The organizational structure of the Cantabria International Campus Project is adapted to the objectives of quality, excellenc and reference on the basis of a series of general principles,,
Capacity of governance through a structure that is capable of giving answers to vision, objectives and the project mission
Representativeness of the multiple institutions the Campus has
Flexibility to give immediate answers to demands in development from society and the market
Transparency based on the principles of giving accounts
Responsibility in the acceptance of established commitments with attention to possibilities and in the search for opportunities
Objectivity obtained through the external perspective given by international experts
Coherence and consistency to establish the necessary continuity and stability
Efficiency and effectiveness to optimize resources and manage them with the aim of reaching the highest social credit
For these reasons, Cantabria International Campus has been structured in three layers,
I.- Assessing Council for the campus, as a consulting organ
Formed by academics, consultants and people from the entrepreneurial and prestigious cultural area and with international recognition, they carry out the functions of guidance when it comes to establishing great strategic action lines and carrying out the follow-up process of achieving objectives.
Their activity began in August 2009, having participated in the assessment of the Augusto González Linares Programme to Attract International Talent or in specific actions in each international campus (such as the design of new institutes and the definition of its research lines), having held personal meetings with all of them in Cantabria or in the case of Frances Lannon, having the honour of pronouncing the inaugural speech for the 2010/2011 academic year, and besides, as the current president in the Conference of Colleges in Oxford, collaborating in the definition and implementation of a special collaboration programme with the University of Oxford in the International Campus framework. In the short term, this body will participate in the definition of the Governance Model which Cantabria International Campus wants to adopt as its own, after singularly knowing the opinion of the aggregates and the Representative Council.
II.- Representative Council, as the body for social and academic representation of the participating institutions
Formed by people with maximum executive capacity designated for each of the institutions aggregated to the project, for the development of specific functions which require the support of the strategic objectives of Cantabria International Campus, which should be provided with administrative cover and regulations appropriate for it. This body means the coordination of the University of Cantabria with the aggregates to the Project Cantabria International Campus, with the functions of establishing the coordination guidelines for assessing the Council with the executive lines of the Campus and pass Action Plans and annual budget lines, amongst others.
Information and participation tasks are carried out in a plenary meeting, periodically meeting up, and of Committees of Work and Support to the different International Campuses, in which each of the aggregates acts on the basis of their specific nature and institutional, social or economic interests it represents. Each Committee is provided with its own operational regulations which allows it to adapt to the needs of each of the projects it manages.
Practising its functions, it has met up on two occasions during the period corresponding to the present report. The first time was in February 2010, with the object of formally forming and naming the Directors of the International Campus (although in this first meeting there were specific action proposals which later materialized, such as the AGL Programme to Attract International Talent) and the second one in November 2010, with the object of presenting the results from the first anniversary of Cantabria International Campus and evaluating management of the Campus during its first year and making proposals, debating those proposals and action lines for 2011.
III.- Management of the Campus and management structure, as an executive body
Management of the Campus is the greatest personal body linking and coordinating the Campus, it has executive capacity and falls on the Vice-Rector of Coordination in the International Campus of Excellence, under the Rector’s supervision and complemented by the work done by the Director in the Planning Area and the Head of the Area of the International Campus of Excellence and Web.
Functions include that of administratively directing functions within the Campus and coordinating actions between different International Campuses, elaborating and presenting the Annual Action Plan, continuously asking the Assessing Council and periodically asking the Representation Council for information.
In order to achieve leadership in the strategic initiatives of Cantabria International Campus, the Directors for each of the Areas of Excellence within the Project were named in February 2010.
International Campus |
Person in charge |
Water and Energy IC (CIAE) |
Iñigo Losada Rodríguez (UC) |
Biomedicine and Biotechnology IC (CIBB) |
|
Banking, Finance and Entrepreneurial Activity IC (IBFA) |
Francisco Javier Martínez García (UC) |
Heritage and Language IC (CIPAL) |
Manuel Suárez Cortina (UC) |
Technology IC (CIT) |
Luis Muñoz Gutiérrez (UC) |
Physics and Mathematics IC (CIFMA) |
Enrique Martínez (CSIC) |
The management team in the Project has been strengthened with the creation of a management structure with work contracts to this effect, making an independent work team from the university structure. This work team is made up of the following:
A Director of Coordination, responsible for strengthening relationships with institutions and companies aggregated to the project and establishing relationships with other institutions and companies which are linked through collaboration in different projects.
A professional in information and marketing, with the objective of implementing a communication strategy in three complementary orders towards the university itself, the sixteen foundational aggregates and the regional society in general.
A group of four higher technicians, one having his head office in Brussels, who support the management and development of the different International Campuses and the different projects taking place, carrying out follow-up duties in the development and incubation of new projects, among other things.
As a complement, Menéndez Pelayo International University (UIMP) has created a Vice-Rector’s office for Cantabria Campus of Excellence, naming Ángel Pelayo in February 2011, increasing his presence in the Cantabria International Campus project.
Management Model Cantabria International Campus
Present management of Cantabria International Campus means a transition stage towards the creation of a Model in which the management team and coordination and collaboration bodies were previously mentioned and come together. The resulting body will have defined objectives and its activities will centre around supplying the project with a differentiated means for the consolidation and management of the International Campus, making competition easier for all public and private aggregates, with flexible formulae. Equally, as a priority it will have to act as a link between the academic institution and the government of different entities which are necessary to carry out different projects, diversifying the capturing of resources, making dialogue easier with institutions related to the Campus, carrying out contracts, with appropriate procedures in each case, with human and material means necessary to carry out these objectives, without overloading the administrative structure and university services and allowing the incorporation of new agents to be incorporated in the future of the project.
The most appropriate legal form for all the participants in the aggregation is the Foundation, which when it is set up, will have a material contribution of a linear character from all the aggregates. This will provide its membership in the Trust meeting and will be accompanied by singular contributions which will give rise to a balanced participation in decision-making. In any case, the statutes will reserve the Universities of Cantabria and Menéndez Pelayo sufficient participation cuota so that the commitment of the institution with the aims and objectives of the International Campus of Excellence remain guaranteed. The Foundation is currently to be found in the phase of elaborating the Statutes and defining the initial contributions.