University for Continuing Education Krems: Strategic framework instead of strategy
This webinar is a part of an Innovative Universities Global Webinar Series.
The University for Continuing Education Krems, also known as Danube University Krems, was established in 1995 and is a leading institution for continuing education in Europe. Situated in Krems an der Donau, Austria, it is the only public university among the German-speaking countries dedicated to continuing education in academia.
Strategic management at universities is often not very effective because strategic guidelines have always been in tension with university autonomy. Hence the results of university-wide strategic discussions often resemble a déjà vu, lack relevance, hardly differ from other universities, and often remain unnoticed in countless brochures. The presentation shows how a ‘strategic framework’ instead of a ‘strategy’ can be used to give university governance a broader perspective in order to combine strategic goals with autonomy. The strategic transformation of the University for Continuing Education Krems will be used to point out how strategy can be effective on many levels.
Mag. Friedrich Faulhammer
- Rector of Danube University Krems
- Friedrich Faulhammer has been the rector of the University for Continuing Education Krems since 2013.
- He played a significant role in shaping Austrian and European higher education policy, including implementing the Universities Act of 2002.
- Faulhammer studied law in Vienna and held various roles in the Federal Ministry of Science and Research, eventually becoming secretary-general in 2009.
- He served as president of the Danube Rectors' Conference from 2017 to 2018 and was re-elected in 2023.
- Faulhammer is also a board member of several institutions, including the Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft, IDM, and University College of Teacher Education Vienna.
Dara Melnyk:
- Universities should not have strategies, but rather strategic frameworks. Why? Because people with advanced expertise work there, and they a) could take a university in unexpected directors if given room to manoeuvre; b) would be limited by narrow boundaries. I would say that 1) in a dire situation, a university needs a clear and exact strategy, which can be relaxed during the times of growth and expansion; 2) the more advanced and devoted the talent, the fewer regulations should be needed, as a rule.
- The University for Continuing Education Krems both focus on continuing education (like many an agile start-up out there, outsourcing faculty and ideas) AND is a bona fide research university. Why? Because "We stand for the high quality of content", in the words of rector Faulhammer. Research, discovery guide (and guard) relevance indeed.
- The university contributes significantly to the European University for Academic Continuing Education (EU.ACE), an alliance of higher education institutions which advances innovative tailored lifelong learning paths. This helps to further develop the system and, I would argue, is noble and necessary: on the one hand, more competitors will arise, but, on the other hand, there is not much choice. Academic continuing education offering should keep expanding.
