http://www.eua.be/images/logo.jpgEUA’s Secretary General Lesley Wilson earlier this month took part in a symposium on staff development in academia organised by RWTH Aachen University in Germany. The event brought together different stakeholders from across Germany to discuss different elements and challenges of human resources (HR) management in universities.
Lesley Wilson was asked to provide a European perspective on the topic – and in her presentation stressed that human resource development at all levels was a crucial issue not only for universities in Germany but also across Europe and worldwide, as institutions seek to attract talented staff and students. She underlined that one of the important aspects for universities to compete in a global higher education environment, was that they should have the autonomy to decide freely on issues related to human resources management, including recruitment, salaries, dismissals and promotions. EUA’s autonomy scorecard study had shown that there are still wide divergences across Europe in terms of staffing autonomy, she added, and that this does not always make it easy, for example, to promote mobility or recruit staff from other countries. More...