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„The structure for the new unit focusing on Education Innovation will be finalized during April,“ says leader of the unit, Kristi Vinter.

Vinter claims they thought they knew beforehand, which positions will be created and who will work on which field. “But then we realized maybe all the planned positions would not be needed.” A clearer view about sharing the workload was promoted by the fact that Vinter took part in the study regulations workgroup under the reform leading committee.

The new unit will strive toward having the tasks of support staff and other members of the bureau distributed more clearly and with less duplication to promote quality and compactness. “An advantage we have is that there are only two former units merging, the Institute of Educational Sciences and the Pedagogical College, and I am well acquainted with both of them,” explains Vinter.

Rearranging the support staff workloads began with heated debates already in November 2013. Work on the system took six months, and a new one was implemented on September 1^st, 2014. “We are kind of a pilot unit, since our rearrangements started a year earlier,” she says.

Unexpected bottlenecks were discussed at the weekly meetings and changes were made as a result. No bridges were burned while implementing the new arrangements, but currently it seems nobody wishes to return to the old system, either. Moreover, the new system brought on a pay raise for study coordinators.

“We can say today the quality of support for students has increased greatly thanks to a more cooperative work arrangement,” she claims.

The bureau currently consists of a research and development specialist (known in the future as a research coordinator), a head of studies and an administrative assistant. The role of a head of administration has been contemplated, but hitherto not established, due to the size of the new unit.

As to the studies, the tradition wherein every programme within the Institute of Educational Sciences was homogenous and isolated from other, albeit similar programmes, will change. Developments will be based on academic goals: education support services, non-formal education and teacher studies – educational sciences and will cross the borders of traditional study programmes. People from the Pedagogical College will also move into our building. “The level of studies will rise definitely, even when we will have a few less lecturers,” says Vinter.

For some members of the academic staff, this can mean breaking away from familiar subjects and focusing on new directions. The institute with their new academic directions requires the creation of new academic profiles already in the new future.