungerar den inte.

En ledstjärna för det här är att prorektors beslut handlar om hantering av lärarnas arbetstid inom undervisning: grundmålsättningen är att minska på belastningen och sakta men säkert skapa en bättre grund för välmående. Vi vet att det behövs och det skall vi slå vakt om.

Men det här är som vi vet inte enbart en fråga om välmående. Det handlar också om resurser och därför om ekonomi. Frågor om effektivering och inbesparing framstår därmed också som ett essentiellt element i beslutet. Sådan styrning av universiteten och vår verksamhet har länge redan känts utarmande för vår verksamhet. Det motiverar inte att se framåt.

Ändå tror jag att det här inte behöver vara en återvändsgränd. Det behöver inte innebära att vi tummar på vare sig akademisk integritet eller kvalitet i undervisningen. Kanske vi på sikt kan hitta fungerande modeller, sådana som didaktiskt fungerar bättre i den trängda situationen mellan brett undervisningsansvar och minskande kursdeltagare.

En möjlig modell att tänka på för Åbo Akademi i det här sammanhanget är tutorial undervisning, med grund i de gamla universiteten i Oxford och Cambridge. Den idén tror jag en god kollega kastade fram redan för flera år sedan och den har stannat kvar i mitt minne.

Tutorial undervisning har ofta förknippats med att man delegerar en stor del av undervisningen till yngre forskare, doktorander, och magisterstuderanden, men jag tar här fasta på en annan sida. Den huvudsakliga undervisningsmetoden i tutorial undervisning är regelbundna, små gruppsessioner, som förstås kan kompletteras med föreläsningar, och andra undervisnings- och examinationsformer.

Tutorial undervisning har stort värde som pedagogisk modell eftersom den skapar lärandemiljöer som är autentiska och på sikt stärker självkänslan. Som form ger den en grund för gränsöverskridande ömsesidigt lärande både mellan studenterna och mellan studenterna och lärarna. Undervisningen bygger på kommunikation och dialog, analys och kritisk reflektion inom gruppen.

Det här kan tillämpas på olika sätt. I en mera radikal form kan man tänka att studerande på flera nivåer inom ett mycket litet program, exempelvis grund- och ämnesnivå, arbetar tillsammans i en grupp, även om de i praktiken avlägger olika kurser. Liksom inom traditionell undervisning väntas de förbereda sig inför med exempelvis inläsning, essäer eller uppgifter, men så att det här kan delas och diskuteras med de andra i gruppen som arbetar med helt andra ämnen.

Det här mera radikala genomförandet är förstås inte tillämpligt inom alla program, men det kan stöda utvecklandet av nya kursformat. Man kan kanske också hitta sätt att möta prorektors beslut genom att lärare samarbetar och kombinerar ett par kurser, samt lägger om arbetssättet. Istället för att ge två kurser separat arbetar man tillsammans inom en grupp, som bara delvis är lärarledd. I vissa fall kan man också minska på timresurseringen av enskilda kurser om man samtidigt tänker om upplägget. Här kanske flipped classroom som metod bidra kan med inspiration.

Tutorial undervisning är demokratisk. Modellen innebär därför också att vi undviker att splittra redan små grupper med hänvisning till förkunskaper. Det viktiga är inte att alla studerande är på samma startlinje då de inleder vissa kurser eller program. Istället sätts tilliten i högre grad till det gemensamma inlärandet och växandet som arbetet i grupper möjliggör, och till att vi vid behov har redskap att stöda det med externa resurser.

Med det här vill jag ha sagt att det finns konstruktiva vägar framåt. Tutorial undervisning kan vara en intressant inspiration bland andra när vi står med alltför få kursdeltagare och undervisning i traditionell form inte längre är meningsfull för vare sig lärare eller studerande. Det kan också vara ett sätt att ännu bättre förverkliga det som vi ofta lyfter upp som ett mervärde vid Åbo Akademi, dvs de små lärandemiljöerna där alla möts.

Briefly in English

The policy at Åbo Akademi, requiring a minimum of 5-6 students for a course to be offered, raises concerns about its impact on educational quality and students’ rights to instruction. On one hand, it is crucial to maintain teacher-led courses on campus and uphold academic integrity. On the other, we must address the pressures of resource management and the efficient use of teachers’ time.

While there are no predefined solutions for alternative formats for mandatory courses with low enrollment, this challenge presents an opportunity for exploration. Although the situation might seem like a ”Catch-22,” it doesn’t have to result in compromised educational quality or diminished integrity.

For example, tutorial-based education, with inspiration from Oxford and Cambridge, provides models for a pedagogy that involves small group sessions and fosters mutual learning and critical reflection. Further, its democratic approach doesn’t require splitting groups based on prior knowledge but instead promotes collaborative learning and growth across different boundaries.

Such approaches could provide opportunities to develop new teaching formats that are even better suited to smaller groups. There are constructive paths forward to address the challenges of declining course enrollments while preserving the strengths of Åbo Akademi’s small learning environments, which are a key feature of our institution.

Vice-rector Gunilla Widén recently decided that we will prepare plans in Excel for the teaching provided in the study programs, and that the Heads of subject are responsible for maintaining the plans of their subjects. The local branch of the Finnish Union of University Professors has reacted critically, claiming that the decision was made without sufficient discussion. Perhaps this is an important point. At our faculty, we had to remove the issue from the Heads of subjects’ meeting as the Vice-rector’s decision was postponed by a week.

It’s regrettable that we missed this opportunity for discussion.

For quite some time now, we at ÅA have been struggling with the issue of workload. It partly stems from having a broad responsibility for teaching and research, and partly from the fact that the few teachers and researchers we have in small subjects must juggle all the responsibilities that in larger departments are distributed among several staff members. Looking back, we see the effects of previous cuts in personnell at ÅA combined with relatively decreasing state resources for core activities. Our basic needs are currently not secured with state funds.

The result of all this is increasing workload, fragmentation, and stress in our work.

This has been evident in both workplace climate surveys and in our internal discussions, both formal and informal. The survey results have been worrying for the faculty, as well as for ÅA as a whole; we have had a working group within the faculty addressing the issue, but the challenges also emerge in our everyday work as we struggle with various tasks and assignments that land on our desks. Dealing with the fact that different processes are being changed and new tools are being introduced simultaneously only adds to the stress.

This undoubtedly includes plans for teaching in Excel.

For several years now, we have actively waited for the challenges with workload to be addressed on the agenda of the rectorate, for someone to tackle it, and to seek and identify solutions. There has concurrently emerged a consensus that work plans must be managed in a transparent way so that they can be monitored throughout the academic year. It has been a clear shortcoming that the tools we have used so far have not guaranteed any of this.

Monitoring workload doesn’t by itself mean it decreases.

However, effective monitoring of workload does provide an opportunity to seek changes and prioritize. Transparency also contributes to a sense of security within the work community and enables us to choose and prioritize together. In other words, this is not solely a question for professors or Heads of subjects. It’s a question for everyone at ÅA and within the faculty; we must seek solutions for all, this a question of solidarity in our work.

Heads of subjects have a special responsibility for workload.

Heads of subjects are managers and with that comes responsibility for how teaching is managed within their respective subjects. This means allocating teaching assignments but also ensuring that the assignments fit within working hours. Therefore, it’s the Heads of subjects who preliminarily approve teachers’ work plans. Our way of monitoring and supporting work planning has been inadequate, not serving its purpose. In line with the overall managerial responsibility, we must therefore also seek new approaches.

So, I want to be clear how I think: the decision is a step in the right direction.

The effort to start tackling the workload resulted in the need to make plans in Excel, a task that falls under Heads of Subjects’ responsibilities. This is not a solution, but an important step towards revising systems that don’t serve us well enough. It is also a step towards a work community where we can better work together for a reduced workload, and less fragmentation and stress. Without such changes, we will soon find ourselves at a dead end.

I was greatly relieved that ÅA finally took this step.

Next meeting for heads of subjects will be a bit different. The main topic on the meeting this Tuesday March 5th is about how to develop our faculty organisation. More exactly the following two questions are on the agenda:

• How can the meetings for heads of subjects and the cooperation between heads of subjects in general be developed to meet all our needs better? How can they better facilitate leadership and communication while also reflectively contributing to a discussion about academic quality?
• Is there a need for a small managerial team in the faculty, for developing the strategic academic leadership together with the dean and for the faculty board? Should it consist of a head of subject from all areas, or of a representative group from the faculty board? Which role and authority could it have?

This discussion is a follow up from last fall when we inquired the possibility to re-organize the faculty. After a long and thorough process, we concluded that changing the organisational structure would require too much and would not necessarily pay off. Nonetheless, through the process we had seen that there were things we could and needed to work with. In general, there was an emphasis on some core values:

• Democracy in the management of the faculty, specifically in the form of transparency and active dialogue together with cooperation and seeking synergies.
• Integrity that secures the unique needs of subjects and programs within the faculty but also the position of the faculty in relation to its larger context.
• Leadership that develops on all levels towards responsibility and competence, and is engaging and communicative.
• Efficiency focused on teaching and research, anchored in a flat structure, and well-defined responsibility, relations, and processes.

The meeting this upcoming Tuesday can of course also bring up other issues of relevance, and will hopefully do so, but the two questions above are essential to the role of heads of subjects.

It does not end here. This is one step forward. We will over the spring term come back to the core question of how to develop our faculty organisation. There is a need for separate dialogues with university lecturers, doctoral students, administrative personnel, and students. Our take on democracy, integrity, leadership, and efficiency depends on what our roles and experiences are in the faculty.

We have currently a lot going on, especially when we consider the upcoming need to balance our budget. Nonetheless, I look forward to these discussions. They constitute an essential piece in the larger puzzle. We have already started to look into ways to enhance wellbeing of students and staff, develop our doctoral education, and to become a more sustainable faculty. These different conversations are all entangled.

(continues in English below)

Det är onekligen en hel del på gång vid ÅA, på både konkret och övergripande nivå.

Rektor Mikael Lindfelt sände nyss ut ett brev till hela personalen med frågan hur vi skapar de bästa verksamhetsförutsättningarna för vårt Åbo Akademi? Parallellt har prorektor Reko Leino arbetat intensivt med frågan om forskarutbildningens framtid, dels i ljuset av de 1000 3-åriga doktorandbefattningar som finansierades nationellt, dels i ljuset av våra egna interna behov att se över utbildningens och doktorandprogrammens roll. Prof. Ronald Österbacka från Forskningsstrategiska rådet där prorektor Leino är ordförande besöker fakultetens egen workshop om forskarutbildningen den 6 mars.

Prorektor för undervisning Gunilla Widén fattade nyss ett beslut som också pekar mot större förändringsprocesser. Inom fakulteterna skall vi göra “översiktsplaner i Excel över undervisningen som ges vid utbildningsprogrammen under det kommande läsåret”. Vidare skall antalet valbara kurser och självstudiekurser som erbjuds läsåret 2024-2025 minskas. Slutligen kommer minimiantalet deltagare för en kurs vid Åbo Akademi att vara 5-6: obligatoriska kurs som inte når detta måste ges på alternativt sätt. Beslutet i sin helhet hittas på ÅA:s publiceringsplattform bland förvaltningsbeslut för prorektor Widén.

Vad gör vi med det här beslutet vid fakulteten?

Excellistor över kurserna kommer att göras centralt så att ämnesansvarigas och lärares roll minimeras till att fylla i när och hur kurser ges, samt vilken timbelastning det här innebär för inblandade lärare. Det här är ett steg mot större transparens vad gäller arbetsplanering vid ÅA och hur vi arbetar med kurser. Listorna fylls i parallellt som man arbetar med årsplaneringen för undervisning 2024–2025 i Peppi. Årsplaneringen ska vara klar den 15.3, men listorna kommer att kunna uppdateras efteråt. Excellistorna för det här distribueras per 26.2.

Minskningen av valbara kurser och självstudiekurser som erbjuds läsåret 2024-2025 tog vi redan tag i inom fakulteten, och prorektors beslut understryker mest vikten av det här. En del program minskade redan antalet kurser medan andra behöver göra det nu som en del av den pågående årsplaneringen. Vad gäller den andra biten, dvs. hur vi hanterar viktiga kurser som inte har tillräckligt med deltagare så måste den frågan diskuteras på fakultetsdagen den 9 april då huvudtemat kommer att vara god praxis inom undervisningen.

The big picture?

Rector’s recent letter to staff (14.02.2024) clearly ties in with ongoing changes and ambitions to reduce the number of courses, and to think reflectively about our use of resources, as indicated by vice-rector Widén’s decision, while all the time trying to secure possibilities for student progress on all levels, and to maintain quality in research and teaching.

The situation is complex and challenging. On the one hand, we have to pinpoint all this and more in the current renewal of ÅAU’s strategy. On the other, we need to deal with the fact that ÅAU’s finances are strained and we cannot continue along the current road. Dealing with one of these aspects would be more than enough, and they are hard to combine since they easily conflict with each other.

Yet, the ÅAU Board realizes that they still need to go hand in hand. Rector has consequently initiated this process and we will now need to find new models for our work and how we think of it. Whether or not we succeed is yet to be seen, but one given prerequisite is that we take part in the process, that we take it seriously, and that we engage in the dialogue. Unless we try to make this also our process, the outcome cannot even come close to what we value.

What can we provide in terms of education and research for the future?

Given the current situation and the limits we face, we will have to rethink and redefine, we will have to negotiate with ourselves and with others, and we will need to compromise. Considering all this, I am confident that it was a good decision to refrain from an organizational change in the faculty. Nonetheless, there is no doubt that the current situation requires us to go ahead with finding ways to strengthen leadership, democracy, integrity, and efficiency in our faculty, building blocks that we need in the coming processes.

A researchers contacted me and one of my colleagues from another faculty the other day. Some time ago she had fallen on the sidewalk and got pretty badly injured. Now she wanted to reach out and express her gratitude. Some students at our faculties had stopped and helped her, called for an ambulance, and waited with her.

I understand the researcher well. On the one hand, this is something we take for granted. As humans we care and help each other in situations like this. On the other hand, we also know that it is common that people read situations differently and just pass by without bothering.

The latter happened to me the other day when I was in a hurry to pass the street in Sörnäinen, Helsinki. I slipped, fell on the street, and all my groceries were scattered around me. It took some time to get myself together, and my wrist was hurt. Yet, this time people just walked by. Maybe the sight was too common here in these blocks well known for hosting ‘junkies and homeless’ people. Why should one care?

Just by being human the students did something good and extraordinary, they made a difference when helping the woman the other day. Both me and my colleague Patrik Henelius, dean of the faculty of Faculty of Science and Engineering, agreed that we publicly want to express our gratitude to these students.

Sandra Carlsson, Ilkka Söderlund, and Peik Åberg. Thank you! – and thank you also to other students who might have been there but not yet have been recognized. You all made sure that a person in need go the help she needed as fast as possible, and you were a comfort to her while waiting for the ambulance.

* * *

There is an added aspect to all this. What kind of culture and atmosphere do we want to have at campus? How do we want to live and work together as students, teachers, researchers, and personnel in administration and other facilitating roles?

Put this way, the topic also speaks to the question of our organizational values, an issue that lately has been raised both in meetings for heads of subjects at our faculty and by the rector’s leading management team. Could we get better at defining our core values at Åbo Akademi university, and what would these be?

The notion of organizational values is sometimes met with some degrees of healthy suspicion. Do not organizational values primarily represent an instrumental way of branding an organization, of creating looks of something nice and attractive. If that happens, organizational values are deprived of relevance, and they do not reflect the identity of the organization itself.

What should, for instance, be intrinsic core values for a university?

Organizational values can also remain superficial and not implemented to the degree needed. For obvious reasons, inclusion and equality are today common core values in many organizations. As part of our strategy at AAU it is, among other things, claimed that:

Åbo Akademi University will also be an international workplace that recognises and utilises the knowledge and competences of the staff and students. Equality, non-discrimination, inclusion, health, career paths, flexibility and responsibility are self-evident aspects of the dynamic study and work environment at Åbo Akademi University.

Still, people with knowledge in e.g. studies of gender, sexuality and race have often been able to address how much effort it requires to reach far enough with adhering to such values and to be seen as reliable and sincere in this matter. Organizational values can also be only empty talk.

From another perspective, we can also claim that the values we are dependent of for working together are, and need to be, closely tied up with the different roles we have in relation to each other. From being e.g. students, teachers, or service providers, follows different expectations with regards to our code of conduct. What could be a common point for and unite these roles?

Nonetheless, we are one community and I do think we need ways of thinking of how we work together. We need ways of discussing and articulating this, including what our context – the fact that we are a university – means for all this.

I have brought up a couple of critical points with regards to the idea of core organizational values. Already these indicate that any process on organizational values must be sincere, reflective, critical and context bound. It is therefore something that also takes time and engagement, and demands bravery.

Finally, perhaps there is also another way to think of values for living together as a working community. In contrast to an instrumental approach based on our specific roles, or our goals and what we want to achieve, we can depart from more basic questions, such as: What is needed in this situation? What can we do for each other? How can we help?

It was the same kind of basic questions that made a difference in the case of the researcher and the students, and this can also be a model for thinking of organisational values. We can make space for a basic humanity also within the university context, a community where we live and work together as students, teachers, researchers, and personnel in administration and other facilitating duties. Such a notion – being human together – can also make a difference here for our campus community.

(in English below)

Vi står igen inför förändringar och omställningar. Från och med period 4 återgår vi vid Åbo Akademi till närundervisning. Det innebär studier och arbete på campus. Åbo Akademi är inte ett distansuniversitet och all undervisning ordnas igen på campus. Studeranden förväntas komma till campus för att ta sina kurser. Och enligt ett rektors beslut förväntas undervisande och forskande personal i regel vara merparten av veckan på campus.

För alla regler finns förstås undantag. Lärare kan visserligen fortsättningsvis ordna hybrid- eller distansundervisning. Då talar vi i första hand om sådan undervisning där det är ändamålsenligt och det är på inget sätt nytt. Ett självklart exempel på det här är s.k. omvänt klassrum (eng. flipped classroom). Några av er minns kanske att vi höll ett infotillfälle om det här bara några månader innan pandemin bröt ut.

Det kan också under våren förekomma distansundervisning som motiveras av att det krävs tid för anpassning av olika anledning. Det är då inte ett didaktiskt val utan något som man kommer överens om inom arbetsgemenskapen och med sina förman i form av ett undantag. Huvudprincipen som vi följer är med andra den samma som före pandemin: vi studerar och arbetar från campus. Men precis som tidigare kan vi vara flexibla och tillmötesgående exempelvis när studerande eller lärare är sjuka.

Situationen är inte nödvändigtvis lätt. Vi har redan hunnit vänja oss vid distansarbete och -studier. Vi har både erfarenheter av det goda och det dåliga med arbete och studier på distans. De här förtjänar en ordentlig diskussion i sig, och nu vill jag enbart lyfta fram att återgången till campus kanske inte sker av sig själv.

Jag tror att vi får jobba lite extra med att återskapa både våra gamla rutiner och vår studie- och arbetsgemenskap. Vi måste ge oss själva möjligheten att återuppleva värdet med campus. Vi måste också ge den till dem som aldrig ännu fått uppleva det ännu vid vårt universitet. Det är säkert en god idé att aktivt ordna mindre träffar och sociala evenemang för anställda, annan personal och studerande. Det har både en del ämnen och studentkåren planer på. Nästa fakultetsdag kommer ju också att gå av stapeln på campus.

Vi behöver gemenskapen för våra jobb och studier. Vare sig vi är studerande eller personal behöver vi det småprat som finns på campus, och de uppslag och den inspiration som föds här. Vi behöver också stöd och bekräftelse av varandra i vårt jobb och våra studier. Därför är arbete och studier på campus också vårt gemensamma ansvar, något som vi också bör ge värde och prioritet. Det är också något som andra kan förvänta sig av oss.

Vi får med andra ord säkert tänka till en gång extra om hur vi ordnar vår arbetsvardag då fokus blir på campus. Många har sett ett värde i att kunna jobba ostört hemifrån med t.ex. forskning och i att kunna delta i möten på distans. Sådana erfarenheter skall vi inte förlora. Men, det vara bra att ta några diskussion om den nya situationen.

Hur hittar vi en bra balans mellan distans och campus? Hur lyckas vi ta tillvara det goda i båda? Hur garanterar vi att vi finns till för varandra som anställda och studerande? Är det vissa dagar eller tider i veckan som vi alltid försöker vara på campus eller vilka spelregler är det som gäller?

Trots att vi nu återvänder till gamla vanor är inte allt som förr. Genom de erfarenheter vi fått under pandemin är det gamla som vi återvänder till en ny situation. Den måste vi hitta sätt att hantera och vi måste göra det tillsammans.

In English:

Old ways as new challenges?

Again we face changes and adjustments. In period 4 Åbo Akademi University returns to on-site teaching, meaning we study and work on campus again. Åbo Akademi University is not a distance learning university. All teaching takes place on campus again and this is where students are expected to come to take their classes. And a rector’s decision from many years ago stipulate that as a rule teachers and researchers are expected to be on campus during major part of the week.

There are of course exceptions to all rules. Teachers may still arrange hybrid or distance education. These are cases when the use of hybrid or distance solutions are appropriate. This is not a new thing. One obvious example is the use of flipped classroom. Some of you might remember that we arranged an event about this didactic method just some months before the pandemic.

Hybrid or distance education might be arranged during period 4 also for different reasons such as the need to adjust to the new situation. This is not a result of a didactic consideration. It is an exception and it is agreed upon within the community and with one’s supervisor. Our main principle is the same as before the pandemic: we study and work on campus. But just as before the pandemic we also know how to be flexible and accommodate needs when teachers or students fall sick.

Nevertheless, this is not necessarily an easy situation. We have already got accustomed to studying and working from home. On the one hand this has been a heavy experience, but on the other it has also been good in many ways. I will not go into discussing these experiences here. They require a lengthy refection.

Rather, I just want to underline that our return to campus does not necessarily happen by itself. I think we will need to put some extra effort into recreating our old habits and our work and study community. We will need to experience the value of campus again, and we need to provide that to those who never had it at our university yet. It can be a good idea to arrange social events for students, teachers and other personnel, and I know that such plans are already made by many subjects and by the student union.

We need our community for our work and studies. Whether we are students or teachers we need the small talk we find on campus, and we need the new ideas and inspiration it brings. We also need support and confirmation from each other. For such reasons, working and studying is also a shared responsibility, something that we need to value and prioritize. It is also something that others have the right to expect this from us.

In other words we will now have to think through how we arrange our everyday life when it comes to work and studies. Many of us have found a great value in being able to work from home, concentrate on research or swiftly take part in meetings in between other duties. We need to take such experiences with us into the future. Yet, it can be wise to have some discussion about the new situation.

How do we find a balance between campus and distance working? How do we manage to maintain the best aspects of both parts? How do we guarantee presence for each other as personnel and students? Are there certain times or days during the week that we all try to be at campus?

Even though we return to old habits everything is not as it used to be. Our experiences from the pandemic has turned the old into something new. We need to find ways to manage this and we need to do it together.

The whole fall term has passed without a word in this blog. In August 2021 I wrote that “The pandemic will be a joker in our balancing act throughout the coming term and we do not know what will follow. The lack of security and predictability that we experience is in itself hard to deal with.”

Half a year later this is still just as true. When we now prepare for some time off and for holidays the pandemic is unfortunately accelerating again.

During the last weeks I have heard several colleagues claim that the last year has been the worst time ever in their work life. In addition, this year’s job satisfaction and work atmosphere survey indicates that the work situation is experienced as too heavy. We do not have sufficient of time to meet all work expectations and the balance between work and free time suffers.

Unfortunately, the Finnish Student Health and Wellbeing Survey shows that also the students’ situation is worrying. Close to half of the students feel that the work required by their studies has increased during the pandemic and even more students report that their feeling of loneliness has increased.

Already without the pandemic universities are currently under pressure. For many people the forced focus on efficiency tends to undermine a sense of meaning in their work. In combination with a lack of sufficient funding for meeting current expectations in teaching and research – and for studies – this all turns into a vicious circle.

Isn’t this altogether alarming? How are people going to find the strength to do even a bit more than survive in this situation? How will they be able to maintain a sense of agency? The feeling that one can make a choice, take action and make a difference, is vital in our lives in many ways. It is also essential to what happens in a faculty in terms of teaching, research and learning.

Are there ways we can protect and safeguard the feeling of meaning and agency? I guess a lot of good things has been written about this topic, things that point out what we can learn to make better use of – or make space for – in our faculty. And things that help us manage our work and study situation.

Yet, this can also be a slippery slope if it becomes an issue about being more and more efficient and well-drilled as students, teachers, researchers or administrators. I often remember the saying that my previous father-in-law often repeated: “Just as we taught the horse to live without food, it died.”

There is a limit to everything. Facing the current challenges we will also need other ways to cope and one of them will have to be about priorities. We will have to start making clear how many work tasks really goes into one work day, how many assignments we can make our duties – and what we need to set aside and leave behind.

In the end this is about priorities we need to make, defining what we value more in our work and what we value less – and why this is the case. This can also be a way to retain some agency and meaning in the face of too heavy or many expectations.

* * *

It is winter solstice when I write this. A new year has often been about hope, especially in our area of the word where darkness now has to give in to the slowly increasing light. In some ways hope is also a relative to words such as agency and meaning. Can we think and talk about inserting hope into our work and into academia? What would that mean in practice?

Listening to my own words going bolder for each sentence I sense that it is high time to end this blog text and switch to holiday mood. And I think that destiny has already tried to convey this message to me. The other day I missed my step and got a bad fracture in the foot. Today I deleted some 20 000 e-mails from my inbox by mistake.

Now I will definitely need to start shutting down whatever of my engines are still running and make sure the horse is fed well enough.

We have an important spring term ahead. Even though we cannot know what it holds, we know one thing: the last year we have been able to rely on each other’s contributions and competences – on working together to handle things the best of ways. This goes for all of us: students, teachers, researchers and administrative and service personnel. I am sure we can trust that we will be able to do so also the coming term and the next year.

Thank you all for this year! You have all done an amazing job in taking the faculty through some challenging times and your efforts have been important. I wish you the most relaxing holidays and look forward to meeting you all when the year 2022 has started.

Enjoy the Holiday Season, Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

Peter Nynäs

(continues in English below)

Det är dags för ett nytt läsår. I takt med att regnet tilltar och höstmörkret kryper in söker vi oss tillbaka till arbete och studier. Åbo Akademi är ett campus-universitet. Att lära tillsammans, känna och tänka efter, kritiskt utmana oss själva och varandra är viktiga delar av universitetslärarande.

Vi skiljer oss på den punkten från andra slags utbildningar. Parallellt med att universiteten förmedlar kunskap, så  prövas den och omskapas hela tiden. Forskning är andra sidan av myntet: vi skapar ny kunskap, nya sätt att se, förstå och verka i vår omvärld. Det är det som gör oss akademiska.

Det är alltid lika fint att kunna välkomna er som är nya studerande hit till fakulteten. Lärarna och forskarna här kan få en avgörande roll i era liv. Men – ni måste satsa själva och engagera er, ger rum för möjligheten och den akademiska resan.

Ni är också själva en viktig resurs för fakulteten. I mitt förra blogginlägg lyfte jag upp hur viktigt det är att studerande kommer in med nya frågor, tankar och perspektiv. Jag vet att många av våra lärare och forskare uppskattar de nya vindar som kommer med er, era kritiska frågor som kräver nya svar. Välkomna!

Universitetsutbildning är mångsidig. Den bygger inom vår fakultet på fortsatt ämnesfördjupning inom olika linjer: språk, teologi, psykologi, logopedi, samt linjen för kultur, historia och filosofi. Parallellt uppmuntrar vi ämnesmässig breddning: den skapar grund för reflexivitet och bildning.

Vi får inte förlora kunskapens och bildningens värde ur sikte. Vad kan vi göra med det vi lär oss? Hur kan vi kommunicera och nå fram? Hur kan vi bidra till förändring och utveckling? Vi vill förstärka det akademiska med både omvärlds- och arbetslivsrelevans.

***

Students, teachers, researchers, and administrative staff – we cannot neglect or overlook our responsibility for the future. The Faculty of Arts, Psychology and Theology is continuously developing our capacity to carry our responsibility for aspects of sustainability in both our teaching and research. Over the years many subjects have contributed a lot to this.

There are also relevant minors and course modules of relevance such as Intercultural communication and encounters, and Minority studies. This fall we also introduce a totally new minor that explicitly taps into Agenda 2030. This is Ethics in a globalized world. Several of the courses can be completed in English.

The pandemic is still affecting our studies and work but the university is now taking its first steps back to more regular teaching. This means a balancing act for all: students, teachers, researchers, and administrative staff. We need to keep the number of people at campus lower and consider safety, but we also need to make space for coming together. Teaching and research are interwoven and often gain depth and quality through interaction. That is what makes us academic.

In practice, some courses at our faculty will be given as classes or seminars on campus, whereas some courses will be given online. In other cases the course means a combination of both. In this situation it is therefore important that teachers are very clear about what is the case in each course and how it can be completed. Students on their side will need to be very attentive to this and follow the plans. How a course is completed is not a choice students can make themselves, and the design of a course cannot be changed suddenly without very good reasons.

The pandemic will be a joker in our balancing act throughout the coming term and we do not know what will follow. The lack of security and predictability that we experience is in itself hard to deal with.

Pop-up vaccination points will most probably be established soon on campus and available to students. That can make a difference and we will soon have more info in this. Still, trust in each other, cooperation and communication will also be vital resources. They will help us cope with challenges and find ways back to the real academic university on campus.

I wish all new students welcome – including foreign and exchange students! I hope the time here will make a difference in your life.

To all the rest: welcome back to a new academic year of research and teaching. Let’s hope there will be more possibilities for doing this together again.

This is already the second year without any graduation ceremony. Lat year I expected us to be back to normal by now. That is not the case. This summer I am also convinced that we will be back soon, but now I skip the ‘to normal’ part. The pandemic has meant a permanent change. For good and bad.

There is a big pile of paper that I need to sign and I recognize many of the names on the degree certificates. Among these are students who attended some of my classes, students I met in meetings and working groups, on various events or in projects.

Congratulations to your degree!

I hope that all of you who received your degrees during this academic year had a meaningful time here at Åbo Akademi and our faculty. According to the Finnish Universities act:

… the mission of the universities is to promote independent academic research as well as academic and artistic education, to provide research-based higher education and to educate students to serve their country and humanity at large.

These are demanding words. As a faculty we have promised to give you to access to knowledge in different subjects, including critical competence with regards to comprehending what knowledge is and how it is produced. We have also accounted for its relevance outside universities, in work life but also more generally for shaping society and culture. Many of us have also hoped that the time spent at the faculty could open a window to new outlooks on life.

The above are all essential aspects of our mission as part of universities in Finland. I am therefore today very thankful to all teachers, researchers and administrative personnel. It is impressive how you have been working to meet these requirements and expectations.

Thank you! – for your contribution and your competence.

The last year has been especially challenging and I admire what you have done for teaching and research under very odd circumstances. I hope that the summer holiday will bring you well-deserved recreation.

The university act speaks of what universities provide to students, what ‘we give to them’. A day like this I find it legitimate to bring another aspects to the surface. It also works the other way around.

Students – and now I turn to you again – you bring in new perspectives and new knowledge. You pose questions that change how we think, you stress values that foster us to act differently, you claim rights and integrity that require different processes.

It would be easy for me to provide very concrete examples of all this. The names on the degree certificates clearly remind me of this, what you have said and done and how you contributed to new pathways. Examples can be found there in the everyday life of ÅA and our faculty.

More in general though, it means that universities are potential vehicles of change ‘for their country and humanity at large’ not only because of their role in educating students, in what universities give. Universities are also vehicles of change thanks to students, in what universities receive.

I know that many of my colleagues recognize and value this. For me this also means that universities need to be safe places, and by this I mean places defined by mutuality, trust and respect regardless of who you are.

For those of you leaving us – students or employees – I wish all the best in the future. The rest I very much look forward to seeing again after the summer holiday.

Enjoy the summer!

(continues in English below)

Det gick några timmar, kanske en halv dag, innan jag hittade mig själv surfande på hotellsidor på nätet. Samtidigt sände jag ivrigt länkar med potentiella resmål till min partner. Nyheten om att man snart börjar distribuera vaccin hade sakta men säkert landat i mitt medvetande. Något väcktes till liv och lusten att planera för att resa föddes igen. Kanske det kunde lyckas inkommande sommar? Barcelona?

Det är en tid sedan jag känt hopp på motsvarande sätt och förmått kunnat se framåt. Hittills har det här året knappast blivit som någon tänkt sig. Undervisning har skett under helt andra förutsättningar; lärare, studerande och alla andra som arbetar inom ÅA har tvingats verka under nya och svåra krav.

Med tanke på omständigheterna har allt lyckats bra, men situationen i sig är inte bra och många upplever att motivation, ork och resultat inte räckt till. Sällan har julens stereotypa schlagerklichéer känts så korrekta, som när Niklas Strömstedt sjunger ”det är mörkt nu” i låten Tänd ett ljus.

Ibland måste vi ge oss rätt att hemfalla till plattityder som den här. Situationen har inte varit bra för att undervisa och lära sig. Den har inte varit bra för oss som människor. Vi behöver varandra i vårt arbete och i våra studier. Så, tänd ett ljus!

My favourite winter holiday decorations: Faith, Hope and Love

Det här kommer snart att vara historia, men då går vi knappast tillbaka till samma läge som före pandemin. Vi kommer att ta med oss vad vi lärt. Den digitala kompetensen och de nya praktikerna som vi utvecklat kommer att vara värdefulla för framtiden. Lika värdefull kommer insikten om när det digitala inte räcker till att vara, om att det digitala samspelet behöver rotas i rum av konkreta möten mellan människor.

Det är många som försöker hitta sätt att göra situationen lättare och nu med sikte på våren. Den pedagogiska ledningsgruppen vid fakulteten hade ett bra möte och förslag fördes vidare till ledningen. Olika smågrupper och stödgrupper kan vara en räddningsplanka, och kanske nya studietekniker och examinationsformer. I en situation som den här måste vi överväga och ge utrymme för alla idéer, testa nya sätt att undervisa och lära oss. Vi måste också en tid vara realistiska och nöjda med vad som är möjligt.

Rektor Moira von Wright berörde ÅA:s ekonomiska situation i sin blogg och julhälsning. Ekonomi är ansträngd och nästa år lever vi i praktiken över våra tillgångar. Ekonomin har växt till ett orosmoln som inte skingras av sig självt. Det kräver åtgärder. Vilket utrymme och medel har vi i nuläget för det?

I samband med rektors ledningsrådsmöte uttalade jag mig otydligt och en kollega frågade kritiskt och med all rätt hur jag kan se något positivt med att vi budgeterar ett betydligt minus för nästa år. Jag ser förstås ingenting positivt med en sådan budget, men när vi väl ställs inför ett sådant faktum är det en avgörande fråga hur vi möter och hanterar krisen. Här ser jag positiva tendenser.

+++

Åbo Akademi University faces economic challenges that will have to be dealt with. This means an added burden besides the pandemic. Nevertheless, Rector Moira von Wright addresses the situation in her most recent blog and Chair of the ÅAU Board commented on the situation in interviews. Both indicate that the university will not be rushing into drastic solutions and budget cuts. Instead there is an emphasis of finding strategic sustainable solutions.

Having a long term perspective like this involves risk-taking especially when we account for the everchanging political and economic fabrics that universities are dependent of. Yet, it builds on trust in the university, in its role and possibilities. It requires reflexivity and courage. For me this is a signal that affects me like the news about the vaccine. It gives a glimpse of hope and helps me think ahead.

Universities in Finland and elsewhere were at a loss this year. We can honestly say that to a significant extent they were deprived the possibility to provide good circumstances for work and studies, teaching and research. The year demanded a lot from staff and students. Without the tools we found in digital solutions and the support we gained for this we would probably have come to a dead end.

I know that many of you have struggled with finding solutions, motivation and energy for your work and studies during the last year. This was the case for all: students, teachers, researchers, and staff in administrative and support services. I sincerely hope you can feel that you did a good job. I am very thankful for your contributions, the effort and creativity you put into your work, and for the results we achieved within the faculty.

We had to skip our traditional Christmas parties, but some warmth and comfort was still provided by a range of digital celebrations. Professor Patrik Jern and professor Viveka Lyberg Åhlander made an amazing and hilarious Christmas Covid Duet, based on the Mountain Duet from Chess. This YouTube hit has already been watched by thousands of people and if you missed it you find it here (sung in Swedish). Are these our own Michael Bublé and Carrie Underwood? In any case they are scheduled for one live performance at Arken and that is of course our Christmas party 2021. It will happen!

Things will not be very different when we come back in January. Yet, the current situation is turning towards the better – and we are getting more confident about what matters and how to navigate the situation. The pandemic will soon be part of our history, and an experience we can learn from. That is an asset we all have in common in universities and that defines our: creating and communicating knowledge for the future.

Thank you all for being part of our faculty community 2020! I wish you the best for the coming holidays. Take time to rest and find recreation, make it the best possible mix of all the things you love and cherish.

With the best Holiday Greetings

Peter Nynäs