Confirmed by the Board of Department

Plan of Action

School of Global Studies 2010

Confirmed by the Board of Department

2010-02-24

Introduction

Since its coming into being in 2006 the department has struggled with issues relating to integrating differing areas of specialization, cultures and routines. During 2008, a new organizational plan was worked out, including among other things a developed structure of leadership. During 2009 areas of work have developed in accordance with the new organizational plan, and to an increasing degree the department has developed into a well-functioning and stable department, achieving some degree of success in the areas of both education and research.

Actions taken so far have mostly been reactive. We believe the time now has come for a more comprehensive strategic development effort, affecting all areas of work.

The assigned 2010 tasks for a number of sectors have already been determined, others remain undetermined. Introducing a 2010 plan of action will clearly communicate what is being planned. Concurrently, such a plan will serve as a supportive document when prioritizing tasks ahead. What needs to be done, also needs to be communicated to each and everyone working within the department; we all need to know what's going on even if it is outside our own particular field of responsibility or function. This is the unerlying reason for producing a 2010 plan of action. The idea is to henceforth produce an annual plan of action for each new working year, to be confirmed by the Board of Department in December each year. Starting in 2011, an annual report will further be proudced, describing what has been achieved during the past year. In January/February 2011 such an annual report of what has been achieved during 2010 will thus be presented to the Board of Department.

Further, a more long-term strategy and a common goal document needs to developed. In the steering committee we now believe the time has come for the department to work out during 2010 an overarching strategic plan, valid for the period 2011-2013. This document will be produced during 2010, to be confirmed by the Board of Department in Decmeber 2010 at the latest. The process for how to accomplish this task has not yet been determined, but it goes without saing that it will be worked out interacting with all personnel at SGS. This strategic work will include the production of a ”template” for future plans of action and annual reports.

Below you will thus find a plan of action, relevant to the follwing work areas:

-Courses on basic and advanced levels

-Third-level courses

-Research

-Supportive functions

-Personnel recruiting

-Systematic non-discrimination efforts

-Systematic work environment efforts

-Internationalization

-Information and communication

… but first a little bit about the past year.

The past year …

During 2009 the School of Global Studies (SGS) has developed both its organization and field of work into a well-established institution. During 2008 we had, like so many others, problems with low student admissions and lack of achievements by those admitted, which is why we had to return 50 places to the faculty. During 2009 we have witnessed a very positive change. The admission pressure increased markedly, not least to the Bachelor's programme in Global Studies, and the figures for registration and achievements seem to shape up satisfactory. Factors such as these favour our chances to continue developing and offering courses/programmes at SGS which are of importance and general interest. They also demonstrate how we, by joining our original departments, have maganged to develop a programme with a content attractive to potential students in society at large. Conversely, the positive development during the past year has also resulted in an increased workload for people involved in both courses and supportive functions.

Several SGS teachers have during the last year been active within Museion. The incorporation of Museion into SGS from 2010 therefore shows great prospects for a smooth integration.

During 2009 an organizational plan was confirmed which will be carried out fully during the present year. A new steering committee has been formed, and advisory councils to the board have developed their respective areas of competence: basic education and master level (GAN), third-level studies (FUN), research (FOR), and personell recruitment (PRN).

During 2009 the communication task has focused upon developing and improving the internal structure for information and communication, in accordance with previous decisions about striving for greater transparency and more opportunities to participate in the new organization. In areas central to their tasks, the steering committee and board refer to the discipline councils, the PhD student council, and the Admin. group as reference groups. Efforts to enhance the internal communication need to be further developed, but several improvements may be noted: The organizational plan is now present at the web site, with more detailed information about the tasks of different units, mandate, and members, including information about how to formally raise an issue. Minutes from board and FUN meeting, plus PM notes from GAN, FOR, PRN, LR-ÄK and the discipline councils now may be accessed through the departmental intranet. Further, board and FUN minutes are now translated into English. Current information from the head of department is published (monthly starting 2010) in the form of ”Stina's Blogg” on the intranet. General staff meetings are held monthly and an increased participation in these meeting may be noted during 2009. Information will continue to be disseminated by posting on the regular departmental billboards, and a new, more transparent way of organizing this has been established.

In the basic education we have come quite a long way towards developing cross-disciplinary departmental work. Cooperation between the three departmental third-level study branches have evolved as well during 2009. For the first time ever, a common introduction course was given, and the FUN work has resulted in the emergence of common and uniform routines of relevance to the third-level studies at the department, as well as a new handbook for postgraduate students. Common routines include announcement issues and the reception of new postgraduate students, a crib template for both the defence and the notification of defence of doctoral theses. An overarching departmental template for course plans in third-level studies has also been decided upon and will be in force from 2010.

FOR has initiated their work during 2009 and are currently involved in the difficult issues of defining and unifying research profiles, and the development of an SGS research strategy. Further discussed are models for how to create suitable structures of incentives for increasing the number of associate professors and full professors.

In all areas work is going on developing a systematic quality enhancement procedure. This work will be intensified and during 2010 we hope to confirm routines for such procedures at all levels, which hopefully will be implemented and integrated into our daily work routines in our different areas of work. The need for such routines has become acute since the National Ageny for Higher Education has announced their intention to carry out a self-evaluation process during 2010, involving all main areas and courses except Social Anthropology (including third-level studies), IMS and the ”Museion courses”. The basic and advanced levels of study have made the most progress in this respect; a Plan of Action for Quality Assurance has been produced for these areas, confirmed by the Board of Department in December 2009.

Concurrent with the thorough ongoing, and yet to be initiated, work of coordinating the various fields and sectors within SGS, the strengthening of individual disciplines' research profiles and unique characters are equally important. The strength of SGS is constituted by the number of different and distinct disciplines with various and separate areas of contact outside SGS which (individually AND collectively) may attract research and educational resources. At the end of 2009, a dialogue and coordination between the various SGS discipline councils and the department steering committee was intitiated; a process which needs further development and strengthening.

The annual report will list descriptions of ongoing/planned tasks within the department, to be carried out during 2010.

The past year in numbers:

816 full-year students were registered during 2009 at SGS courses (the assignment was for slightly less than 656). Vi have achieved a level of achievement of ca 587 full-year students. This means a level of achievement of ca 90%, compared to the level of achievement for 2008 and 2009 which was ca 60% for SGS as a whole.

In September the second class of Bachelor's students were accepted, this time a group of around 60 students. The third class of Master's students started their Master's programme in global studies with 73 registered programme students. Around half of these are of foreign extraction, so called ”freemovers”, the rest being Swedish students. The Master's programme in Human Rights accepted ca 30 new students for the third time a row since the revamping of the broad ”Magister” programme to a Master's programme in conjunction with the Bologna reform of 2007. 2009 also marked the year after the Bologna reform when the first Master's students were examined. A total of 24 students have received ther Master's exam in Global Studies or Human Right. The third class of Erasmus-Mundus students at the Human Rights Practice programme arrived in September – this time a group of 18 students. The project has run half its course, and if there is no prolongation the fifth and last class will be accepted autumn term 2011.

Three contract courses have been given during the past year: one about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict contracted by SÄPO, and two courses within the framework of the teacher competency enhancement programme, on the theme of Globalization, Knowledge and Identity, contracted by the Swedish School Authority.

Within the framework of teacher training we have supervised and examined fewer LAU-papers than what we did in 2008. The lower number is expected to be turned around to an increase in 2011.

During 2009 research has been carried out in ca 85 different projects. SGS received ca 26 million SEK in external research grants during the year.

Nine individuals were accepted to the SGS third-level studies during 2009; one to the discipline of Human Ecology; three to the discipline of Peace and Development Research; and two to the discipline of Social Anthropology. A further three individuals sere accepted to third-level studies in Peace and Development Research within the departmental capacity-building programme SIDA/Rwanda.

During 2009 the following third-level courses have been given at SGS:

Peace and Development Research: Peace-Development-Security I and II, Method I and II, General Social Theory

Human Ecology: The political ecology of land use, Fundamentals of Human Ecology III, Global environmental challenges

Social Anthropology: Modern anthropological theory, Ethnographic method

During 2009 13 individual have defended their doctoral theses at SGS; one within Human Ecology, five within Social Anthropology, and seven within Peace and Development Research.

During 2009 three administrative positions as project coordinators have been announced; two of which are half-time positions, and one of them full-time. The latter stems from a new strategic initiative with the aim of administratively support larger research projects in a more professional way.

Resulting from a review of upcoming retirements and the ensuing need for filling vacant positions, four new asstant professorships have been announced; one for Human Ecology; two for Peace and Development Research; and one for Social Anthropology. A proposal for external expert has been worked out and been sent to the academic appointments board, who in turn have sent the application forms to the person in question. During the year a few positions as substitute assistant professors have been filled within Regional Studies, and Human Rights.

Basic and advanced level studies

For a number of years SGS has revised its course programme radically, from a heavy reliance on inidividual courses to programmes. Except for further developing the cooperation around a number of cross-faculty programmes at basic as well as advanced levels, we will not invest our largest amount of energy on developing new course initiatives during 2010. We need to safeguard the quality of what's already been developed. The focus during 2010 will therefore be on quality assurance of existing courses. The National Agency for Higher Education will carry out a self-evaluation process during the year, involving all main areas and courses except Social Anthropology, IMS and the ”Museion courses”. Concurrently, we will implement our own plan of action for quality assurance focused on corse- and programme conferences.

A certain amount of developmental work concering the existing course offer in Regional Studies, Social Anthropology and Global Development Studies has been initiatied during 2009 and will be brought to termination in 2010. The incorporation of Museion will require a large amount of integration efforts, at the same time as efforts to increase the level of achievement on the ”Museion courses” need to be contined. To attain the desired levels of achievement strategic initiatives to develop the pedagogics are being planned, in relation to the fields of life-span learning and a broader base of recruitment.

2010 will also see an increase of the number of lectures allowed in courses, compared to 2009. The allotment guide is increased, and concurrently the number of students required for a course to be allowed is set at 10 (the latter applies to basic level courses).

If we raise our eye a bit further ahead the date of 1/7 2011 is important. At that time Sweden will start incurring a tuition fee for foreign students (of non-EU extraction). SGS needs to develope a strategy for meeting this challenge during 2010.

During 2010 GAN will produce a long-term strategic plan for the next five years.

Priority tasks:

Overarching

-SGS – production of a strategic plan 2011-2013

Quality Assurance

-Course- and programme conferences to be introduced 2010 – see plan of action for quality assurance.

-Benchmarking project on course evaluations. A group from the department (Sylva, Peter J, Jörgen and Anneli Holm (student representative) collaborate in a benchmarking project on course evaluations during appr. one year. The group will introduce results achieved and experiences gained at the departmental conference in June 2010.

-National Agency for Higher Education self-evaluation process

-The pedagogical competency of teachers – a validation of the pedagogical competency of teachers will be carried out during spring term 2010 in accordance with PIL guidelines. Teachers who are unable to take credit for the competency course in higher education pedagogics of 5 hp will be urged to take it during the year.

Developmental work – SGS courses and programmes

-Developmental work inidividual course, basic level: Anthropology and Global Development Studies.

-Regional Studies will take on course development of basic level individual courses, including the restructuring of existing courses and a slimming of the total amount of courses offered.

-Extra allocations for teacers involved in the development of these courses/programmes during 2010. Regional Studies have already been allowed to use course budget means from cancelled advanced level courses spring term 2009.

-Development of pedagogical work on individual courses – a broader base of recruitment, groups unfamiliar with studies.

-Recruitment of course supervisors for the ”Musein courses”, with a focus on pedagogical development related to these concerns.

-Expansion of the Bachelor's programmet in Global Studies is progressing according to plan with two new courses during autumn term 2010 – one field course, and one practitioner's course.

Developing cooperation with other departments/faculties

-Developing the cooperation with the Bachelor's programme in Cultural Heritage, KAS, planned to start autumn term 2010, a joint effort with the Department of Historical Studies, and the Department of Cultural Heritage. A task force with representatives of all three faculties has been appointed and continue to work on the course plan during 2010. This work has previously been funded by Museion. At them moment the financing situation for the task force during 2010 is still unclear. Staffan Appelgren will represent SGS.

-Devloping a Master's programme in Environmental Managment, Economcis and Governande – in cooperation with the Faculty of Social Sciens and the School of Business, Economics and Law. Per Knutsson will represent SGS.

-Developing a Master's programme in Conflict Resolution – in cooperation with the Departments of Education, Working Life studies, and Sociology. The work of the task force is financed by the respective Faculties. Michael Schulz will represent SGS.