Organisation

The deputy head of department for education (dHoDe) supports the Head of Department (HoD) in department tasks related to education. The dHoDe has the overall responsibility for the department's educational activities with support from the heads of degree programme (UAs), and the secretariat.

The deputy head of department for education reports to the head of department and is part of the department’s management team.

Below is an overview of the most important tasks performed by the deputy head of department for education at MPE:

Education and teaching planning and quality

• Planning of each semester’s teaching by
  • drafting a suggestion of how to match teaching needs and skills from each section and having that suggestion approved by the relevant HoS.
  • providing an overview of the teacher’s and researcher’s teaching contribution/load.
• Responsible for for quality assurance of the teaching and educational programmes
• Responsible for developing the physical framework for academic activities
• Responsible for developing the study environment
• Responsible for initiating activities to ensure high student retention
• Conduct and follow up on evaluations from students
• Sign NDAs for student projects

Strategy, organization and cooperation

• Manage and coordinate work on the educational parts of the department’s strategy and ensure the operation and implementation of new educational initiatives

• Implement faculty management decisions within the educational area
• Provide input for/support the heads of section in ensuring the ongoing development of the pedagogical competencies of the teaching staff

Participate in activities at the faculty level

Involved in tasks related to the study activities with which the department contributes at other departments and faculties

Recruitment

• Hiring of teaching staff, ie. drafting the job postings, involving relevant people in the process (HoS, DHoDr), completing the HR template before passing it on to the secretariat, and forming part of the hiring committee. This in collaboration with relevant HoSs.
• Responsible for the hiring of student assistants and student teachers and approval of their monthly timesheets

Meetings and committees

• Informing the department on the department meetings of relevant educational related news by keeping track of developments in the sections, programmes and study lines
• Chairing the department’s Degree Programme Council (Uddannelsesudvalg)
• Chairing the department’s Employer Panel (Aftagerpanel)
• Represent the head of department in education related occasions, in cases where the head of department is absent

Economy

• Responsible for economy and budget for the degree programmes, ie. approving expenses and invoices related to teaching and education

The deputy head of department for research (dHoDr) supports the Head of Department (HoD) in department tasks related to research. The dHoDr is responsible for the development and implementation of the department's research strategy in close dialogue with the HoD, deputy head of department for innovation and entrepreneurship and the section heads (HoS).

dHoDr, in close collaboration with the department's management team, has the overall responsibility for talent development at MPE, including the responsibility for ensuring close coordination and development of the area in collaboration with the faculty's graduate school, and the MPE PhD committee.

The dHoDr reports to the head of department and is part of the department's management team.

Below is an overview of the most important tasks performed by the deputy head of department for research at MPE:

Research support and research data management

• Responsible for ensuring researchers and HoS get internal and external sparring in connection with research applications, external funding etc.
• Responsible for activities related to responsible research practice and research integrity
• Responsible for the department’s use of ReAp data for historic success with applications and benchmarking with other engineering departments.
• Aid researchers with data on previous successful applications

Strategy, organization, and cooperation

• Development and follow-up on department strategy initiatives for research
• Implement faculty management decisions within the research area
• Answer requests for recommendations and appointments to various research related awards, involving the Research Committee when relevant
• Develop and implement Tenure Track-model and hold meetings for alignment of expectations of all new Tenure Track assistant professors

Recruitment

• Responsible for drafting the department’s recruitment plan, ie. planning the recruitment of key persons, such as associate and full professors, and suggest new hirings to HoD. This in collaboration with HoSs, dHoDe, and HoD.
• Responsible for hiring of research staff, ie. drafting the job postings, involving relevant people in the process (HoS, DHoDe), completing the HR template before passing it on to the secretariat, determining and forming part of the hiring committee. This in collaboration with relevant HoSs. (Note: for research positions the HoD participates in the hiring committees alongside dHoDr).

Meetings and committees

• Informing the department on the department meetings of relevant research related news by keeping track of developments in the sections, ie. funding successes, new development etc.
• Chair of the MPE Research Committee
• Participate in and implement decisions from Tech’s Research Committee
• Stand-in for the HoD in meetings when the HoD is absent, and research is on the agenda

Economy

• Approve budgets for research applications when HoS cannot approve due to own involvement.
• Collect information from HoSs regarding budget, external grant expectations, etc. for use in the management’s budget process and other reporting to the faculty

The department is divided into several sections; each section represents a major engineering field within the department of MPE. The sections are formed in size and subject to address global challenges and compete for global talents and students.

The sections contain and develop the necessary competencies to support research, education, innovation, and entrepreneurship within their field.

A section drives and executes the research activities, innovation and development projects. The responsibility of executing the degree programmes lies with the deputy head of department for education with assistance from the programme responsible (UAs) and in collaboration with the heads of sections. It is the responsibility of the heads of sections to maintain and develop the technical knowledge and resources to enable the execution of the degree programmes. The head of section is also responsible to balance each staff member’s workload.

Below is an overview of the most important tasks performed by the heads of sections at MPE:

Staff Management

• Securing the well-being and motivation of all staff
• Inspire and work for a good work environment in the section, where different disciplines are respected and involved for the benefit of the individual employee, the section, and the department
• Contribute to a good work environment between colleagues with a combination of professional and social activities
• ​Carry out MUS with all employees in the section every year (personally or via delegation)
• Securing that the career development of section members is properly addressed
• Lead the mentorship and onboarding of new talents into the section. This could be either by directly participating in the mentoring process or by delegating to relevant and experienced members of the section. Support can also be received from the dHoDr or the Research Committee to further develop new hires and young faculty members

Staff allocation

• Final approval of the allocation of staff resources to teaching suggested by the Deputy head of department for education (dHoDe) and the heads of degree programme (UAs).
• Support the department by identifying key section members able to perform committee work
• Allocating staff resources to other duties in collaboration with HoD or deputy HoDs​

Strategy, organization and cooperation

• Contribute to a high level of information, openness and timely communication in the section, e.g. through section meetings and updating external websites in collaboration with Communication
• Lead the implementation in the sections of a new common MPE culture
• Lead cross sectional cooperation

• Ensure that the section is developing research and education according to the department strategy​ and drive the strategy initiatives assigned to the HoS

Recruitment

• Supporting the Deputy Heads of Department for Research and Education regarding recruitment, ie. suggesting new hirings, contributing to job posting descriptions, participating in the hiring committee.
• Onboarding of new staff by introducing them to relevant fora and people and ordering IT-equipment when new staff is paid for by a project.

Meetings and committees

• Participating in – and contributing to the agendas for – department meetings, theme meetings, educational meetings and other fora of relevance to the department
• Representing the section externally when needed​

Economy

• Approving purchases for research equipment, personnel costs etc. as specified in the budget guideline.
• Approve budgets for research applications with +25 % overhead

The head of secretariat manages the department secretariat by planning and distributing work tasks that ensure professional and efficient secretarial service of the department’s staff/students/professional activities and ensures good internal and external communication.

The head of secretariat assists and reports to the head of department and is part of the department’s management team.

The head of secretariat represents the secretariat and the department in relevant fora by ensuring visibility of its competencies, qualifications, and task solutions.

Below is an overview of the most important tasks performed by the head of secretariat at MPE:

Staff Management

• Securing the well-being and motivation of all staff
• Inspire and work for a good work environment in the secretariat, where different disciplines are respected and involved for the benefit of the individual employee, the section, and the department
• Contribute to a good work environment between colleagues with a combination of professional and social activities
• ​Carry out MUS with all employees in the section every year
• Securing that the career development of section members is properly addressed

Staff allocation

• Ensure that all administrative support functions are staffed and delegated, and that the department is informed on who to talk to regarding different issues.

Strategy, organization and cooperation

• Contribute to a high level of information, openness, and timely communication in the department, eg. through department meetings as well as developing and updating internal websites (medarbejderportalen)
• Continuously monitor and identify the administrative needs of the department
• Define and follow-up on administrative procedures and policies, eg. purchases, hiring, vacation, absence, onboarding etc. to the benefit of the department
• Strategic and administrative professional back-and-forth/competent feedback regarding all things relevant to HoD.
• Coordination of the local strategy process
• Be part of various collaborative relationships internally in AU, primarily in relation to the administrative center and the faculty secretariat
• Ensure collaboration across the engineering secretariats
• Perform ad hoc tasks in connection with e.g. analyses, reports, hearings etc.

Recruitment

• The secretariat assists the deputy heads of department for education and research in the research process, ie. passing on information and templates filled by dHoDe and dHoDe to the HR department, booking job interviews, and handles contact to the HR department regarding the Emply Recruitment process
• Responsible for hiring student assistants to research projects based on requests and information from HoS (not teaching assistants)
• Responsible for hiring research assistants based on requests and information from HoS
• Onboarding of new staff by sending a “Welcome email” with relevant administrative information regarding access, emails, systems, vacation, staff policies, PURE-profile etc.
• Adding new staff to relevant mail distributions list and Teams.
• Ordering standard IT-equipment for new staff hired by the department.

Meetings and committees

• Prepare meetings in collaboration with the head of department, e.g. Liaison Committee (LSU), Local Occupational Health and Safety Committee (LAMU), management meetings, theme meetings and staff meetings.
• Participate in the department’s Liaison Committee (LSU).
• Represent the head of department when relevant, in case the head of department is absent

The role of the Project Controller (PC) is to act as a financial advisor to the project leader (PL). That is,

• the PC keeps abreast with rules set out by AU, external foundations and collaboration partners, and can therefore check that the funds allocated are being managed according to these rules
• the PC uses their knowledge actively to advise the project manager about the rules
• the PC is the link between the project leader, the external grant maker/collaboration partner and the relevant department, and the PC has insight into and understands the project leader's budgets and can ask relevant, critical questions
• to fulfil this role, the PC is dependent on the PL submitting all relevant financial material to the PC in due time

Good collaboration requires knowledge sharing between the PC and the PL. If their collaboration is not working, both parties have a duty to make their/the immediate supervisor aware of this.

The PC provides support for the following tasks

The application phase:

Whether the PC is involved in the application phase, and thus helps with the application budget and registrations in ReAp, depends on the agreement entered into with the relevant department.  The Research Support Office (FSE) must provide support during this phase as far as possible.

Commitments:

• The PC ensures that all applications received have been registered in ReAp for the two annual financial rounds (ØR1 and ØR3).
• The PC ensures that the project is created upon receipt of a commitment/collaboration agreement including application and all appendices.
• The PC ensures that the project budget/granted budget sum is registered.
• The PC informs the PL about project and activity numbers.

Project management:

• The PC (and the PL) familiarise themselves with the terms and conditions of the relevant grant/collaboration agreement.
• The PC follows up on the staffing plan and the budget regularly in dialogue with the PL.
• The PC helps with any re-budgeting.
• The PC prepares financial reports on an ongoing basis, including payment requests, and keeps in contact with the external auditor.
• In connection with coordinator projects administered by Nat-Tech Finance, the PC is the one to contact partners in connection with financial reporting and forwarding of information.
• The PC approves/confirms the PL’s proposal for financing of new appointments, including PhDs and extensions before job advertisements.
• The PC assures the financial completion of the project as quickly as possible after completion of the project.

Financial report (ØR), audit requirements:

• The PC offers two annual budget meetings with a view to reviewing project finances.

• The PC makes sure that the ØR budgets have been updated with any input from the PL, so that the PL can approve the relevant budgets electronically (project status).

Other:

• Follow-up on staffing plans at person level
• The PC checks the quality of time registration before reporting
• Approval of expense settlements in RejsUd, supplier invoices in IndFak, as well as approval of hours in AU Timeløn (salaries for student workers and other hourly-paid employees). The PC checks that costs may be covered by the grant and checks that there is appropriate project, activity and budget coverage