Strategy
Strategy 2020-2025
Strategy 2020-2025
Our strategy is based on NTNU’s 2018-2025 strategy—Knowledge for a Better World—and the Faculty of Humanities’ strategy for the same period.
Our values
Developing quality is a collective project. ISL therefore aims to stimulate a culture of collaboration and sharing of experiences.
Our mission
Knowledge of language, communication, literature, and culture is a prerequisite for maintaining and developing democratic societies. Cultural diversity offers us new perspectives and is enriching in itself, yet it can also produce misunderstandings, disagreements, and conflict.
Through research, ISL contributes to our knowledge about how humans express themselves in different eras and societies and the significance of these expressions in relation to political impact, power relations and the distribution of resources.
We examine how humans learn languages; we uncover patterns in language(s) and language change, within communication, and within literature as an artistic form of expression. We communicate our knowledge to society, and we develop new methods and analytical concepts which enable us to advance our research and gain further understanding. The courses of study we offer build on this research, which is developed further through dialogue with our students.
We meet social changes and challenges by educating students with up-to-date knowledge and skills within our disciplines. Our study programmes are attuned to the department’s interaction with relevant professions and workplaces, for instance through our strong vocational education programmes. Our educational environment, characterised by active learning, prepares our students for collaboration and for taking critical approaches to new knowledge.
Our students contribute to society and to the workplace with an ability to handle sources critically and with rigorous, ethical methodologies.
Core tasks
MAIN OBJECTIVES 2025
ISL is an attractive place of study with a course portfolio growing out of strong research environments and research-based knowledge of teaching and learning. ISL has a culture which promotes the development and testing of new methods of teaching which places active learning at the centre. Our study programmes are continuously improved through dialogue with relevant stakeholders in society and through collaboration with our students.
DEVELOPMENT GOALS
ISL will
- apply for a Centre for Excellence in Education (SFU) next time there is a call for applications
- have a course portfolio that is developed in conjunction with the project Fremtidens HUMSAM
- strengthen our discipline studies and their profiles at MA level
- follow international developments in education and integrate relevant academic and pedagogical perspectives in our study programmes
- accommodate and encourage student mobility
- contribute to the development of a more streamlined course of study for the five-year master’s programme Language Studies with Teacher Education
- improve the completion rates in our study programmes
- meet society’s needs for life-long learning by offering courses that are relevant for an evolving working life
MAIN OBJECTIVES 2025
ISL has active research staff who publish in reputable open access channels, have external funding for their research projects, and contribute to knowledge-based discussions of social issues and current affairs relevant to their specialism.
DEVELOPMENT GOALS
ISL will
- apply for a Centre of Excellence (SFF) next time there is a call for applications
- have a good infrastructure to support research
- collaborate with local and national stakeholders in order to develop joint research and development projects
- have strong research groups with active recruitment in order to ensure continuity and development
- apply for external funding of research projects
- strengthen our research efforts and share our findings with the public
- facilitate outreach work
MAIN OBJECTIVES 2025
ISL is an attractive workplace characterised by an environment that encourages employees’ involvement, responsibility, and contributions. Collaboration across academic fields and different types of professional position is natural. A hallmark of ISL is trust at all levels, as well as good internal communication which contributes to openness, collaboration, and sharing. The leadership of ISL ensures fair access to resources and responsible and transparent administration of the resources within stated frameworks.
DEVELOPMENT GOALS
ISL will
- have a policy of recruitment which emphasises equal opportunity and diversity
- ensure that all employees have a career plan and accommodate the development of skills and competence
- have a strategic plan for staffing in accordance with academic developments and decisions made by the Faculty Board
- prioritise more time for our core activities through efficiency measures and the streamlining of routines
- have constructive collaboration between administrative and academic staff
- assess the internal organisation of the department