Name, title and department:

Kjeld Nielsen, Associate Professor at Department of Materials and Production 

Why are you running for the board?

I have two main goals in running for the board: First, I want to strengthen employee engagement at AAU because I believe that with the current attitude, we are missing out on a lot of knowledge and insight. Despite being over 3,000 employees, each with unique expertise, I am confident that if employees are heard to a greater extent, our organization will be strengthened. Therefore, I am running for the board; I want to ensure that all employees have a voice.

My second goal is to ensure interdisciplinarity. I believe that the current structure supports silo thinking, making it challenging to face a future as dynamic as ours. We have a wealth of in-house knowledge, and I want to contribute to its broadest possible use – that's my second reason for running.

In your view, what is AAU's biggest challenge?

In my view, AAU has three major challenges that I will focus on if I am elected to the board:

1) There is a lack of involvement and genuine democratic processes at Aalborg University. The single-hierarchical leadership structure challenges motivation in the operational aspect.

2) The societal relevance of Aalborg University is under pressure, both nationally and regionally. AAU is not visible enough in areas that have real significance for Danish society.

3) The current budget model at AAU has an excessively high overhead ratio (expenses for Common Expenses and Shared Services). The consequences of the budget model's disproportionately large overhead have resulted in poorer competitive conditions when applying for project funds, the closure of research areas, the removal of educational programs, and general cost-cutting measures at the departments. 

What is the solution to that?

In my view, there are three points that should be implemented to address the above three issues:

1) The leadership should genuinely ensure democratic processes by involving employees more in all significant decisions and at all organizational levels. There should be much greater transparency about significant decisions; I propose first and second readings in the board for major decisions, with employee involvement in developing significant decisions at the university, faculty, and department levels.

2) We need to ensure to a much greater extent that society's focus on Aalborg University is what makes us special and socially relevant, both regionally and nationally. A new communication strategy needs to be developed with employee involvement.

3) The overhead portion of the budget must be reduced; the budget model should, to a much greater extent, ensure better competitive conditions for the revenue-generating parts of the organization. I propose that the budget model be adjusted by 2030 so that the university's total overhead expenses do not exceed 25% of the budget. This can be achieved through a 1% annual reduction starting from the budget year 2025.

Why should one vote for you in the board election?

In short, you should vote for me because I aim to make a difference. In the previous term, I, along with other internally elected board members, fostered a more open and inclusive dialogue within the board. The next term aims to ensure that this involvement continues.

As always, I am a passionate advocate for my causes, and I am eager to apply my knowledge in this area to make a difference for my colleagues here at AAU.

What are your key issues?

Involvement and interdisciplinarity are both my campaign slogan and my primary causes. I believe we need a much larger democratic culture – from strategic and tactical to operational levels. I will continue to work to ensure much greater transparency and a democratic culture.

We are a workplace of intellectual individuals who should be able to collaborate interdisciplinary regardless of campus, faculty, or department affiliation. However, this requires improved attention to involvement and interdisciplinarity, so both we as employees and the leadership can strategically move AAU forward and remain socially relevant.

Therefore, I hope you will cast your vote for "Kjeld Nielsen – for involvement and interdisciplinarity" in the board election 2023.