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jaargang 42, 17 februari 2000 English page

D-Day Added Value Analysis The much anticipated results of the Added Value Analysis of all service related activities at TUE will be made public this Monday. This is the first time staff and support services have undergone this kind of scrutiny. The object of the exercise is to define which services are actually needed and whether they are being provided satisfactorily. The TUE Executive Board want to use the results of this study by bureau Berenschot as the basis for a large scale reallocation of funds. About 5 to 7 per cent of the total budget, an estimated 20 to 30 million guilders, has been earmarked for “new activ-ities”. The agency will advise the Board on their best course of action late in March. The proposed reallocation of funds could possibly endanger jobs in staff and support services. Drs Willem te Beest: ÒAVA is not a one-off, we will be coming back with the same questions every five yearsÓ. Photo: Bram Saeys Viability Executive Board member and business economist drs. H.W. te Beest is adamant about waiting for the Berenschot results and advice before anything is said about cuts in services and the number of people to be made redundant. “By April, we’ll have a good idea of the viability of our services, and we’ll know where we want to make changes. But the whole process of reallocation could take years,” he explains. “As to any redundancies, we want to take the time to make sure we’re getting things right. Some service staff will need extra training or retraining, others will be looking at a job change. We’re also thinking about a scheme for older staff. But anyone who is demonstrably e-ssential to the TUE primary process need not worry about their job at all.” However, Te Beest says he cannot guarantee that there will be no outright job loss. He does promise to have a ‘social statute’ ready within a few months, the basis of a concrete ‘social plan’ to take care of redundancies resulting from this particular Added Value Analysis. Core Activities The Executive Board want to focus on the core activ-ities of a university, namely research and higher education. “New courses like Industrial Design and Biomedical Technology entail significant investments. Year after year, our student population increases. Government cuts of university budgets mean we need to be as efficient as we can. Our priorities must be very clear or there will never be room for important new activities like these courses.” The Board is planning to talk to all heads of department about the results of the Berenschot analysis during the coming month. One thing Te Beest is sure of: services are most e-ffective when they are kept close to clients, in other words at faculty level. “In this way service staff stay involved in our primary process,” says Te Beest. Periodic stocktaking The Added Value Analysis has been going on since the autumn of last year, and has caused some unrest. Te Beest says this stocktaking isn’t that shocking. “It’s not really so terrible. Every faculty is used to periodic inspections. These studies are not only about lack of added value, excellence is also highlighted. And AVA is not a one-off, we will be coming back with the same questions every five years.” AVA is a way of measuring effectiveness and effic-iency from a number of standpoints. The analysis should provide answers to two questions: are the right services being provided and is this being done well? Berenschot went to both service providers and their clients with these questions. To have a frame of reference, or bench-mark, the agency also looked at the way other universities provide similar services. Anonymous A special AVA site where people could air their opinions during the analysis turned up serious criticism of staff and support services, some of it anonymous. One critic wrote: “You can’t change uncoordinated methods just by transferring jobs to the faculties”. Another said that centrally organised services often hinder research and teaching processes instead of helping them. According to the head of the ‘Facilitair Bedrijf’ or facilities company at TUE this crit-icism is partly justified, but “our service staff works much harder than most faculty members think” he said in his on-line answer. /.

Delft Working on Branch in Singapore The Delft Technical University are working on a form of far-reaching strategic co-operation with the National University of Singapore (NUS) in the areas of teaching and research. Eindhoven Technical University have had contacts with Singapore for years In the coming months the TU Delft and the National University of Singapore are studying which areas of teaching and research at TU Delft fit into their strategic policies. According to staff member dr. K.W. Maring, this is a unique form of collaboration for Delft. Maring talks about founding a ‘branch’ in Singapore. This kind of collaboration is not unusual for the University of Singapore. The National University of Singapore have many international contacts. One of the long standing relationships is with TUE, who want to intensify the existing ties. A delegation from Singapore is expected in Eindhoven this Friday. Student Campaign for School in Bosnia Seven fourth year Architecture students at TUE are designing a school building to replace one destroyed in Mostar, Bosnia. Under the name of StudioBosnia, they want to help rebuild the war torn country. The school is meant for children from eight to fifteen years of age from all the Bosnian ethnic groups. Whether the school will actually be rebuilt depends on the support of American aid organisation UMCOR. There is more information available on StudioBosnia on a pillar in the main building. Cut Backs Cause Pressure on Research Grants The Netherlands do not have enough money for fundamental research, say the Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek. Universities may approach this organisation for research subsidies. N.W.O., who receive their funds from the Dutch ministry of Education, Culture and Sciences, are plagued by all kinds of cut backs and therefore must say ‘no’ to grant applicants more often than they would like. N.W.O. are comparable to the National Science Foundation in America. That organisation has 30 per cent more funds to spend than N.W.O. The research organ-isation hope the minister allocates more funds for a structural increase in N.W.O.’s budget in his next budget. The English page in Cursor is written by journalist Paula van de Riet. She can be reached at phone 4441. Email: engcur@stud.tue.nl

Bad Behaviour in Canteen TM The problems at the Technology Management faculty’s canteen have not yet been solved. In December, the canteen was closed for a day because students made a mess and were rude to personnel. This temporary closure did not help much, must now be concluded. TM students still don’t clear away their trays and generally misbehave. Sometimes insulting or racist notes are left on tables for canteen personnel to find. “It’s almost too embarrassing to talk about,” says teach-ing manager Paul Laperre. The science stores ‘Bedrijfskunde’ and ‘Tema’ have been asked to find a solution to the problem. They will have a plan ready in March. Photography Competition Students and staff who have photographed student activities may take part in a photography competition by Mousa, the student film and photography club in Eindhoven. Photos from the competition are to adorn the Dekata Mousa exposition in April in the hall of TUE’s main building. The ten best photos entered will be shown at the exposition, with work by Dekate Mousa’s photographers. They have been working on a series about student’s lives. The exposition will be opened on April 6. The winners will then be made known. Entries should be dropped in the photo box at Studium Generale or at Cursor before March 9. Introduction Day New Staff About twenty TUEers were present at the first introduction day for new staff last week. The programme consisted of a visit to the Mechanical Engineering and Chemistry Technology faculties. Member of the Executive Board drs. Willem te Beest welcomed new staff in an introductory talk, after which the annual video report was shown. Reactions to the day among new staff were enthusiastic. “Now I know where everything is on campus.” The point of the introduction is to involve staff in the whole university.