The Faculty of Science and Technology (S&T) announced in September last year that it had to reorganise. The reason is a structural financial deficit of seven million euros. To reduce this deficit, adjustments to the organisation are necessary.
A fortnight ago, all S&T employees directly affected by the faculty's reorganisation were informed. 46 employees were told that dismissal may be one of the outcomes for them, and 17 employees will face other changes in their jobs, e.g. a change of department or content of their work.
UT is not the only university where this is happening. Higher education has been facing structural underfunding for more than a decade. Together, we have been running up against limits for some time; little time for teaching and research and high work pressure for staff. This affects our manoeuvrability in a situation like this, where several challenges come together: downward adjusted expectations of student intake, increased costs and the prospect of cutbacks in government funding. This, unfortunately, makes drastic choices like reorganisation inevitable.
It is a major challenge to reorganise while ensuring that education and research continue. At UT, we have education as our highest priority and do everything possible to ensure that students notice as little as possible. Nevertheless, it may happen that you run into something in the coming period, for example, because a lecture has to be cancelled and there is no immediate solution yet. You will be informed about this through the usual communication channels. Do you have specific questions? Discuss them with your lecturer or study advisor to find a solution together.
