The question of what the university of the future should look like is becoming increasingly hotly debated. It should be internationally competitive, have a distinctive profile, promote interdisciplinarity and closely interlink teaching and research. It is undisputed that politicians must not only create a suitable legal framework for this competition, but also adequate financial resources, but this is rarely a reality. However, this should not distract from the fact that the future viability of the university's own organisational structure also needs to be put to the test. Four years ago, this realisation prompted the then new management of the University of Oldenburg to enter into concrete discussions about organisational reform.

A milestone on the arduous path to the future was the decision taken by the University Senate on 27 June 2001: Oldenburg University is saying goodbye to the traditional eleven departments and instead establishing five Schools, which will be subdivided into specialist institutes. The starting signal will be given on 1 April 2003.

The University of Oldenburg wants to create an organisational framework that supports the formation of outstanding research centres, redistributes resources and promotes profile development. In specific cases, it will also be a matter of integrating subjects with low resources or demand into interdisciplinary units or closing them down.

The cards will therefore be reshuffled. Saying goodbye to the familiar is particularly hard when it comes to one's own resources, research and autonomy. However, the changes that can already be felt are more than changes for their own sake, more than fashionable reform rituals - even if some see it differently. The reorganisation sharpens our focus and gives us the opportunity to concentrate on the essentials, to critically examine and to differentiate between real and apparent requirements.

Despite all the discussion, it should not be forgotten that the non-university public has little interest in internal organisational processes. What counts for them is the content and quality of a university - in other words, what it does for society.

Yours

Dr Corinna Dahm-Brey