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Creating the Transformation Plan

The UM Transformation Plan is overseen by a Joint Steering Committee
comprised of the UM Board of Directors and UM Top Management.
The Transformation Labs, however, are led by UM staff who are
knowledgeable about the challenges and obstacles we face. The entire
plan is bottom-up rather than top-down, ensuring relevant and informed
engagement with the main issues.

After extensive discussions among participants in the Plan, as well as
with a range of stakeholders, six themes were developed, to function
as a Transformation Framework. Central to that framework is the
conviction that the university must aim not to be an ivory tower, but to
actively work towards solving real-world issues. The themes are:

• Champion new governance and business models
• Reimagine education
• Excel in research
• Adopt digital enabled lean management processes
• Transform culture, embrace change and nurture talent
• Enhance learning and work environment 5
CREATE – reflects the university’s desire to be creators of active
researchers and empowered students who will contribute positively to
society.

These themes will be put into action, to help us to become more
financially resilient, while improving the education experience, nurturing
excellent research, and streamlining management processes. The
entire learning and work environment will thus be enhanced for all
stakeholders.

Developing the themes further

• Once the six themes were developed, participants joined
action labs to work in detail on each theme. Within the group,
discussions were held to develop hypotheses. Stakeholders
were actively engaged in order to question and test these
hypotheses, thus ensuring that real-world problems were being
addressed.
• These labs addressed the current issues and challenges facing
the main stakeholders, and showed the gaps in the way the
university addresses these issues and challenges. The next step
was to develop effective solutions, and to identify changes that
need to be made in management processes. From this, a series
of actions were identified to be further developed into strategies
and initiatives, which will be carried out in the short, medium and
long term.