2015 ANNUAL REPORT AMSTERDAM UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES CREATING TOMORROW 2015 ANNUAL REPORT AMSTERDAM UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES 2015 ANNUAL REPORT - AMSTERDAM UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD BY THE EXECUTIVE BOARD 6 KEY DATA 8 MESSAGE FROM THE SUPERVISORY BOARD 10 CENTRAL REPRESENTATIVE ADVISORY COUNCIL ANNUAL REPORT 14 DETAILS OF THE LEGAL ENTITY 16 1. AMSTERDAM UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES 18 2. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES 22 2.1 EDUCATION 23 2.2 RESEARCH 31 2.3 INNOVATION AND IMPACT 36 3. STRATEGIC RESOURCES 40 3.1 QUALITY OF STAFF 41 3.2 FINANCES 46 3.3 INFRASTRUCTURE 49 4. STRATEGIC THEMES 52 5. GOVERNANCE 58 6. FINANCIAL REPORT 64 6.1 FINANCIAL REVIEW 65 6.2 CONTINUITY 69 7. REPORTING ON PROFILE AND PERFORMANCE AGREEMENTS 72 APPENDIX 1 EDUCATION AND RESEARCH 82 APPENDIX 2 ORGANISATION 100 APPENDIX 3 ADMINISTRATION 112 JANUARI 5 FOREWORD BY THE EXECUTIVE BOARD 2015 ANNUAL REPORT - AMSTERDAM UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES The year 2015 was the year of the new Strategic Plan, which sets out and remain four key policy pillars. The Smart, Sound, Slim programmes the institution’s strategy for the years 2015-2020. It was the year in allowed many students and staff to work jointly on rounding off the which the declining trend in study success of the past few years was objectives outlined in the previous Strategic Plan. The outcomes of those bucked to reflect a rise, the year in which students’ satisfaction with programmes, together with the conclusions of the Institutional Audit, their programmes continued to climb, the year of the transition of which was held in 2013, and the ambitions outlined in the Profile and the support departments, and the year of unrest at the University of Performance Agreements (2011-2015), constituted the most important Amsterdam (UvA) with the occupation of the Maagdenhuis and the starting points for ‘Boundless Curiosity’, published in 2015. Given departure of the president of the Executive Board of the UvA and AUAS. the success the AUAS has had with programme-based working, the 2015 also was the year in which participation in decision-making really institution has decided to continue down this path in the years ahead. came into its own, undergoing a process of extension and consolidation Broader groups of staff and students are regularly involved in policy as well as the year that saw an audit of the AUAS’s applied research and development and staff and student participation plays an important role the adoption of the strategic research policy. at the school and institution level. In order to reflect the administrative responsibility they share, all school deans (i.e. faculty deans as of 1 This annual report presents a multifaceted impression of the February 2016) have assumed responsibility for one of the ‘Education developments at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (AUAS) and Research’ programmes established under Boundless Curiosity. in 2015. The structure of this annual report adheres to that of the Strategic Plan, so that both documents may be viewed and compared An annual report mostly focuses on policy, strategy and results. alongside one another. The end of this annual report, i.e. Chapter 7, Important though these aspects are, they are not the most important. contains the AUAS’s report on the profile and performance agreements That is because a university of applied sciences revolves around its that the institution made with the Ministry of Education, Culture and people: the students who begin a programme hoping to learn much, to Science in 2012, which demonstrates that the majority of the objectives have an unforgettable time and to secure a good starting position on have been achieved. Consequently, the AUAS looks forward to the the job market; the lecturers and the support staff who all in their own assessment of the review committee with confidence. Chapters 2.1 way contribute to the good-quality education that the AUAS wishes to through to 2.3 of this annual report provide more insight into the offer students; the researchers who form an important link between AUAS’s ambitions, the policy pursued and the activities undertaken in practice and the programmes, thereby serving companies, institutions 2015 on which the results achieved are based. Chapters 3.1 through and students. A university of applied sciences also revolves around the to 3.3 examine the contribution made by staff and how finances and companies and institutions that hire its students following graduation. infrastructure supported that contribution. The financial report is They entrust to us the degree programmes of their future employees. contained in Chapter 6. We thank all those who in 2015 made a contribution to the AUAS, the university of applied sciences of, for and by Amsterdam. Throughout this report, references are made to the ‘schools’ of the AUAS. On 1 February 2016 the university of applied sciences adopted Amsterdam, 31 May 2016 the term ‘faculties’ to replace ‘schools’, but as the latter term was applied throughout 2015, it is also used in this annual report. The Executive Board Continuity of policy Dymph van den Boom As the management of the university of applied sciences, we value Huib de Jong continuity of policy, which is why the new Strategic Plan titled Hans Amman ‘Boundless Curiosity’ is a corollary of the previous Strategic Plan (2011- 2014) titled ‘An Eye for Talent’. Though the new Strategic Plan (2015- 2020) contains a number of improvements and shifts of emphasis, there are no radical policy changes. Student satisfaction, study success, the position of graduates in the job market and lecturer quality are 7 KEY DATA 8 2015 ANNUAL REPORT - AMSTERDAM UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 EDUCATION Enrolled students1 46,299 46,444 49,651 48,622 46,764 Percentage of international students 3.1% 3.5% 3.6% 3.8% 4.1% Intake2 16,953 15,978 17,862 13,943 12,252 Bachelor’s exams 5,678 6,314 5,371 6,039 7,155 Master’s exams 81 90 84 77 98 RESEARCH Number of professors 33 37 41 41 49 Academic publications 208 226 246 296 302 Professional publications 218 258 250 328 312 KEY FINANCIAL DATA Equity (amounts x €1 million) 113.5 114 122.5 134.1 135.4 Solvency I 25.1% 25.3% 26.2% 29.2% 29.2% Solvency II 26.6% 26.7% 28.9% 31.0% 32.8% STAFF3 Teaching staff (FTE) 1,563.8 1,668.0 1,706.7 1,786.3 1,942.6 Teaching and research support staff (FTE) 201.8 238.4 252.4 274.8 201.9 Support and management staff (FTE) 849 883.8 900.3 897.1 968.8 Total (FTE) 2,614.6 2,790.2 2,859.4 2,958.1 3,113.3 Staff (numbers) 3,333 3,539 3,593 3,707 3,904 Percentage of international academic staff 2% 3% 3% 3% 3% Sickness absence 4.5% 4.6% 4.5% 4.3% 4.4% ENERGY CONSUMPTION Gas m3 1,278,776 1,165,886 1,295,073 941,173 864,932 District heating (natural gas equivalent m3) 1,091,812 1,070,292 1,262,704 675,387 703,606 Purchased electricity kWh 21,700,000 20,500,000 20,300,000 20,190,095 19,447,453 Generated by the AUAS via solar panels X 5,856 11,425 27,008 33,920 Total electricity kWh 21,700,000 20,505,856 20,311,425 20,217,103 19,481,373 CO2 emissions CO2 fuels (gas and district heating) 3,025 2,805 3,163 2,145 2,075 CO2 electricity 11,414 0 0 0 0 Total 14,439 2,805 3,163 2,145 2,075 Changes since last year -80.57% 12.76% -32.18% -3.26% 123 1 Reference date 1 October. 2 Reference date 1 October. 3 Reference date 31 December. 9 MESSAGE FROM THE SUPERVISORY BOARD 2015 ANNUAL REPORT - AMSTERDAM UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES As in previous years, in 2015 the Supervisory Board of the implementation of the new Strategic Plan 2015-2020, Boundless AUAS convened with the Supervisory Board of the UvA in Curiosity. The programmes have clearly borne fruit, not least because joint meetings, in which the members of the Supervisory the university of applied sciences succeeded in involving many of its staff Board of the UvA act to advise the Supervisory Board of and students in their implementation. Examples of results discussed by the AUAS. The Board convened nine regular meetings in the Supervisory Board are the timetable improvements and better use of 2015, including six with the Executive Board. The Board room capacity brought about by Slim, but also the Guidelines for Robust met together with an external accountant, PwC, on one and Academically Feasible Education, brought about by Smart. occasion. In the year under review, the Board considered it very important to pay sufficient administrative attention Furthermore, the Supervisory Board and the Executive Board considered to the AUAS, given the extent to which developments at the transition of Education and Research support at virtually every the UvA were dominant. The Supervisory Board and the meeting. This major project marks the end of the restructuring of the Executive Board discussed the completion of the Smart, AUAS organisation, launched several years ago with the establishment Sound, Slim programmes, the transition of Education and of the schools, with support of the primary process now the point of Research support and the collaboration between the UvA departure for the new structure. Responsibility has been moved closer and VU Amsterdam. to the staff, while the level of professionalisation is being raised at the institution where the core strategy is characterised by a comprehensive Meetings report approach to issues.