"TU Dresden as a modern employer and learning organization: What does it take?"

Wednesday, March 24, 2021, 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm

The third Future Lab addresses the question, how TU Dresden, as a modern employer, can offer its employees in technology and administration as well as in teaching and research attractive working conditions and develop TU Dresden into a learning organization.

Program

Thematic groups

Thematic group 1 - Innovation and ideas

How do we stay innovative?

TU Dresden as an institution needs to continuously develop itself further to be successful and to continue to exist. Innovation can often begin in the immediate working environment, then unfold within the organization and, perspectively, perhaps even have an impact on society as the "Living lab TU Dresden". This possibility is based primarily on the ideas of its employees from all areas as well as the ability of our institution as a whole to change and to (proactively) engage with societal developments. It is therefore essential to maintain and promote this concept while discussing how it can be achieved: How can we successfully shape change processes within our organization? How can the introduction of innovations within TU Dresden succeed? How can we continuously develop, improve and manage these changes? How can ideas and suggestions for improvement voiced by employees be collected, reviewed and implemented?

Moderators: Dr. des. Robert Fischer, Claudia Neumann

Thematic group 2 - Knowledge management

How do we secure and share our knowledge within the organization?

At TU Dresden, we bring together diverse groups of employees, diverse perspectives and experiences, different scientific disciplines, as well as professional and administrative units. The knowledge and expertise generated within our institution is our most valuable resource. Yet, it is difficult to make this resource tangible. This applies to situations in which projects are completed, employees leave the university or successors are trained. It is of pivotal significance for the success of TU Dresden to preserve and manage knowledge. Therefore, we would like to discuss suitable measures and tools: How do we secure and share our knowledge within the organization? How can knowledge management be designed within organizational units (Schools, Directorates, etc.), between research and administration and cooperation partners? How can the individual knowledge of specialists be integrated into a common view/perspective without changing the organizational structure? How do I know what I know?

Moderators: Prof. Jörg Rainer Noennig, Katharina Kern

Thematic group 3 - Data-based university development

How can we use data to develop and manage our organization?

Data and key performance indicators are essential for the development of TU Dresden as a learning organization in all its fields of activity. They can be used to analyze past developments, assess current activities, identify trends, develop new ideas and prepare decisions. How can we utilize data without letting it control us and without being at its mercy? Do we want a data-informed or rather a data-driven university development? For what purposes do we need high-quality data? What skills, structures, and systems are needed to collect, analyze, and communicate data? What are the risks and limitations of data-driven university development?

Moderators: Gudrun Quehl, Jan Röder

Thematic group 4 - Incentive systems

How can we set performance incentives within the organization?

Incentive systems as deliberately designed working conditions for directly or indirectly influencing the willingness of employees to perform and behave are extremely diverse. Discussions on the use of incentive systems often focus on financial incentives. However, there are numerous other ways to design performance incentives that create benefits for both the university as an employer and the members of the university, thus leading to a win-win situation. To this purpose, we would like to discuss the following questions with you: How do you perceive the previous design and application of incentive systems at TU Dresden? How can we - possibly even better in the future - set performance incentives within the organization? Which incentive systems do you consider particularly desirable for our university? What scope for design can be exploited and what legal and/or collective bargaining provisions restrict us in the design? Are differentiation requirements between distinct employee groups appropriate or even necessary when designing incentive systems? How could such a balancing act be mastered?

Moderators: Prof. Rolf Koerber, Kathleen Fischer

Thematic group 5 - Modern personnel management/personnel development

What are our ideas of modern university personnel management?

Demographic change, internationalization, digitalization, diversity - there are many reasons for demanding a change in human resources work. In this context, personnel departments at universities in particular are expected to change from personnel administration to modern personnel management to prepare the institution and its staff for future changes. In this context, the ideas of modern personnel management sometimes diverge widely, and the demands of the various employee groups are diverse. Likewise, there are numerous design approaches, but not all of them are target-oriented or implementable within the framework of the legal and collective bargaining agreements of the public sector. So, what exactly are our ideas for a modern university personnel management?  What requirements should modern personnel management at TU Dresden fulfill? How should modern personnel management at TU Dresden be designed? How should personnel development at TU Dresden be organized?

Moderators: Dr. Steffen Herzog, Carolin Spittler

Thematic group 6 - Career models

What types of career paths for early-career researchers should exist at TUD and how can they supported?

Planning an academic career seems like an almost impossible task. Unclear transitions between the various professional phases, fixed-term contracts and the limited demand for professors lead to great uncertainty among early-career researchers. For these reasons, there have been increasing demands for information and support for some time now. The aim is to show professional development options for academic staff. For example, alternatives in science management, non-university institutions and business as well as academic teaching in classic career paths are to be highlighted, thus expanding career opportunities. TU Dresden would like to promote this development and therefore, with your help, shed light on e.g. the following questions: How can the careers of young researchers be supported by the organization? What is characteristic of career models that can be planned? What can TU Dresden do to support early-career researchers in acquiring the necessary skills for various careers?

Moderators: Dr. Barbara Könczöl, Dr. Mathias Kuhnt

Thematic group 7 - Modern working environments

How do we want to design the working environments at the university?

The working environments of employees in teaching, research, technology and administration are heterogeneous: individual and open-plan offices, seminar rooms and lecture halls, laboratories, workshops, meeting rooms and banquet halls, and not least the workplace at home. Are these still equally suited for working in a flexible and increasingly virtual work environment? What should work environments look like in the future? What do we need in order to work well together? Which tools will accompany us more often and more intensively in our everyday working lives in the future, and how can they be integrated into the design concepts of workspaces and virtual working environments?  How can we promote creativity and innovative spirit as well as health and inclusion spatially and through the appropriate technical equipment of workplaces? Should new work environments (e.g. co-working or maker spaces, podcasts, video and conference studios) be established and expanded? How do we want to combine on-site and remote work as well as on-site, online, and hybrid teaching in the future? What new organizational and temporal-spatial design concepts do we need for this new working world in the university context?

Moderation: Prof. Jens Krzywinski, Dr. Ina Krause

The Future Labs 2021 are funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Free State of Saxony as part of the Excellence Strategy of the German Federal and State Governments.