ReseaRch Quality assuRance foR the futuRe a ... - Lund University

Part 2 – Conclusions of the review
to develop their research, or for a more seasoned academic to mine
a particularly rich vein of research or to develop productive external
engagement, all merit adjustments of teaching loads.
e) Mentoring
76. The process of ensuring that the distribution of departmental and
university roles and duties is consistent with individual career
development and the action of the department as a harmonious
team can be greatly aided by a system of mentoring, in which
departmental needs and individual aspirations are reconciled. In a
small department, this can be done by the Head. In a large one, a
team of senior staff can be used.
F3. Strategy development
77. An effective modern university, particularly one committed to high
standards of international excellence in research, needs the capacity
to enunciate, share and implement a strategic vision for its future,
whilst maintaining the internal freedom and autonomy for academics
and students that is the ultimate source of the university’s
strength. Not only does the Vice Chancellor’s immediate team
require that strategic grasp, but it also needs to be shared by Deans,
Heads of Department (HoDs) and the members of the University.
Equally important, Heads of Department and Deans also need to
be involved in the creation and transmission upwards of strategic
options that are the outcome of the activities of their academic
colleagues and students.
78. Departments need to respond to the shifting research agenda
in their discipline, the distinctive opportunities that their own
research may have revealed, the opportunities for new knowledge
that might arise through collaboration with other disciplines, and
the shifting pattern of interest and demand for education from
students and employers. There must be means of transmitting
these opportunities and options upwards, and a response from
higher levels within the university about if, and how they can be
accommodated within faculty and university planning. The worst
approach is simply a slavish adherence to a traditional pattern of
activity. There is resistance in some departments to anything other
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