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The first University Board meeting of the semester was held at Campus Kristiansand. The Board met for two days, with the first day devoted to a Board seminar featuring presentations on the sector’s development within the various core areas.
The Student Organisation in Agder was invited to provide its input to the Board on the university’s development, in light of the strategic goal that UiA should be the students’ university.
Artificial intelligence, student financial support and measures to make it attractive for students to be on campus were among the issues they highlighted.
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Agreement on UiA’s development nears completion
Every four years, UiA enters into an agreement with the Ministry of Education and Research (KD) on how the university is to develop.
Following an extensive process involving input from the Board, the various parts of the organisation and the Ministry, the Board approved a draft which the Rector will submit to the Ministry after a few minor adjustments.
The draft presented to the Board sets out three development objectives:
- UiA is a student-centred university that educates graduates who participate actively in democracy and contribute to a rapidly changing world of work
- UiA’s academic communities conduct research and artistic development work at a high international level and make valuable contributions to society
- UiA makes higher education attractive, relevant and accessible to more people
Each objective has several performance indicators against which UiA will be assessed both qualitatively and quantitatively, ten in total:
- Students’ engagement and participation in their studies, student democracy and voluntary work are enhanced, and their capacity for critical and ethical thinking is strengthened
- More students, including PhD candidates, are trained throughout their studies to apply their academic expertise in collaboration with the world of work and society
- Students experience attractive and vibrant environments on our campuses, both academically and socially
- UiA’s academic communities participate in and lead more research and development projects at a high international level
- UiA strengthens its collaboration with strategic partners
- UiA is increasing the scope of its valuable and innovative contributions to society
- UiA is increasing the scope of its dissemination of general knowledge and its contributions to policy-making
- UiA is strengthening student recruitment, particularly from new target groups and into the major professional degree programmes, in collaboration with other key partners
- UiA is increasing the number of students completing flexible study programmes
- UiA will collaborate with other educational institutions on appropriate cooperation and division of labour, particularly in areas where there is a significant need in society, such as health, teacher training and technology programmes
New rector must have professorial qualifications
In the summer of 2027, a new rectorate will take office at UiA. The rector and pro-rector are elected as a team by students and staff in a rector election.
The University Board is making some changes to the election regulations:
- Candidates for the post of Rector must hold a professorship
- Candidates for the post of Pro-Rector must hold academic qualifications at the level of a full professorship
- Both candidates must be proficient in a Scandinavian language, both in writing and orally
Most of the discussion centred on whether to require strategic leadership experience from candidates for the post of rector. Arguments were put forward both for keeping this open and for stipulating this more explicitly in the regulations.
An important point was that it might be difficult for the Election Committee to assess what constitutes relevant strategic experience and what does not, should this be an absolute requirement.
The Board ultimately decided that the election notice should state that the university:
- assumes that rector candidates have strategic leadership experience,
- and that it is an advantage for candidates to have knowledge of the administration of this type of organisation.
In this way, the Board is signalling the skills candidates should possess to succeed in the role of rector.
The election will be announced on 23 November, with nominations open from 4 to 24 January 2027.
The first round of voting will take place from 1 to 8 March 2027, with a possible second round from 17 to 30 March.
Further information about the rector election will be available at uia.no.
Launch of a joint master’s programme in music
Following an application from the Faculty of Fine Arts, the Board approved the launch of the international, joint two-year master’s programme ‘Music in Action’. The programme is a UiA-coordinated collaboration with four other universities:
- University of Macedonia (Greece)
- University of Jyväskylä (Finland)
- University of Brasília (Brazil)
- Université Bourgogne Europe (France)
The programme is funded through the EU’s Erasmus Mundus scheme.
The programme explores music as a social practice and builds on academic traditions from community music, music education, arts-based social engagement and critical pedagogy.
Meeting dates for 2027
The University Board is scheduled to meet seven times in 2027. The meeting dates are as follows:
- 27 January
- 10 and 11 March (dialogue meeting with the faculties and board meeting)
- 11 May
- 16 June
- 7 and 8 September (Board seminar and meeting)
- 13 October
- 17 November
The meetings will generally start at 10.00.
Other selected items from the Board meeting on 9 September 2026
- The Board was briefed on this year’s intake figures and on completed doctoral theses (awards)
- The EU Action Plan was extended until 2027, pending changes to the EU’s framework programmes
- Board members Magnus Ellefsen Moen and Hilde Singsaas were elected to the board committee responsible for assessing the salary levels of the Rector and the University Director in connection with this autumn’s salary negotiations
- View all board documents.