HUMANE 2018 Study Visits

University of Padova, November 25-27

Making positive change happen: organisational turnaround at the University of Padova

How do you go about achieving lasting change in one of Europe’s oldest and most prestigious seats of learning, the Università degli Studi di Padova?

Despite being a member of the Coimbra Group, the network of ancient research universities which includes the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Heidelberg, Salamanca, Jena, Leuven and Leiden, Padova is not immune from the pressures of international competition, funding constraints and the relentless drive for greater efficiency, or the need cultural renewal.

It is against this background that HUMANE member and Director General of the University of Padova, Alberto Scuttari, has embarked upon a programme to transform the administration and management of this venerable institution.

As a comprehensive university with: circa 60,000 students; a technical-administrative staff of circa 2,500 employees; an academic staff of about 2,500; multiple sites spread over the Veneto region; a host of research centres, science and technology hubs affiliated with the University; a university hospital, museums, libraries and halls of residence, the scope of the transformation is immense, as is the scale of the changes needed.

The approach Alberto and his senior colleagues have taken has been to emphasise the power of taking positive action to achieve systemic cultural change for the benefit of Padova’s students, staff and other stakeholders.

The Padova Study Visit provides a wonderful opportunity to investigate how the University has embraced the need for transformational change, the methods it is using to achieve its objectives, the successes they have achieved and the lessons learned so far.

The study visit will be an intensive one and a half day engagement, with informal networking opportunities and plenty of opportunity for participative group work and discussion, taking place in one of Europe’s most beautiful university cities.

The programme has been designed to allow participants to learn about our host’s lessons learned as well as their successes; and for the hosts to learn from participants, particularly during the structured feedback sessions.

Register now to secure a place - this is a popular programme with a limit of maximum 20 participants.

Visit our website for information on the full 2018 programme of events.