2026 Study Visit
Venue: Copenhagen Business School
16:30
Registration and coffee
17:00
Study Visit Welcome
- Welcome by HUMANE
- Welcome by the Copenhagen Business School
- Objectives, structures and expectations
17:15
Universities under strong governmental regulation: implications for professional services
- Regulatory and accountability pressures on universities
- Efficiency, quality and compliance expectations
- Why professional services have become strategically central to institutional viability
17:45
Workshop: participants’ challenges and reform priorities
18:45
Linking participants’ expectations to the Study Visit programme
19:00
Welcome reception and Networking Dinner (hosted by the Copenhagen Business School)
Venue: University of Copenhagen (UCPH)
08:45
Arrival and coffee
09:00
The Danish governance context: regulation, autonomy and administrative accountability
- National steering and regulatory requirements
- Implications for institutional self governance
- Consequences for professional service leadership
09:30
The reform journey
- Drivers for change
- Governance and organisational model before and after the reform
- Key political, organisational and cultural challenges
10:00
Interactive case discussion: leading large scale administrative centralisation (workshop)
10:45
Coffee break
11:00
Centralisation, standardisation and decision rights
- What was centralised — and what remained decentralised
- Service ownership, accountability and mandates
- Maintaining trust with academic environments
11:30
Workshop: defining the limits of centralisation
- Group work on selected service areas (e.g. HR, finance, student services, research support)
- Discussion of efficiency, quality and flexibility trade offs
12:30
Lunch
13:30
From central governance to local delivery
- How decentralised administrative units operate within a centralised governance structure
- Delegated responsibilities, service catalogues and accountability
- Key questions for observation and dialogue during the visit
14:00
Structured learning visit: decentralised administrative provision a centralised governance structure
Visit to a faculty based local administrative centre, focusing on:
- Application of centrally defined standards and processes
- Interfaces between central and local administration
- Scope for local autonomy in daily operations
- Leadership roles and competence requirements at local level
Discussions with local administrative leaders and staff
15:15
Coffee break
15:30
Reflective workshop: making centralisation work on the ground
Facilitated discussions:
- What worked well in the observed model
- Where do tensions, ambiguities or risks arise
- Risks of recentralisation vs risks of fragmentation
- Lessons transferable to participants’ own institutions
UCPH leaders respond with reflections and clarifications
17:00
Return to hotels
19:00
Informal networking dinner
Venue: Copenhagen Business School
09:00
Administrative transformation at CBS: choices, trade offs and results
- Reform drivers under strong regulation and resource constraints
- Redesigning professional services as operating models
- Explicit prioritisation and de prioritisation
10:00
Operational excellence in practice
- Process optimisation and standardisation
- Shared services experiences
- Cost transparency as a leadership tool
10:45
Coffee Break
11:00
Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence in professional services
- Automation and AI as enablers of new service models
- Governance, data quality and risk considerations
- Organisational implications
11:30
Reshaping the administrative workforce
- Changing roles and competence needs
- Upskilling and reskilling strategies
- Supporting managers through continuous transformation
12:00
Participant reflections: key takeaways and application at home institutions
12:25
Closing remarks
- HUMANE
- Host institutions
12:40
Closing lunch and departures
Important information:
HUMANE, the Copenhagen Business School and the University of Copenhagen fully intend to deliver the HUMANE Study Visit to Copenhagen. If however, restrictions require it to be postponed, participants will be notified with as much notice as possible.
Neither HUMANE, the Copenhagen Business School and the University of Copenhagen are liable for any losses, accidents or damage to persons or objects during the HUMANE Study Visit to Copenhagen. Participants attending the HUMANE Study Visit to Copenhagen do so at their own risk and responsibility.