Department administration
The department administration team offers staff and students personnel, teaching, economic, research and general administrative services. The administration team's duties include aiding the department's steering committee and the head of the department in the preparation, presentation and execution of concerns that belong to their jurisdiction.
Led by Head of Studies Hannu Erkiö, the teaching administration team handles the teaching and gives student counselling at the department. The great effort in teaching administration in 2005 was the reformation of the degree structure as the university adopted a two-cycle basic degree system on 1 August 2005. All new students in the academic year 2005-2006 will complete their degrees according to the new degree ordinance, but during the three-year transition period, it will be possible to complete a degree in accordance with the old system, as well. The reformation and the transition period brought a great demand for new instructions and added to the need for student counselling.
The personnel administration team manages employment issues and well-being in the workplace.
The workload of the personnel team increased a great deal since the faculty council delegated a part of its authority in matters of staff appointments, in accordance with the changed service regulations of the university. This meant that, not only the presenters, but also the steering committee and the head of the department had a larger workload.
In 2005, Mehiläinen, the health care service company that produces health care for the university, carried out a workplace investigation with the help of forms and interviews to map conditions in the workplace and possible health hazards. In connection with this investigation, the department improved its first-aid preparedness by schooling more employees in first aid and by renewing the first-aid equipment. According to the workplace investigation the conditions at the department are good and the staff is content, and there are no factors threatening well-being at the department. Workplace investigations are carried out every 1-3 years, depending on the nature of the workplace.
As is traditional, the department staff had an outing in May, with a visit to the botanical gardens in Kumpula. The department staff also gathered for informal monthly meetings that act as a forum for discussion and announcements. It was especially the different stages of implementing the new salary system that invited discussion.
The economic administration team manages the department's finances and related advice, and supports the department management in economical planning and reporting. The greatest change in 2005 for the economic administration team was the university transferring to electronic invoice-management (Rondo).
The research administration team offers department projects with external funding planning and reporting services, as well as support for funding applications. In 2005, there were 59 different projects under way at the department. The Finnish Academy (36 %) and TEKES (35 %) are the greatest external funding sources. When it comes to external funding, the funding from TEKES increased somewhat, while that from the Finnish Academy decreased in proportion this year. External funding holds a very important position in the department's economy.
The general administration team assists the department management with expositions and reports, offers the department staff translation and editing services, office services for students, and both internal and external PR and information services. The greatest effort for the general administration and translation team this year was the research evaluation carried out at the department in spring 2005, for which data from the six previous years had to be gathered. The new degree system with its new terminology and instructions also posed new challenges to the translation services.
The department's PR and information services actively worked through 2005, e.g. editing the department's webzine me@tktl, arranging the department day and the participation in the Assembly event, and with media and peer group networking. The reformation of the department's webpages that started in 2004 continued this year.
By the end of 2005, a total of eight people were employed in the administrative team.