From 28 to 29 of April 2022, the annual conference of the European University Association took place at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics. Invited to the conference by the EUA were Rector Friedrich Faulhammer and Stefan Sagl, Head of Communications, to speak about the governance of universities as well as strategy-led change processes. Thereby, the University for Continuing Education Krems' strategic development served as a "best practice" model to draw the attention of European rectors and international higher education management.
As all agree on the importance of an overall strategy for the development of an institution, the implementation of such a strategy throughout the institution is often challenging in terms of generating effectiveness and value creation on many levels. At the invitation of the European University Association, Friedrich Faulhammer, Rector of the University for Continuing Education Krems, and Stefan Sagl, Head of the Department of Communication, Marketing and PR, presented at the Annual Conference 2022 in Budapest how the strategic management of universities and change processes can be implemented successfully, and in doing so creating broad acceptance. The strategic development the University for Continuing Education Krems has undergone was perceived on a European level and met with great interest as this invitation proves.
In the course of their presentation, Faulhammer and Sagl gave concrete examples of how a university-wide "strategic framework" rather than a "strategy" can be used to integrate university autonomy. Drawing on the strategic further development of the University for Continuing Education Krems, both success factors and challenges of strategy-based change processes were highlighted. In particular, it was shown how a strategic framework can be implemented and communicated at the different governance levels.
Both strategic processes and institutions as a whole can achieve greater impact when adopting a strategic framework, since this approach establishes the necessary orientation as well as a space for creativity and the equally crucial freedom. In their daily decision-making, it is the executives as well as the employees who benefit greatly from this strategy-guided further development. In order to manage and govern the university, accessing a strategic framework provides the opportunity to shape and support strategy and culture in different contexts of the university to thereby increase an institutional overall value.
About the European University Association
The European University Association (EUA) represents more than 850 universities and national rectors' conferences in 48 European countries. The EUA plays a key role in the Bologna Process and in shaping EU policies in the fields of higher education, research, and innovation. Through its ongoing collaboration with a range of other European and international organizations, the EEA ensures that the independent voice of European universities is heard. The general theme of the 2022 annual conference was "University values: what, why and how?".
