Strategy
Faculty of Economics and Management
Strategy 2026-2035
Vision
Excellence at the intersection of economics, management and technology.
We will be an outstanding academic community that connects economics and management with technology and the natural sciences. Working together, we will contribute to sustainable value creation through education, research, innovation and dissemination.
Mission
Through the education of competent professionals and through research, we amplify the ability of business, industry, and the public sector to create sustainable solutions for tomorrow.
This is characterised by:
- Research within the field of economics, business, and management, grounded in the technological profile of our university to contribute to solving complex and interdisciplinary problems.
- A strong interaction with business, industry, and the public sector.
- Encouraging leadership and innovation.
- A strong focus on the Nordic model of management, emphasising equality, participation and co-determination.
We will be an outstanding international academic community in economics and management, with strong ties to NTNU’s main profile in science and technology
We will offer education and research of high international quality. We will draw on our strength in interdisciplinary collaboration and the unique opportunities that lie in connecting our disciplinary knowledge with other fields, particularly within technology and the natural sciences. We will collaborate more closely with leading knowledge communities across the world.
We will achieve this by:
- Building and further developing strong research communities at a high international level, in collaboration with leading research communities globally. We will advance the research front through significant research publications and success in top-tier research projects.
- Offering research-based study programmes of high quality that meet international standards through accreditation, are attractive both nationally and internationally, and are recognised through awards and the appointment of teaching staff as Excellent Teaching Practitioners. We will offer a broad range of study programmes and educate economists and engineers with deep disciplinary knowledge and interdisciplinary collaboration skills.
- Ensuring that the education portfolio and research develop in close interaction and form a strong foundation for further education, research, innovation and dissemination. In addition to top-tier research, this requires that we facilitate long-term knowledge development across the breadth of our disciplines and maintain a sustainable portfolio of externally funded activities.
- Further developing our educational expertise and strengthening our efforts to renew learning, teaching and assessment methods, in line with the international knowledge frontier.
- Strengthening the quality of our PhD programme, so that our candidates are recruited into research careers nationally and internationally and are sought after by business, the public sector and organisations that need advanced analytical and research expertise.
- Ensuring a professional administration with high competence in relevant areas.
- Positioning ourselves as attractive partners for leading knowledge communities nationally and internationally. This will enhance knowledge development, academic quality and international impact.
We will be a knowledge provider for sustainable societal development
We will deliver knowledge and competence for sustainable societal development through education, research, innovation, dissemination and collaboration. As part of a comprehensive university with a strong main profile in science and technology, the faculty will harness interdisciplinary opportunities, connect education and research closely to the needs of society, and contribute knowledge to help solve major societal challenges. We will be the first choice for staff and students who want to combine academic quality with relevance and close interaction with working life.
We will achieve this by:
- Educating graduates who are well prepared for a working life in constant change. We will draw on the faculty’s strong academic communities in interdisciplinary collaboration, learning environments and varied modes of learning. Our graduates will contribute to a more sustainable society through economic competence, management skills and technological understanding, combined with knowledge of sustainability.
- Adapting our study programmes to future competence needs within our disciplines and offering education that supports lifelong learning. Our study programmes will be relevant and future-oriented, developed in close dialogue with other academic communities, working life and other societal actors.
- Being an active partner in research and development processes and collaborating closely with decision-makers and societal actors to solve relevant, complex societal challenges.
- Promoting creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship, ensuring our knowledge is turned into solutions for national and global challenges.
- Disseminating research-based knowledge to contribute to an informed public debate and facilitate knowledge-based decision-making.
We will be an attractive academic community
We will offer a strong and inclusive academic community characterised by academic quality, belonging and pride for ambitious students, academic staff and technical-administrative staff. Through a strong culture of collaboration and respect for diversity and disciplinary distinctiveness, we will create an engaging environment in which everyone contributes to the faculty’s development.
We will achieve this by:
- Strengthening our identity and role as a unified faculty and fostering belonging and pride among staff and students.
- Developing a culture characterised by mutual recognition and support, open dialogue, shared meeting places and collaboration across units and disciplines. We will harness the value of diverse backgrounds, competence and perspectives to strengthen education, research and the working environment.
- Inspiring our staff and students towards fresh thinking and innovation through support for experimentation and pilot projects. We will foster a culture of continuous learning in the face of new technology and share experiences systematically so that this learning takes root across the faculty.
- Attracting and developing skilled staff, both permanent and temporary, through clear career paths, good framework conditions, relevant development opportunities and a safe, motivating working environment.
- Offering excellent learning environments and good student welfare characterised by academic specialisation, personal growth and social belonging. This will make us attractive to talented students and help ensure that they will thrive, evolve and successfully complete their degrees.
- Promoting an inclusive student environment where diverse perspectives are valued and everyone feels seen and heard. This will strengthen learning and increase the attractiveness of our study programmes and courses.
- Facilitating mobility and internationalisation, for both students and staff. International collaboration and recruitment will promote academic development, network-building and new perspectives. This will strengthen our ability to solve societal challenges, both nationally and globally.
- Ensuring participation and involvement throughout the organisation. We will build a community characterised by trust and engagement, in which staff and students have real influence.
Academic freedom
Academic freedom is a fundamental prerequisite for our academic activity. We work in accordance with recognised standards of integrity and quality within our fields. We will safeguard continued academic freedom, our independence and our critical voice, both institutionally and for all our academic staff.
We encourage and facilitate our staff’s participation in the public debate with their research-based knowledge. By clearly highlighting academic freedom as a core value, the faculty ensures that it remains an arena for knowledge, reflection and critical thinking.
Learning and working environment
We are characterised by a culture of respect, consideration and a high degree of involvement and participation from both staff and students. All students and staff at the faculty will contribute to an enriching and positive learning and working environment, where leaders have a particular responsibility.
We have an inclusive and safe working environment that promotes well-being, health and curiosity. As an employer, the faculty ensures predictable and attractive terms and conditions of employment.
We have learning environments that foster a strong academic identity and counteract dropout. We have good relationships between students and staff. Our students experience good academic and social conditions and find that a well-functioning student democracy is facilitated.
Infrastructure
Good working and learning spaces, databases and laboratories are crucial to our activity. Adapted and inviting physical surroundings facilitate excellent education and research, and good learning and working processes. They create arenas for academic and social interaction between staff, students and wider society.
Organisation and management
We have a culture characterised by engaged staff and students, participation and good leadership. Competent leaders at all levels of the organisation are secured through recruitment, leadership development and leadership support. We have clear lines of communication, structures and role understanding. Openness, co-determination and collaboration with safety representatives and elected employee and student representatives are central to decision-making processes at the faculty.
Operations are efficient and well organised, with short decision-making paths and agile processes. Good governance and predictable framework conditions create a solid foundation for operations and development. The faculty has a competent and forward-looking technical-administrative staff that develops and improves processes and contributes to the core activity, in close interaction with the academic communities.
Together we achieve our ambitions
The faculty is a whole, built on all staff and units contributing their specialist expertise and strengths to realise our shared goals. We recognise that no single unit or individual can deliver on all the goals we have set ourselves. Collaboration and synergies, within and between units and disciplines, combined with good leadership, enable us to fulfil the ambitions we have set ourselves as a faculty together.