Moving closer to each other…

We are going to be condensed. This is a new concept that has become more familiar in Foulum now that we have received the message that we have to move closer to each other. This basically means that there will be a higher employee density. 

The aim of this condensation is partly to empty some of the buildings so that Aarhus University can cancel the leases and save money, and partly to optimise the remaining space so it is used in the best possible way and can lead to more interdisciplinary collaboration. 

Foulum’s HR and GSST contacts will move to Campus Aarhus in September. The Department of Food Science will move to Agro Food Park in Skejby (Aarhus) by the end of 2019, and the Foulum staff in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics will move to Aarhus in the course of the coming three to four years. All told, approximately 100 people will move away from Foulum. 

In the future, it will thus only be AGRO, the Department of Animal Science (ANIS), DCA and ICROFS that will continue to have their main locations in Foulum. There will be about 400 people left in Foulum. The vacating means that there will be empty offices and fewer employees to share the common facilities, including their costs. 

Aarhus University informed about the plans at a meeting in Foulum in September, where Technical Manager in ST Bent Lorenzen explained which buildings will be vacated and their leases cancelled.  

You can see his presentation here (in Danish).  

The presentation shows that building Pv32 must be emptied and the lease cancelled. This is the building in which JORD resides, among others. On the other hand, AGRO will have offices in the A zone at our disposal. 

- I can well understand that the employees involved are dissatisfied with these plans, but in the given situation it is the best solution because in this way we can save two million kroner in rent. It is also the only possibility for saving this money, says Erik Steen Kristensen. 

The pieces must fall into place

The next step in the process has been to find out how to distribute the remaining employees in the rooms and how to use the facilities as well as possible. In AGRO a committee has been established to prepare a plan for where to place AGRO's sections in Foulum. 

The committee has two representatives from each of the sections in Foulum and Birgit Sørensen Langvad from STAB is the chairman. The committee has come up with three different proposals upon which the management in AGRO will base their final decision. The committee has strived to  place staff with laboratory trials as close to the laboratories as possible,  fragment the sections as little as possible, and move as few employees as possible. Of course, the committee cannot work miracles, so some staff will need to compromise.     

The three proposals have been sent to the sections, that will reflect on the pros and cons of each proposal. The consequenses of proposal no. 3 also need to be investigated with regard to DCA.

You can see the proposals for condensing our office space here (in Danish).

- Jeg synes, at udvalget har gjort et meget fint stykke arbejde og det takker jeg dem for, siger Erik Steen Kristensen.

Bent Lorenzen’s presentation shows that there will also be big changes in the external buildings at AU Foulum. Several of the poultry buildings will be torn down, including the building F32. F32 presently contains a fitness room, massage room, locker rooms, and a room with a kitchen that is used for social gatherings, gym classes, yoga classes and other common events and activities. With the aim of getting ideas and inspiration for how we can find room in the A zone for the facilities from F32, a meeting for juniorVIP was held in November 2018. In addition, the staff club held a meeting for all staff in Foulum.  

You can read the minutes of the meeting with Foulum’s juniorVIP regarding Foulum’s future here.  

A work group on behalf of all Foulum has also been established. This work group deals with both a coordinated placement of the department’s staff in the main buildings and with the layout of the common premises. AGRO’s representatives in this work group are Birgit Sørensen Langvad and Bent Tolstrup Christensen. The chairman of the work group is Claus Bo Andreasen, DCA.  

You can see the mission of the work group here (in Danish).  

The Foulum of the future

The Foulum of the future is about much more than just where to locate fitness, fruit and folks. There is a need for a long-term and visionary plan. The heads of the departments that have traditionally been located in Foulum (AGRO, ANIS, FOOD, MBG and ENG) as well as DCA have collaborated to prepare a draught of a perspective plan for Foulum. The plan has been debated in the sections in AGRO as well as the other departments with a stake in Foulum.  

You can read the perspective plan draught for AU Foulum here. 

There will also be changes in the external zone. These will include new, extensive investments in the cattle barns, renovation of the semi-field facilities, and a new machinery shed at Foulumgaard.  There will be heavy investments in the biorefinery, which will be scaled up from being able to treat one ton per hour to ten tons per hour. 

- The investments in the biorefinery are part of AU’s efforts regarding circular bioeconomy. Circular bioeconomy contains many perspectives for foresighted activities in Foulum, not just with regard to research, but also in relation to our own actions, i.e. showing how to and actually acting in a circular and sustainable way and in tune with the UN sustainable development goals, says Erik Steen Kristensen. 

- The challenge for us will be how we as employees can contribute to a long-term, visionary plan for AU Foulum. At the latest meeting in the DCA management group we agreed to give it high priority in the coming year. You will be invited to more meetings about this subject, he says.