IHF shall be an outstanding research and teaching environment

IHF shall have one of Norway’s leading research environments in the humanities. Our profile is unique in a national context in that most of our study programmes and research groups interact with and relate to NTNU’s main profile. Our academic composition shall provide strong opportunities for collaboration in research and education, both internally at the department and with other environments at NTNU, other universities, and public and private actors. Our staff participate in strong academic networks locally, nationally and internationally. 

We will facilitate internationalization through student mobility and various forms of international research collaboration. IHF shall recruit both staff and students internationally. At the same time, IHF will maintain a balanced recruitment process to ensure that national needs are met. We will strive for a high international standard among both staff and students. 

Historical studies are a central part of the comprehensive university that is NTNU. Our disciplines enrich, complement and shape the university’s main profile, while the main profile enriches, complements and shapes our educational offerings. Our study programmes shall attract strong recruitment, maintain high quality, and ensure student completion. We shall educate graduates with the competencies society needs and demands. The study programmes shall be rooted in strong disciplinary and professional environments, with interdisciplinary approaches where appropriate. 

IHF’s educational offerings shall be characterised by research-based and high-quality learning activities. We will be innovative in the field of education, utilizing a wide variety of teaching and assessment methods, and accommodate students with diverse needs through both physical and digital offerings. 

IHF shall have researchers and research groups that deliver high-quality basic and applied research, publishing in internationally recognized and academically relevant channels. Holding a faculty position at IHF entails an expectation to help build the academic community, apply for external funding, publish scientific work regularly, and communicate research-based knowledge to the public. Everyone shares a responsibility for building a collective research culture, with professors bearing a particular responsibility.

The quality of our scientific work shall be evidenced by the department regularly securing external funding for projects of various scales and in recruiting PhD candidates. The department shall have several nationally leading research groups and at least one internationally leading environment. 

IHF shall be an active contributor for knowledge-based and sustainable societal development

The knowledge managed by IHF is essential for democracy, inclusion, citizenship, and sustainable societal development. IHF’s particular strength lies in understanding the connections between people, culture, nature, and society over time.

This understanding emerges through the combination of strong disciplinary environments and interdisciplinary collaboration, including active participation in NTNU’s thematic strategic areas. IHF shall be organized in a way that provides strong conditions for both academic disciplines and for interdisciplinarity.

We will use our expertise to develop and communicate knowledge on topics that are prerequisites for sustainable societal development. We will work actively to ensure that our academic perspectives are valued and emphasized. This requires both specialized expertise and the ability to apply it in new contexts and changing circumstances, including research relevant to understanding and managing major societal challenges. We will engage actively with society’s competency needs and the expectations placed upon us, while simultaneously safeguarding academic freedom.

IHF shall be characterized, in both research and education, by collaboration with public institutions, civic life, and the cultural sector. We will educate highly competent graduates within our fields who will contribute to the development of Norwegian society. We shall develop educational offerings for lifelong learning that is relevant to the workforce, and flexible and accessible. This shall be developed in close collaboration with relevant academic environments and societal actors and can be undertaken either full-time or part-time.

IHF shall offer core competencies in disciplinary and professional education programmes, as well as supplementary humanities competencies across NTNU’s study programmes. We shall develop educational offerings in collaboration with other departments and faculties while maintaining our distinct academic identity. We shall demonstrate how our disciplines contribute to knowledge for a better world by ensuring that the knowledge is put to use and by serving as key contributors to a knowledge-based public discourse. Academic staff at IHF are expected to utilize a diverse range of dissemination arenas.

IHF shall be an attractive academic community

IHF shall be an attractive place to study and work. We shall facilitate research both in breadth and specialization, while particularly prioritizing initiatives that emerge from or strengthen a collective research culture. Academic community, generosity, and the sharing of experience shall characterize our working environment, where employees in all types of positions collaborate on the department’s core activities.

We make active use of our distinctive position as part of NTNU. Both the working environment and the quality of research and education are strengthened by a highly competent administrative staff working closely with the academic environments.

IHF shall have a positive working environment and a strong academic community where students and staff are present on campus. The academic and social foundations shall be maintained and strengthened through the campus consolidation project. The department shall use the unified campus to become more visible to the rest of NTNU. We shall be a natural and attractive partner for collaboration with other academic environments within a co-located NTNU.

Management at IHF shall facilitate sufficient authority and trust for employees to carry out their work within the existing frameworks. The working and learning environment shall be characterized by inclusion, diversity, and a high degree of tolerance for differing opinions. This also entails diversity in leadership, boards, and committees. Staff in all position categories shall have clear career paths and opportunities for professional development, and we shall maintain a sound senior policy.

Our students shall be challenged, mentored, and thrive so that they remain and complete their studies. Former students and employees shall be proud ambassadors for the department.