Executive Board

Competitiveness jeopardized

While the University of Bern can rely on a solid cantonal contribution to its basic funding, delays in the renovation and expansion of its infrastructure are jeopardizing the University’s competitiveness. This also diminishes the development of the region as a whole.

By Markus Brönnimann, Administrative Director

The Administrative Director’s Office not only takes care of the University’s systems and infrastructures, but also coordinates the vast majority of its services to ensure that teaching and research operations can function properly. Accordingly, the coronavirus pandemic proved quite challenging: Not only were swift steps needed to enable distance learning and working from home, but protection concepts in buildings and libraries had to be adapted on an ongoing basis in line with changing policies. We can rightly say that we’ve mastered these challenging times quite well.

Of course, we’ve also learned a lot at the same time. We know where there’s more potential for simplifying administrative processes even further, how and which meetings work well via video conferencing, plus we’re increasingly implementing digital tools that simplify our work together. The fact that the Administrative Director’s Office has had a Digital Officer on staff since mid-year has ended up being perfect timing.

Immediate action taken with University resources

While we might have been forced to take a fairly large leap in the digital world, too little progress has been made with respect to the University’s infrastructure. The University’s excellent reputation makes it attractive for researchers
and students looking for the right laboratories, offices and places to study and it celebrated some successes in these areas, too. The competition for the medical research facility at the Bern University Hospital was brought to a close, for example, and modern lab infrastructures were successfully installed in historic buildings. And in light of the current pandemic, the grand opening of the level BSL-3 biosafety lab, the only one of its kind in Switzerland, at the Institute for Infectious Diseases couldn’t have come at a better time. Other important infrastructure projects are still stuck at the planning stage, however, and have made very little progress due to structural and staffing problems in the Building Department of the Canton of Bern. We’re quite concerned about the situation. On top of that, already high maintenance requirements are growing higher and the University is increasingly finding itself forced to use its own resources to take immediate action, even despite the fact that the buildings belong to the canton.

Solution proposals on the table

We worked together with the cantonal offices involved in the projects to work out some solution proposals that were then discussed in the Cantonal Parliament. Unfortunately, not all of those proposals met with approval. With respect to building maintenance, however, some conceivable solutions involve delegating more responsibility to the University so that it can implement urgent maintenance measures more quickly.

While the University can rely on a solid cantonal contribution to its basic funding, major gaps in the resources earmarked for buildings are already foreseeable in the medium to long term. It only goes to follow that this will have an impact on the University of Bern’s standing when competing to recruit smart, motivated students. Incidentally, this negative impact also affects the region of Bern as a place of education, research and business.

Coronavirus pandemic leaves its mark on annual financial statements

Total revenue generated by the University in 2020 changed very little year on year and amounted to CHF 916.9 million. The year-end result from the aggregated accounts came to CHF 35.5 million while the result from basic funding amounted to CHF 4.1 million. The coronavirus pandemic left its mark on revenue and the results. Work and many projects were either delayed, could not be started or could not be carried out as a result of the lockdown. While this reduced expenses and eased the burden on the results, it also meant that some services were no longer in demand or that we were prevented from providing them. Income in several operations plummeted as a result. The financial consequences of the pandemic will mainly be felt in the years to come. To name one example: We will have to provide funding for early career academics whose projects are delayed due to the restrictions and whose temporary appointments are no longer guaranteed because their project funding is expiring.

The University of Bern’s good reputation continues to be reflected in rising student numbers and the fact that external funding is up in the national and international research environment, even despite the pandemic. That’s extremely encouraging.

The extremely stable funding received from the Canton puts the University in a position to continue pursuing its strategic projects in the years to come and also tackle new ones. Some of these include “Medicine +100”, “Complete Pharmacy Course”, “Center for Precision Medicine”, “Digitalization Strategy” and support for the creation of the Wyss Academy for Nature Foundation.