IDI's strategy will support NTNU's overall strategy "Knowledge for a better world”,
the IE faculty's strategy. The strategies will contribute to sustainable competitiveness,
well-being and quality of life, and will help to achieve national and international goals
for research and education policy.

Addressing major societal challenges

IDI's subject areas provide a broad and potential knowledge base for finding solutions
to the major societal challenges. Based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals
(SDG), we believe that IDI is particularly suited for contributing broadly to key
sustainable development goals:

1. Goal 3: Good health and Well-Being
2. Goal 4: Quality education
3. Goal 5: Gender equality
4. Goal 9: Industry, innovation, and infrastructure
5. Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities

Selection of priority areas has been made on the basis of input from our disciplines
and external analysis of important academic and social trends, proposed overall goals,
and overall strategy for research and research education.

The following areas are proposed for the period 2018 – 2021 (in random order)

1. Security and robustness (How to enable technological systems to withstand intentional and unintended unwanted events and - if such events get an impact - restore system service delivery as soon as possible)
2. Cognitive Systems: Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Big Data Analytics in Combination
3. Knowledge, data and information management, data processing, data analysis, knowledge extraction and information search.
4. Visual computing: Color management, graphics, computer vision, image processing, visualization, virtual and augmented reality
5. Human-machine interaction and user experience
6. Software in Autonomous Transport Systems
7. Energy-efficient IT solutions and IT for sustainable development
8. Development and understanding of complex IT systems, both from a system development and an information system perspective
9. Digitization in public and private sector including collaborative solutions, digital economy, new business models, as well as IT and management
10. IT for health and welfare, including handling and analysis of bio and health data / registry data
11. Art and technology (under the ARTEC umbrella)
12. Technologies that support learning (including "serious gaming" and learning analytics") and innovative learning methods within IDI's educational areas
13. New, potentially disruptive technologies, such as blockchain "and beyond" and bio-inspired IT (e.g. cyborg project)

These fields cross the established research units. A strategic mean is to specifically
support research cooperation in such transversal areas in what we will call research
networks. Research network pilots will be established during 2018.

Goals:

1. Our research is internationally oriented in ambition, collaborative relationships, recruitment and finance, and maintains high quality measured according to internationally recognized criteria for academic activities within IT. In several disciplines, IDI has research in international top class, according to such criteria.
2. Our research is highly relevant to and done in cooperation with industry and the public sector, and it has a good balance between long-term and basic research, strategic innovation-oriented research, societal and industry-relevant applications.
3. We adhere to ethical guidelines that ensure responsible research and innovation.
4. We will conduct its research through a varied project portfolio, including research driven (e.g. FRIPRO, ERC) and thematic calls (e.g. H2020 LEIT ICT). All researchers are working on renewing the project portfolio to keep it at a stable high level.
5. We actively cooperates with national and international partners. Our professional communities have strong industrial and academic networks and are preferred academic partners for relevant external actors.
6. We publish in reputable, preferably open (golden) journals and conferences focusing on quality rather than quantity. We wish to have 2 publication points per UFF man-years in average. 25% of the publications should be on level 2. We will have higher scores on these indicators than other departments in computer technology and computer science in Norway.
7. Our research education produces PhD candidates with both internationally competitive academic quality and high relevance for Norwegian and international working life. On average, we aim to graduate 15 PhD candidates per year.
8. We will conduct research related to our teaching, including research on IT-didactics.
9. We wish to integrate academic activity with technical and administrative support to have a leading infrastructure and framework for particularly data-intensive research.

Goals:

1. We will have a wide range of bachelor and master's programs in IT that each has a clear profile in relation to admission requirements and candidate competencies.
2. Our education offers high relevance for today's and tomorrow's business and public sector, providing learning outcomes and competencies in line with the needs of society and the workforce, and make important contributions to sustainable innovation and value creation.
3. We recruit skilled and motivated students with relevant backgrounds, nationally and internationally, and both genders are well represented on all study programs, with at least 30% female students. Our programmes of study have high acceptance requirements, both compared to NTNU, and the best national educations within the IT-field
4. Our education must be research-based at all levels in all study towns. One should have research-based development of the study program and include the students in research activities as an initiative to recruit more students for research.
5. Our graduated candidates at all levels are Norway's most sought after within their respective disciplines and are competitive in an international job market. All students have relevant job offers at the end of the studies.
6. We have a central role in NTNU's basic education, as a provider of basic IT courses.
7. Our education offers are nationally leading on student satisfaction and learning outcomes, through a combination of good educational approach and a good physical and social learning environment
8. We offer continuing education in its disciplines as demanded by the workforce and by individuals. The offers should be given both as an individual subject and as a study program. The offers can be provided online or as blended learning on a competitive platform. The offers must be self-financing.
9. We offer topics in English for a global audience. This will highlight us and NTNU in areas where we have outstanding knowledge, or in areas where NTNU wishes to contribute to a positive development according to the SDG
10. We have an increase in the number of students going on exchange

Goals:

1. We contributes to innovation through candidates, research collaboration with established national business, public sector and international partners, entrepreneurship, and open, user-driven innovation.
2. We contribute significantly to increased digitalization-driven innovation in Norwegian business and public sector. This often happens in the form of interdisciplinary cooperation across NTNU.
3. We are a leading academic contributor to internationally successful entrepreneurship and innovation based on IT ideas from employees, students and alumni. Every year, at least 3 new businesses are started based on work from employees or students, and employees must be given framework conditions for carrying out such activities.
4. We are a constructive co-player in NTNU's ecosystem for innovation, and actively utilizes this system to create new business.
5. We establish and utilizes long-term collaborative agreements with industry and the public sector to support innovation, for example through center-forms such as Telenor-NTNU AI lab and structures such as Wireless Trondheim Living Lab.
6. We utilizes NTNU's proximity to regional business and competence clusters in Gjøvik and Ålesund to create new activity and added value for business in these regions.

Goals:

1. We are an ethically aware provider of knowledge-based advice and recommendations and assists decision-makers in society with the necessary knowledge to make the right decisions in matters affecting the department's disciplines.
2. Our communication and dissemination activities in collaboration with IE increase society's understanding of the importance of our subject areas for all areas of society.
3. We shall be the first choice for media within our field of study
4. Our dissemination and communication demonstrates our academic communities and the brand NTNU, and strengthens our resource based framework conditions, recruitment to our studies and positions, and the academic and social reputation.
5. Our dissemination activities are based on our professional competence and results and utilize the channels that are most relevant at any time. This includes both established channels and channels that we have helped shape ourselves (e.g. NOKIOS, NKUL, HelsIT) and possible new channels.
6. We shall have an updated relevant presence on the web

Goals:

1. Our employees and students experience a good, inclusive and safe physical and psychosocial work environment.
2. We do not have injuries, accidents, absence or value-related losses that may be related to the work environment, and employee satisfaction with their working environment is among the best at NTNU.
3. The department is characterized by transparent, evidence-based decision making, taking the necessary time to obtain the best possible knowledge-base for decisions
4. Our internal communication strengthens formal and informal involvement, contributes to knowledge and comprehensive understanding of the departments activities among employees and students, providing transparency, trust and predictability in internal processes, and a good work and study environment
5. Our technical-administrative support system effectively contributes to promoting the department's strategic goals and primary needs through appropriate internal organization, efficient use of resources, effective processes and necessary skills development.
6. We, in collaboration with IE and NTNU, actively uses digitization and standardization in administrative processes where this is beneficial.
7. We attract and hire the best candidates for both permanent and temporary academic and technical / administrative positions. In cooperation with other parts of NTNU, leadership development programs are offered.
8. All working environments at the department reflect a natural diversity of employees, e.g. regarding gender and ethnicity.
9. All employees feel that they get recognition when doing a good job. We will support both research positions (towards professor) and teaching positions (towards docent), with most professional staff following the first. One must have clear development programs in relation to both.
10. We will emphasize good practices for financial management and quality assurance of budgets across the entire department's activities and be transparent in relation to the use of resources, including premises.
11. We have culture and practice for good cooperation, participation, appropriate division of work and team building across campuses, organizational levels, organizational units and disciplines.
12. We take advantage of campus development at NTNU to account for the increased importance of the IT area in society both in terms of facilities (e.g. in the form of own IT building) and organizationally