UiB's new strategy will not be created at Muséplass. It will be created by and with UiB's employees and students, from Haukeland to Dragefjellet. We have started the basic work with a new strategy, a work that will continue throughout the year, and which will end with a decision by the university board in early 2023.
Our current strategy "Knowledge that shapes society" has been a valueable document with ambitious goals for the business spring, and it has provided a framework for the development of the university.
In recent years, the Norwegian university and college landscape has changed: New universities has been formed, and several colleges are working towards university status. Expectations set for the universities change in line with the times and policies we live in. In the past decade, UiB has grown, measured the number of employees and students, and we have become a younger and even more international university. But we have with us a history that gives us both belonging and security. It is a story about discussion and diversity of opinion, a rewarding interaction with the outside world, free research and an unending defense of the intrinsic value of knowledge. The university is a social institution with a very special mission.
The fundamental values must be leading in our new strategy. We will continue to smoke the room for university political dialogue and participation. We will continue to ensure secure professional leadership and democratic influence. We will further develop the collaboration with other actors locally, nationally and internationally. We are a national and an international university, and so we also have great regional significance.
Students who come to UiB will be trained in critical thinking and offered first-class education in a wide range of disciplines and subject areas.
When the current strategy period expires, this gives us an opportunity to reflect together on what we stand for, what role UiB should play and what ambitions we have.
The strategy work must be knowledge-based and analytical. During the spring, the university management will visit all of UiB's departments to gain a deeper understanding of the needs of the academic environments. In the coming period, the Rectorate wishes in particular to facilitate a good framework for the academic core business.
This is not just about UiB's interests. UiB is a national university. If Norway is to succeed as a nation of knowledge, we need some universities that can deliver high international quality in the breadth of our disciplines and represent a national knowledge contingency. The climate crisis, the pandemic and now the war in Ukraine are a strong reminder of the critically important societal role managed by research-intensive universities.
