Publication: Strategic Framework Agreement / Aarhus School of Architecture

STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT

AARHUS SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE

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AARHUS SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE - STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT

2018

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2021

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AARHUS SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE - STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT

INTRODUCTION The following pages present the essence of Aarhus School of Architecture’s strategic framework agreement, which was entered into with the Danish Ministry of Higher Education and Science and is valid until 2021. Furthermore, the publication contains our suggestions on how the objectives that have been set up can be achieved by means of a series of specific actions.

WHAT IS A STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT? Aarhus School of Architecture has entered into a strategic framework agreement with the Danish Ministry of Higher Education and Science. The agreement is an institution-specific four-year contract signed by the minister and the chairman of the board of the individual institution.

The ministry’s purpose with the framework agreement is: “To set up significant strategic objectives for the core tasks of the institution. The agreement should help determine the direction of developments and the priorities of the individual institution, thus clarifying how the institution contributes to fulfilling important societal goals.

The contract should contribute to: • Focusing on progress and results • Strengthening the strategic dialogue between the minister and The School Board • Supporting cooperation across the institutions as well as coordination between institutions on shared challenges Through dialogue, the institution and the ministry determine the strategic objectives for the core tasks, based on the individual institution’s strategy, challenges and strengths. The framework agreement should be a central management tool for the individual institution’s management and provide the basis for a strengthened strategic dialogue between the Minister of Education and Research and the board of the institution.”

With the prospect of a new school, and thus of a more optimal physical setting for our activities, the overall vision is that Aarhus School of Architecture should be a Scandinavian elite institution for the development of architecture characterised by strong relations to practice and external cooperation. We also have the ambition of being at the forefront of digital literacy and fabrication.

Over the past six months, internal task groups have been drawing up intermediate objectives and action plans for the four strategic themes – with particular emphasis on efforts that have to be initiated in the first years of the four-year period. Apart from key sentences from the framework agreement on the ambitions for the individual strategic objectives, the publication contains the intermediate objectives and action plans that have been set up so far. These are elaborated through interviews with representatives of the four task groups.

The strategic objectives will be evaluated annually and adjusted as needed, and new intermediate objectives drawn up along the way. This means that the work of rendering more specific how we can achieve the objectives and ambitions of the agreement will be a continuous process.

This is a task we can only solve through joint efforts.

The framework agreement contains four strategic objectives which should help make the school’s teaching and research even better. The objectives are: • A high learning benefit. The common strategic quality development of Aarhus School of Architecture is intended to support the students in achieving a high learning benefit • Clear and relevant skills. Strong relations to practice and external cooperation should help the school’s graduates acquire clear and relevant competencies that support the needs of society • Research that can contribute to the development of the profession. Strong relations to practice and external cooperation should ensure that the school’s research of high quality contributes to developing the profession • Competencies that can support the digital transformation of the profession. Students who possess digital literacy should together with research in digital fabrication support the ongoing transformation of the profession.

Whereas this publication outlines the framework, the academic goals and actions, the previously published publication, Quality Ambitions, stipulates how we should work with content and ensure quality in the work we do. These two publications are therefore independent but, nevertheless, clearly connected.

Happy reading!

Rector Torben Nielsen

AARHUS SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE - STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT

CONTENT

P. 05 - Introduction P. 08 - The vision P. 14 - Strategic objective 1 P. 22 - Strategic objective 2 P. 30 - Strategic objective 3 P. 38 - Strategic objective 4

AARHUS SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE - STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT

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THE VISION Based on NEW AARCH, Aarhus School of Architecture should be an elite institution for the development of architecture with a clear focus on strong relations to practice and external cooperation - and also a school that is leading in digital literacy and fabrication.

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AARHUS SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE - STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT

NEW AARCH – A SCANDINAVIAN ELITE INSTITUTION FOR DEVELOPING ARCHITECTURE One of the truly major events for Aarhus School of Architecture over the coming years will be the move, in 2020, to new physical settings at Godsbanearealerne in Aarhus.

NEW AARCH not only denotes the new school in its physical form but is also a change in culture that implies an even stronger focus on the relationship between the school, its research, and the education’s relationship with society and the world. This change will have to be implemented in parallel with the school maintaining an artistic approach to teaching and research in architecture.

NEW AARCH is also the ambition to be more than an institution that trains architects. Aarhus School of Architecture should be an elite school based on a Scandinavian tradition. A school that combines artistic methods, knowledge of history and theory, and the application of the latest technologies in a clear academic profile for the benefit of society.

Therefore, our vision is that, through NEW AARCH, the school should be an elite institution for

the development of architecture with a clear focus on strong relations to practice and external cooperation - and also a school that is leading in digital literacy and fabrication.

This is necessary because the world around is changing: a more business-oriented focus, greater pressures from other professions, and, not least, the changed opportunities offered by digitalisation.

Aarhus School of Architecture offers an education on the Master’s level within the many facets of the architectural profession, ranging from urban and landscape planning over restoration to the construction of new buildings and building components. Regardless of the scale, since its establishment in 1965, the school has emphasised the core competen­ces of the architectural profession: the artistic and holistic approach to tasks and the ability to work spatially and visually.

Aarhus School of Architecture is internationally renowned for its project-based teaching and broad approach to research. The school’s research comprises traditional academic research methods, artistic development work, and the design-based research method: research by design. The school also has historically strong ties to the architectural profession and a dedicated staff that makes a significant effort. Aarhus School of Architecture is therefore wellequipped to face the challenges and changes of the future.

As an educational and research institution, Aarhus School of Architecture should maintain a critical and experimental approach that can move the architectural discipline forward and help develop architecture and the architectural profession.

The school’s process of change is both necessary and natural. There is a need for strategic adjustment of the way we envision a school.

”AS AN INSTITUTION FOR TEACHING AND RESEARCH, AARHUS SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE SHOULD HAVE A CRITICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL APROACH THAT CAN HELP MOVE FORWARD THE DISICPLINE OF ARCHITECTURE AND CONTRIBUTE TO DEVELOPING ARCHITECTURE AND THE ARCHITECTURAL PROFESSION.”

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AARHUS SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE - STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES The framework agreement lists four strategic objectives for Aarhus School of Architecture in 2018.

2018 The common strategic quality development of Aarhus School of Architecture should support the students in achieving a high learning benefit.

Strong practice relations and relevant skills should help the school’s graduates acquire clear and relevant competencies that support the needs of society.

2021 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

Strong relations to practice and external cooperation should ensure that the school’s research of high quality contributes to developing the profession.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

Students who possess digital literacy together with research in digital fabrication should support the ongoing transformation of the profession.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

AARHUS SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE

1 2 3 4 NEW AARCH – a scandinavian elite school for the development of architecture

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STUDENTS SHOULD ACHIEVE A HIGH LEARNING BENEFIT

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 1 The common strategic quality development of Aarhus School of Architecture should support the students in achieving a high learning benefit.

In the relevant period, Aarhus School of Architecture will be working intensively on maintaining the students’ assessment that there is a high learning benefit and through common strategic quality development among the school’s staff focus on further quality development of the education’s content, the planning of teaching, and the teachers’ didactic skills.

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AARHUS SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE - STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT

1 AMBITION OF OBJECTIVE 1 Transparent experience and knowledge gathering across the institution should strengthen the quality of the education

In the school’s efforts towards becoming an elite school, it is essential to create a common foundation for organising the education and for working with teaching quality. At present, quality is being developed across the education on a highly individual basis. This means the necessary required knowledge exchange among the school’s teachers does not always take place. It is important that in the future quality development should take place in a community within a framework of cross-institutional, transparent experience and knowledge acquisition aimed at enhancing the quality of the education.

A significant indication of a high learning outcome is the students’ assessment of the quality of their education. Students of architecture assess the quality of the education as high, an assessment it is important to maintain in the future. A major reason for the students’ high degree of satisfaction with the quality of teaching is the specific way teaching is organised at Aarhus School of Architecture. This is characterised

by taking place in close dialogue between students, the school’s teachers and between students in the studios, where all the school’s students have permanent study spaces.

The students particularly express great satisfaction with the teachers’ commitment, professional and academic knowledge and ability to give feedback.

The way teaching is communicated is, however, not assessed as highly as the other parameters.

In the future we will, therefore, focus on common strategic quality development for which the school’s teachers will be working together on subjects such as communication, competence development, clarifying learning objectives, clearer profiles for individual study units, and strengthening the cohesion between research and teaching.

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STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 1 The common strategic quality development of Aarhus School of Architecture should support students in achieving a high learning benefit.

Implementing new formats for portfolio reviews

ACTIONS

Creating a structure and organisation for a didactic laboratory

2018 The common strategic quality development of Aarhus School of Architecture should support the students in achiving a high learning benefit.

AARHUS SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE

MEASURING THE EFFECTS The students’ assessment of the quality of the education (Uddannelseszoom)

Evaluation of teaching

Research content from the school’s research labs is incorporated in study plans

Participation of teachers in courses that are part of the didactic laboratory

Setting up a didactic laboratory

2019

Implementing new formats for bachelor seminars

Actions are rendered more concrete later

2021

2020 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

1 NEW AARCH

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DIDACTICAL EXPERIMENTS AND KNOWLEDGE SHARING GUARANTEE A HIGH LEARNING BENEFIT A DIDACTIC LABORATORY IS AT THE TOP OF THE AGENDA FOR THE GROUP THAT HAS BEEN WORKING WITH STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 1.

HEAD OF EDUCATION RASMUS GRØNBÆK HANSEN AND ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR NIELS NYGAARD ​ EXPLAIN THE GROUP’S WORK.

”Our first priority is the establishment of a didactic laboratory. At present we have not decided on how it should be organised, but we need a place where we can talk about, reflect on, and discuss teaching. For teaching is not something we develop individually, it’s something we do together.

We need to learn from each other; that’s how we can improve. We therefore need a place where there is room for experiments and where we can experiment with different didactic projects across the teaching teams that we are part of. It could also be a place where you present the results of a teaching course, during which new ways of approaching a task have been explored and tested.

It could be new ways of working with models, new ways of working in groups. The crucial thing is that you are able to share experiences and knowledge with your colleagues.”

Should external people be associated? ”Not on a permanent basis, but having a staff of external consultants we could draw on is an option we have been discussing.

For instance, we have some external consultants who run our teacher training courses who we might use. In this case, the didactic laboratory might, for instance, provide the setting for a series of seminars about didactics that could continue throughout the year. I think external consultants could help us express what it is we do in our everyday work which the outside world recognises, but that we may not be very aware of ourselves. If we become more aware of this, I think we can raise our level.”

An integral part of everyday life

Putting into words what we do

What is the time frame?

Do you imagine this as a place to which people are affiliated on a permanent basis?

”We should get started as soon as possible. We don’t have to start out with the full package, we could start gradually, trying out a few things and finding a model that works. We could, for instance, start with some seminar days on the didactical aspects; this might then lead to projects it would be worth investing time and money in.

”That’s not clear yet, but I think there should be someone who has overall responsibility for making things happen. But, in principle, all teachers should be affiliated with the place, at least all full-time teachers. For full-time teachers It would be a logical place to spend your development time in terms of didactics and teaching formats.

And the new staffing model will allow for longer periods, up to an entire semester. This would mean that different people would be active in the didactic laboratory, whether it’s a physical place or not. But it would definitely be an advantage if it were a physical place where you work together with others.”

Another thing we have also talked about, and which we can immediately address, is our teacher training courses. We want them to be more closely connected with the rest of the school, making them a more integral part of everyday life.

This might take place in the didactic laboratory.

We should continue working with the external consultants we use today and who are doing a good job, but we should also contribute

with all the experience we have accumulated. I think that might provide useful and specific knowledge for those assistant professors who are undergoing teacher training courses.”

Different activities and services ”In the long term we could locate a wide range of activities and services in the didactic laboratory.

Such as e.g. a mentoring system or introducing the school’s culture to new colleagues, not least our international colleagues: how is the education structured, how do we teach, what we can offer.

Having an archive of study plans that can provide inspiration and which can be used for further developing courses of assignments would also be a good idea.

It should be a place where you could search for e.g. levels of study and topics and find descriptions of assignments, reading lists, and contacts. This would mean you could avoid starting from scratch every time, and instead build on past experience.

It would also make time available for other tasks.

And, as already mentioned, didactic seminars, courses and teacher training courses – and not least didactic projects aimed at further developing teaching. It could be individuals or study units who wish to try out new teaching formats; it could be projects of a more strategic nature: e.g. how we can make teaching more digitally based.

Finally, I could imagine arranging a Day of Teaching, like the Day of Research we already have – a day where we present teaching courses to each other and discuss them.”

Focusing on assessments Can you mention any current didactical topics that would be obvious to address? ”The relationship between group work and individual assessments would be an obvious topic: how should we relate to this? Individual assessments are the easiest, but group work has some qualities in terms of learning that should not be overlooked and which are beneficial when you graduate - how can we approach this dilemma?

You have already discussed the assessment criteria in the task group. Can you say anything about this? ”Some of the things we may be less good at handling today are the exam situation itself and the legal principles that apply. In this respect we need some courses that give us a clearer understanding of what exams and assessments actually require of us. The didactic laboratory is based on a desire not only to maintain, but to further develop teaching, to ensure the highest possible learning outcome for the students. And one of the things that motivates the students is being given a grade. In this context, there is a need to define a more precise lower limit for when you have passed an exam. This is guaranteed to motivate the students.

Transparency and progression You have suggested new formats for the portfolio reviews? ”It is primarily about creating transparency and consistency, or progression, ensuring that the teachers also have an overview of those components of the education for which they are not responsible.

To ensure that things are connected, that the level is equal for the individual units of study, and that there is consistence throughout the progression of the education.

Such transparency and such an overview of the education as a whole will make it easier for individual units to adjust their teaching. But it will probably also require more general discussions about what the content and level should be at the individual levels of study.”

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GRADUATES WITH CLEAR AND RELEVANT SKILLS

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 2 Strong relations to practice and external cooperation should help the school’s graduates acquire clear and relevant competencies that support the needs of society.

For this reason, Aarhus School of Architecture wishes to focus on the network building of students and graduates and their awareness of their competences, and also improve the school’s dialogue with practice on the content of the education.

Interiør perspective made by Vargo Nielsen Palle and ADEPT

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AARHUS SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE - STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT

2 AMBITION OF OBJECTIVE 2 Expanding contacts with the profession should strengthen the competencies of students in relation to the labour market Aarhus School of Architecture has found that the school’s graduates are not sufficiently aware of their own competencies and their relevance to the labour market – this is confirmed by the most recent gradu­ ate survey. Moreover, the school’s external exa­miners point out that the students need to be more aware of the needs of practice and the need to adjust theoretical learning.

relations to practice and network building. In addition, mentoring schemes and design realisation are firmly anchored components of the Master’s Degree Programme, in which individual students are supervised by practicing architects and engineers who participate in practice-oriented teaching courses.

These focus areas need to be strengthened further over the coming years.

Over the past few years Aarhus School of Architecture has already been working systematically with the clarification of graduates’ competences through enhanced employment efforts and career guidance.

These efforts have, so far, brought good results and appear to be speeding the entry of graduates into the workforce.

In the future, Aarhus School of Architecture will, consequently, strengthen the involvement of practice further by, among other initiatives, extending the school’s mentoring system, enhancing internship efforts and by means of a more formalised dialogue with the employers of the school’s graduates.

In teaching, the mandatory short internship during the Bachelor’s degree programme and the voluntary one-semester internship on the Master’s degree programme make up the foundation of students’

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AARHUS SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE - STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES 2 Strong relations to practice and external cooperation should help the school’s graduates acquire clear and relevant competencies that support the needs of society.

Implementing a graduate employer survey

ACTIONS

Establishing a dialogue forum for architectural education and practice (DAP)

2018

Developing a new model to clarify the role of the Bachelor Internships as preparation for internships on the Master’s Degree Programme

Strong practice relations and relevant skills should help the school’s graduates acquire clear and relevant competencies that support the needs of society

AARHUS SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE

MEASURING THE EFFECTS The graduates’ assessment of their competences (Uddannelseszoom)

Graduate employer survey

The unemployment level of our graduates

Setting up an organisational framework for the school’s outreaching cooperation with practice

Developing a revised model for internship agreements with more specific requirements Implementing a revised model for internship agreements which includes more specific requirements

2019

Career leading towards graduation, including an analysis of the role of external lecturers

2021

2020 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

2 NEW AARCH

2

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AARHUS SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE - STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT

STRENGTHENED RELATIONS TO BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY

PRORECTOR KRISTINE LETH JUUL AND ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR KAREN OLESEN PRESENT THE PRELIMINARY INITIATIVES OF THE GROUP WORKING WITH STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 2. APART FROM A DEBATE FORUM, STRENGTHENING INTERNSHIPS AND CAREER GUIDANCE ARE ON THE AGENDA.

”In order to strengthen the relationship with practice and external partners, we have already set up something we call DAP, a debate forum for architectural education and practice, where representatives from business and industry contribute to discussions about the needs of the labour market and the education.

It is not an advisory board where we present all our study plans for discussion, but a forum where we address different topics. For instance, what competences do business and industry demand?

How can we strengthen internships as part of the education?

Those are the issues we are currently working on, and which we would like to qualify, that we are discussing in DAP. DAP comprises a wide range of people, including representatives from the architectural profession, the engineering industry, and from the municipal sector. Its members were not appointed by us but by industry organisations such as the Danish Association of Architectural Firms, The Confederation of Danish Industry, Business Network Aarhus, and the professional group for town planning of the Association of Technical Directors in Danish Local Authorities. The members have been appointed for three-year periods, and the plan is to meet three times a year. This means that we will gradually get to know each other more and more and tune in to the members’ different professional backgrounds.”

Input from outside ”The aim is to obtain various input on different initiatives that we are working on, to help us inform our decisions. And, of course, give us a clearer picture of what the labour market looks like today and in the longer term: what competencies are in demand, what is the need?

The fact that the members of the discussion forum are so different means that we get to hear many different opinions. And get another perspective on things than we are used to. But, in general, you could say that they attach great value to the skills that the graduates have. So what we can use the forum for, is becoming even better at doing what we already do”. ”There is a wish for more generic skills, such as project management, some also mention business understanding. This is actually something that is best learned through the internships, and that is why we need to have more precise requirements for the training places about what the students need to try when they participate in internships. This is a very good example of how the debate forum can contribute to improvements.”

The common thread Your task group proposes exactly such a strengthening of the internships on both bachelor and master levels. What kind of improvements do you think are needed? ”It is primarily about the relationship between the internships on the BA and the MA. We clearly feel that both types of internships work very well, but there is a need to clarify the difference between the two periods and to create a connection between them – clarifying the common thread: that there is progression in the internships. The Bachelor Internships at the end of the fifth semester are really more a kind of expanded business visits that give students a glimpse of the breadth of the labour market and open their eyes to the different possibi­ lities that exist. The internships on the seventh semester, on the master, are more focused on future

career paths. We need to clarify this difference to the students.” ”Yes, the bachelor students should use the internships to qualify for their choice of studies on the master, a choice they have to make shortly after the internship.

There is, consequently, a need to share experiences. We must ensure that, after completing their internships, the students present their experiences to each other to give them an insight into the diversity of job opportunities.”

ships to in order to have their internship periods approved. In this respect we should focus more on exchanging experience and on allowing students to reflect on their competencies and future career paths. The current written internship report could perhaps be replaced by an oral presentation, preferably with future trainees as audience. This idea, however, poses some practical challenges that we need to look into.”

Career guidance Clear requirements for the training places ”In terms of the internships during the seventh semester, our master’s students are in strong demand, and it’s easy to find training places. What we should do is actually to make more precise demands of the training places about what the students have to learn during trainee periods – periods that, after all, make up one fourth of the total Master’s Degree Programme. We are therefore preparing a new internship form that will be used to ask the training places what the interns will be trying out during their internships. This will naturally emphasise the professional skills that precisely practical training can give the students and which we, as an educational institution, find it harder to provide.” ”We are also considering halfway meetings with the training places where we could hear how things are proceeding in terms of the requirements set out in the internship agreement and the general competencies of the students in question. to give us a closer and more formalised dialogue during the internships.”

“Finally, we have talked about revising the report that the students have to hand in after their intern-

You also focus on career paths leading up to graduation, and you seem to be proposing that the external lecturers should play a more active role? ”We haven’t got very far with this yet. It’s still just an idea, something we discuss, but the point is to make the Master’s students think about employment opportunities as early as possible.

And this is something on which our external lecturers – with the professional experience and professional networks they have – might be able to advise and guide the students, based on the wishes and competencies of the individual students. This is where the external lecturers have some experiences and competencies we teachers in general do not have, and we should be able to benefit from this.”

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RESEARCH OF HIGH QUALITY THAT CONTRIBUTES TO THE DEVLOPMENT OF THE PROFESSION

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 3 Strong relations to practice and external cooperation should ensure that the school’s research of high quality contributes to developing the profession.

The support of the growing societal need for research-based knowledge within the architectural profession and mutual knowledge sharing should be improved. To achieve this Aarhus School of Architecture is creating an improved framework for the school’s dialogue with the profession, several different forms of cooperation, and is strengthening its research efforts aimed at practice.

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3 AMBITION OF OBJECTIVE 3 Increased research collaboration with the industry and a better framework for dissemination, dialogue and knowledge sharing should strengthen research quality and its application in practice

The architectural profession is very interested in strengthening its research collaboration with Aarhus School of Architecture, which is reflected in, among other things, a growing number of inquiries from the profession. Aarhus School of Architecture sees a need to discover more and different ways of establishing cooperation with the common purpose of developing the profession from less formalised ways of sharing knowledge.

The school’s special research method, research by design, holds a large unused potential to bind research and practice together, thus strengthening research quality and its application.

Research by design is characterised by being based on the design methods, tools and processes of the architectural discipline. It is expected that this research approach can provide a unique platform for further strengthening research collaboration with practice, which should be understood broadly as the practitioners of the discipline, including architects,

engineers and contractors, but also the profession’s decision makers, such as the state and municipalities.

The research by design method is still under development at the school, which has so far accumulated knowledge about methods from practice, among other things, through the EU-supported ADAPT-r project (practice-based PhD) and other research in the field of research by design.

In the future, there will be a need to further strengthen research efforts in relation to practice. Both in terms of the number of researchers/PhD students who collaborate with practice and the amount of external funding the school is able to attract and use in the area. It is also a question of strengthening the framework for dissemination, dialogue and knowledge sharing with practice.

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STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES 3 Strong relations to practice and external cooperation should ensure that the school’s research of high quality contributes to developing the profession.

Organising debate forums that involve external parties

ACTIONS

2018

Formulating a ’code-of-conduct’ for the school’s external cooperation activities

Strong relations to practice and external coperation should ensure that the school’s research of high quality contributes to developing the profession.

AARHUS SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE

MEASURING THE EFFECTS The ratio of researchers/PhDs engaging in research cooperation with practice and external collaborators

Externally funded research activities

Evaluation of the partner’s satisfaction with ongoing research collaboration

Debate forums that involve external parties

Debate forums with participation of external parties

Organising debate forums that involve external parties

2019

Establishing an organisational framework for projects involving external cooperation

2020 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

2021 3 NEW AARCH

3

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PROFESSIONAL DISCUSSIONS, VISIBILITY AND CLEAR LINES SHOULD STRENGTHEN RESEARCH COOPER­ATION WITH THE PROFESSION HEAD OF RESEARCH CHARLOTTE BUNDGAARD ​​A ND TEACHING ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR ANNE METTE BOYE EXPLAIN WHAT THEY HAVE BEEN WORKING ON IN THE GROUP THAT FOCUSES ON STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 3.

”We propose setting up debate forums where school researchers and external partners can meet.

Partly to raise the profile of our research, partly to inform it.

We need to discuss our research with people from outside the school, with researchers from other disciplines and people from the profession - as we did in the Open Room events we organised in the past.

We also have some research projects we would like to continue and ideas for projects that we would like to try out. To do this, we need a more targeted effort that can help us accurately identify who we should contact and invite. It could be foundations and it could be specific collaborators who, in dialogue with a research lab or an individual researcher, can help develop a project further.”

Themes and their resonance ”In this context, we are currently in dialogue with the researchers behind two themes that relate to current issues. The involved projects are Katrina Wiberg’s PhD project on rising water levels and the coastal tourism project, a project in which strong partners are already involved. But the project ends in 2019, so in both cases the question is how we can develop the two projects further.

We hope to be able to invite external partners to meetings on the two projects sometime this autumn.” ”Today we also have several minor activities at the school that we might want to develop further.

One example is the Bonding Bricks conference on modern brick building. At this conference some things that might have a greater resonance were presented. For example: in such cases we

might subsequently draw on the conference speakers, inviting representatives from the profession to a workshop or a short supplementary educational course. And in this context we could produce something together in the fabrication labs and involve our material lab. This would allow us to use this type of conferences and seminars to start up collaborations that take things further into the profession through learning and cooperation.” ”Yes, it’s about creating a forum where those involved have an interest in developing something together – without it necessarily being a major research project.

But this is a format we have not progressed very far with yet.”

A visible access point You are talking about establishing a Future Lab. What is that? ”Future Lab has been our working title, but it should not be called that, as we are not setting up a fourth lab. We imagine some kind of ’intermediary organisation’ between the school and the profession, because we lack an internal structure when people from outside offer us projects. This should be a visible ’access point’ from outside, a place where projects can be ’intercepted’ and where a framework for the projects can be created. Both in terms of thinking over the projects methodically and in relation to project management and financing, in terms of legal aspects, communications, etc. It is not least important to clarify whether projects would be able to interact well with our existing research and teaching - and if so, how.” ”It should also be a place where the type of the project could be clarified, when we receive inquiries from outside the school.

Some fall somewhere between research and development projects, and in those cases it can be difficult for us to find a place for them. But this kind of project can often result in spin-offs for both teaching and research. But what is crucial is that the projects can be anchored professionally in the existing research labs.

In this connection it is important to emphasise that it should also in the future be personal contacts and academic environments at the school that is the primary point of access to external collaboration on research and development projects. The ’intermediate organisation’ should, first and foremost, provide a framework for projects that are closely related to practice - such as, for instance, demonstration and development projects or explorations.”

Inspiration from outside the school ”We have looked for inspiration abroad. At University of Washington for instance, they have something they call Green Future Lab, an independent institution that is affiliated with and owned and supported by the university. The surplus of funds they receive from cooperative partners and foundations go towards developing new projects. They are able to take in projects that may be somewhat vague and a bit peripheral to what research institutions generally concern themselves with. The Alexandra Institute here in Aarhus also works in this way – they call it ’applied research’. The projects in question are projects that are co-financed by business and industry and possibly supported by foundations, but where the institution’s own research is brought into play.”

”In order to find a solution that suits us, we need to map the types of projects we already have today; what works and what doesn’t work quite as well. And then we will have to look into how other institutions around the world approach this. But it is crucial that we find a model that is an integral part of the school to avoid draining energy from our research labs – the projects must be able to give something back to the school’s teaching and research.”

Clear terms of cooperation ”In order to ensure that we have the same expectations of working together, it is important that we clarify our premises for external cooperation on development and research projects – a kind of code of conduct. We need to clearly express what it is we want, and what it is we can do. We are a knowledge institution, not an architectural firm. This means there is no straight paths that lead to achieving our goal, that something may go wrong along the way, that we insist on having the time to do research, to go into depth and experiment and that projects must have an artistic dimension. You will have to be prepared for this, if you want to cooperate with us whether you are a manufacturer, an advisory firm, a municipality, an NGO, a government agency or another kind of knowledge institution.”

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STRENGTHENED COMPETENCES THAT SUPPORT THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF THE PROFESSION

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 4 Students who possess digital literacy and research in digital fabrication should support the ongoing transformation of the profession.

Aarhus School of Architecture will achieve the objective by means of knowledge about digital fabrication and design and by reflecting critically on the use of digital tools. In addition to this, the school wishes to strengthen the digital skills of the academic staff and students as well as research efforts in the digital area.

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AARHUS SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE - STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT

4 THE AMBITION OF OBJECTIVE 4 The students’ digital competences should be strengthened to give them a critical and nuanced approach to digitalisation

Significant digital changes are currently taking place in all of society. This also applies to the architecture and construction industry. The school should, to an even greater extent, help ensure that the profession is well-equipped for building in the future. The construction industry and, not least, the architectural profession express the need for more knowledge about how digital tools can be used and the enormous possibilities that result from digitalisation.

Whereas the profession primarily aims at making methods more effective, the school, being a know­ ledge institution, wishes to contribute new know­ ledge about creative applications, critical reflection, and train architects who possess digital literacy and who are relevant to their employers in both the short and the long term.

As a knowledge institution, the school has an opportunity to develop the latest knowledge in the field, not least by means of the workshop facilities the school has built up in recent years. Facilities that include state-of-the-art equipment such as 3D scanners and robots. These facilities need to be continuously expanded and adapted to digital developments. It is also essential that the school ensures an ongoing and significant upgrading of the digital skills of the staff, to make them more capable

of communicating knowledge both to students and, through research, to the profession.

Digital design and production processes are becoming more and more important for the development of the profession. It is therefore essential that the school’s students and graduates continue to have a solid and wide knowledge of digital tools and methods. It is no longer enough for students to have knowledge of specific digital tools. The students must possess digital literacy, enabling them to identify digital possibilities and limitations and understand how technology is central to the further development of the profession. In this context, it is crucial that the school takes advantage of the potential that is inherent in the school’s special approach and the experience that has so far been gathered by providing a good framework which allows students to independently test and develop ideas in the school’s digital workshop facilities.

In the future there will be a need to strengthen the students’ ‘digital curriculum’ in order to achieve nuanced digital literacy. Similarly, the school will focus on digitalisation in connection with the competence development of the school’s staff and, if relevant, recruitment.

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AARHUS SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE - STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES 4 Students who possess digital literacy together with research in digital fabrication should support the ongoing transformation of the profession.

Development and implementation of a digital curriculum on the Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes

Analysis of existing digital platforms and practices

ACTIONS

2018

Implementation of a digital curriculum during the 1st year of studies

Strong relations to practice and external cooperation should ensure that the school’s research of high quality contributes to developing the profession.

AARHUS SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE

MEASURING THE EFFECTS The students’ assessment of their digital skills

The percentage of school researchers within the digitalisation of the architectural profession

Digitally supported learning

2019

Implementation of a digital curriculum on the Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes

2021

2020 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

4 NEW AARCH

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AARHUS SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE - STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT

INTEGRATED LEARNING PROCESSES AND NEW FORMS OF TEACHING SHOULD STRENGTHEN THE STUDENTS’ DIGITAL COMPETENCES DIGITAL ELEMENTS SHOULD BE INCORPORATED INTO TEACHING ON ALL LEVELS AND DIGITAL TEACHING METHODS SHOULD BE INTRODUCED, EXPLAINS DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATION CHRISTIAN KOCH RAMSING AND TEACHING ASSISTANT PROFESSOR FROM THE TASK GROUP RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 4 MORE SPECIFIC.

”Anders Kruse Aagaard and Jens Pedersen have experimented with implementing digital elements on the first year of study – as an integral part of overall studies. By solving small assignments, the students have gained insight into what digital tools can be used for.

Our impression is that students as well as teachers feel that this is working really well.

themselves in the use of the tools they are interested in as they have already acquired a comprehensive knowledge of how the different tools can be used to solve tasks.”

Thematic and based on the wishes of students

Based on this experience, our intention is to introduce digital methods, tools and processes into teaching in a similar manner during the 2nd and 3rd years and on the Master’s Degree Programme.”

”On the second and third years of studies, we offer a course called HardCourse at the end of the academic year, but it might be to our advantage if we placed it at the beginning of a semester, to make it a more natural aspect of the semester assignment.

Digital understanding and skills

The course could also to a greater extent be based on the wishes of students and be more thematic.

For instance, a unit may have a theme related to representation, in this context we could then suggest a way of incorporating digital tools. Rather than the digital becoming small isolated modules in teaching where students familiarise themselves with the machines – but without necessarily learning to incorporate the digital tools in the architectural assignment they are currently working on. More integrated courses will also provide a completely different opportunity to involve teachers who are not already familiar with digital tools.”

”At the bachelor level, it is all about making students think in digital terms, i.e. giving them an understanding of the possibilities and limitations of digital tools, giving them a nuanced knowledge of what the digital tools can be used for.

This should have the result that the students do not let themselves be limited, but learn to see digital tools as one opportunity among several others. For it is important that the students understand that drawing by hand and drawing on a computer are not different things. We communicate architecture through drawings and models, and this is the same, regardless whether they are produced in analogue or digital from.” ”There is a need for a differentiation or progression in teaching. At the Master’s level, the intention is therefore to make the digital understanding more user oriented; to equip the students to be able to use and take advantage of digital tools when they enter the labour market.” ”At this level, students should be given an opportunity to immerse

Digital learning methods According to the framework agreement it is not just a matter of the students developing digital competences, but also about introducing digital teaching methods? ”Yes, it’s about examining which digital teaching platforms are suitable for the special method teaching architectureis – for it is unique and does not resemble the

teaching methods used at other higher education institutions.

But one thing is certain, our students, like all other students today, have a different perspective on learning than previous generations, as they have been brought up to use digital media and platforms to acquire new knowledge. Consequently, they approach learning in a completely different way than we did when we were young.

For instance, they expect to be able to learn much more independently of time and place which is diametrically opposed to the way we teach at the school.

This is not to say that we should completely change our approach, but it may be necessary to supplement our teaching with some offers that match the possibilities for digital learning that young people today are given in all other areas.

This is an area where we have proposed affiliating one or more external consultants. We, consequently, have to narrow down what it is we need. I could well imagine that we need an expert on IT and didactics as well as someone who is more skilled in the purely technical aspects.”

Cohesion ”This would also go well together with the digital curriculum, for teaching the way we traditionally have been doing at the school is a heavy burden in terms of resources. This is an aspect where the use of instructional videos may be a great help. Everything I know about digital tools and processes I have found online. It’s not something I’ve been taught. And especially in the digital area there is an infinite amount of material you can find online, and you can find much highly specialised knowledge when this is what you need.

So in this way, strengthening the student’s digital skills and introducing digital learning processes are closely connected.” ”There is therefore also a clear connection between the framework agreement’s requirements for developing the digital aspects and the demand for developing a didactic laboratory.”

AARHUS SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE - STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT

This publication presents the essence of Aarhus School of Architecture’s strategic framework agreement.

An agreement concluded with the Danish Ministry of Higher Education and Science valid until 2021.

Furthermore, the publication contains our suggestions on how the objectives that have been set up can be achieved through specific actions.

Some have already been initiated, others will follow over the coming years and become part of our everyday lives at the school – which is also where the objectives will be realised.

The strategic framework agreement is not static, but will be evaluated and adjusted annually as needed in cooperation with the Ministry of Higher Education and Science. This means that the suggested objectives may change along the way.

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Aarhus School of Architecture Nørreport 20 8000 Aarhus C Denmark +45 89 36 00 00 a@aarch.dk