\u00bbFor someone who has been on the job for nine days, I am simply still finding out what a university director actually does,\u00ab S\u00f8ren Munks Skydsgaard admits, honestly and with a smile, when the University Post meets him at his sparsely furnished new office on a Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n
\u00bbI’ve spent the past half an hour getting to grips with my Workzone and my Outlook.\u00ab<\/p>\n
He is still in the process of settling down, and many days have passed with introductory meetings and reading, but \u00bbthe decisions are starting to move closer to the director’s table\u00ab.<\/p>\n
And S\u00f8ren Munk Skydsgaard is looking forward to it, because he has \u00bbobserved, with longing, the university as a workplace for a number of years now.\u00ab<\/p>\n
\u00bbThe University of Copenhagen is a legendary institution. And I’m proud to now be a member of the UCPH clan. I graduated from here, and now it has also become my workplace,\u00ab he says and elaborates:<\/p>\n
\u00bbAs an institution, the university is where you go when major problems need to be solved. But it is also where you go when you are looking for new insights, and it is the place where the decision-makers of the future are educated.\u00ab
\n<\/p>\n
The work with important institutions has been something that S\u00f8ren Munk Skydsgaard has done throughout his career. His last two jobs have been as resource director in the City of Copenhagen’s social services and as finance director at the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration.<\/p>\n
\u00bbBeing a white collar type, I have to admit that I find it interesting to work in the organisations and institutions that are responsible for something very valuable. The mission is typically just as deep as history itself\u00ab.<\/p>\n
About<\/p>\n
Born in 1969<\/p>\n
Raised in the provincial town of Ringsted.<\/p>\n
Master of Science in Economics from UCPH in 1998.<\/p>\n
Lives in \u00d8sterbro. Is married and has two children, a dog and a cat.<\/p>\n
From 2018 \u2014 until his employment at UCPH \u2014 he was resource director in the social services of the City of Copenhagen. Before that, he has been finance director of the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, deputy head at the Agency for Science and Innovation and deputy head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Innovation Office.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
S\u00f8ren Munk Skydsgaard has been involved in proposing and implementing financial cutback strategies. The latest decisions on UCPH administrative cuts were taken, however, before S\u00f8ren Munk Skydsgaard took up his position.<\/p>\n
And even though the detailed strategy for the administrative reform is something that he will spend a great deal of his time on, he will not yet point to specific areas where the University of Copenhagen will cut back.<\/p>\n
\u00bbI’m incredibly humbled by the task that I’ve been assigned to do, and I’m very open to different perspectives. It would be inappropriate for me to waltz in to the office on my ninth day of work and say exactly what the University of Copenhagen should do.<\/p>\n
This is one of the central points in our conversation with S\u00f8ren Munk Skydsgaard. He will not make any major pronouncements. Both because the university is still so \u00bbearly in the process\u00ab of the administrative reform, and because he has only just started in his office.
\n<\/p>\n
\u00bbHey, what the hell is that,\u00ab S\u00f8ren Munk Skydsgaard interrupts himself. A bubbly ring tone suddenly flows into his office.<\/p>\n
He jumps up to find the source of the sound and finds out that it is the office’s landline phone.<\/p>\n
\u00bbUhhh, I’ve never tried that before… \u00ab<\/p>\n
\u00bbI am going to have to just let it ring, because I don’t know how to answer it or hang up,\u00ab he says with a smile, and continues:<\/p>\n
\u00bbThis is a good example of how new in the job I am.\u00ab
\n
\nS\u00f8ren Munk Skydsgaard quickly pulls himself together.<\/p>\n
\u00bbWe’d better get back on track,\u00ab he says, and looks up at the ceiling to gather his thoughts.<\/p>\n
If you want to create change in an old institution like the University of Copenhagen, it has to be based on respect and on fascination, he explains.<\/p>\n
\u00bbBecause this is the only way you can build a bridge between the change that is required, and the people who will be part of the change. And that balancing act can be difficult.\u00ab<\/p>\n
This balancing act needs to be supplemented by an overview and perspective from the top, looking downwards.<\/p>\n
\u00bbThis may sound fuzzy and clich\u00e9d, but I really do believe it. That’s what my personality type is. To work across different disciplines, and to acknowledge the importance of it,\u00ab he says disarmingly.<\/p>\n
Even though I have been a manager for many years, I can easily remember what it is like to be a middle manager or staffer.<\/p>\n
S\u00f8ren Munk Skydsgaard<\/p>\n
<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
As a manager, he tries to uphold a general focus on the strategy. But he is also interested in getting his hands dirty with details, \u00bbbecause sometimes, this is where the devil is.\u00ab<\/p>\n
And he appreciates an open dialogue, he says, and says that in the same way it must be \u00bbunpretentious and joyful\u00ab to work with him.<\/p>\n
\u00bbWhen you talk to me, you can say what you think. I am myself a type where you don’t have to do any guessing.\u00ab<\/p>\n
He cannot point to any particular management ideal. He \u00bbdoesn’t really believe in that kind of thing,\u00ab he says. He does believe, however, that you take on different elements from the people who you meet on your path, and he has met many talented managers.<\/p>\n
\u00bbEven though I have been a manager for many years, I can easily remember what it is like to be a middle manager or employee. I’m really inspired by the working life that I have had so far. And that’s why it’s very important for me as a manager to think about what it’s like to be an employee.\u00ab
\n<\/p>\nQuirky films, poor tennis, and American rap<\/h3>\n
S\u00f8ren Munk Skydsgaard is \u00bboften in the cinema to see a lot of quirky films,\u00ab because his wife works in the film industry. He plays tennis at a level that is \u00bblower than it should be,\u00ab and loves to read both non-fiction and fiction.<\/p>\n
\u00bbI played the guitar in my first year of school, but switched to a piano. I’m actually in a jazz band. But we do not play for the general public,\u00ab he says with a grin. He relates how, when he was on his degree programme, he played keyboards in an ‘economics band’, which played big name cover songs at parties.<\/p>\n
Music is generally very important to the director, who says that his favourite genre is jazz and mentions names like Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Brad Mehldau.<\/p>\n
\u00bbBut before I sound like too much of a stereotype, it is also important to mention that I really like pop music. However, I am not a big fan of autotune. I was at Vega recently,\u00ab referring to the trendy Copenhagen concert venue, \u00bbto hear the band Rigmor,\u00ab he says, and pauses for a thought.<\/p>\n
\u00bbAnd I am a big Kendrick Lamar fan. I would like to see him at Roskilde Festival.\u00ab
\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"He is a \u00bbbig Kendrick Lamar fan,\u00ab he says referring to the US rapper and songwriter. He plays jazz and tennis in his spare time, and he is still trying to find out what it actually means to be a university director. But S\u00f8ren Munk Skydsgaard says he is fortunate that it is precisely at the University of Copenhagen that he has landed the job.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101,"featured_media":151401,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3160],"tags":[6213,6214,6215,2540],"class_list":["post-151543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","tag-administrationsreformen-en","tag-direktoer-en","tag-soeren-munk-skydsgaard-en","tag-universitetsledelse-en","expression-portrait_article"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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Munk Skydsgaard is very fond of his new office, where you \u00bbcan sense the aura of history\u00ab. But it feels a bit bare, so he \u00bbwill soon have some paintings hung up\u00ab."},{"acf_fc_layout":"Standfirst","subject":"Portrait","text":"He is a \u00bbbig Kendrick Lamar fan,\u00ab he says referring to the US rapper and songwriter. He plays jazz and tennis in his spare time, and he is still trying to find out what it actually means to be a university director. But S\u00f8ren Munk Skydsgaard says he is fortunate that it is precisely at the University of Copenhagen that he has landed the job.","use_post_excerpt":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"Byline","is_author":true,"contributors":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"Content","content":"<p>\u00bbFor someone who has been on the job for nine days, I am simply still finding out what a university director actually does,\u00ab S\u00f8ren Munks Skydsgaard admits, honestly and with a smile, when the University Post meets him at his sparsely furnished new office on a Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI’ve spent the past half an hour getting to grips with my Workzone and my Outlook.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>He is still in the process of settling down, and many days have passed with introductory meetings and reading, but \u00bbthe decisions are starting to move closer to the director’s table\u00ab.<\/p>\n<p>And S\u00f8ren Munk Skydsgaard is looking forward to it, because he has \u00bbobserved, with longing, the university as a workplace for a number of years now.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbThe University of Copenhagen is a legendary institution. And I’m proud to now be a member of the UCPH clan. I graduated from here, and now it has also become my workplace,\u00ab he says and elaborates:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbAs an institution, the university is where you go when major problems need to be solved. But it is also where you go when you are looking for new insights, and it is the place where the decision-makers of the future are educated.\u00ab<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Quote","quote":"It would be inappropriate for me to waltz into the office on my ninth day of work and say exactly what the University of Copenhagen should do.","quotee":"S\u00f8ren Munk Skydsgaard","style":"extended"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Content","content":"<h3>The mission is as deep as history itself<\/h3>\n<p>The work with important institutions has been something that S\u00f8ren Munk Skydsgaard has done throughout his career. His last two jobs have been as resource director in the City of Copenhagen’s social services and as finance director at the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbBeing a white collar type, I have to admit that I find it interesting to work in the organisations and institutions that are responsible for something very valuable. The mission is typically just as deep as history itself\u00ab.<\/p>\n<div class=\"factbox\">\n<p class=\"factbox-header feature-color\">About<\/p>\n<p>Born in 1969<\/p>\n<p>Raised in the provincial town of Ringsted.<\/p>\n<p>Master of Science in Economics from UCPH in 1998.<\/p>\n<p>Lives in \u00d8sterbro. Is married and has two children, a dog and a cat.<\/p>\n<p>From 2018 \u2014 until his employment at UCPH \u2014 he was resource director in the social services of the City of Copenhagen. Before that, he has been finance director of the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, deputy head at the Agency for Science and Innovation and deputy head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Innovation Office.<\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>S\u00f8ren Munk Skydsgaard has been involved in proposing and implementing financial cutback strategies. The latest decisions on UCPH administrative cuts were taken, however, before S\u00f8ren Munk Skydsgaard took up his position.<\/p>\n<p>And even though the detailed strategy for the administrative reform is something that he will spend a great deal of his time on, he will not yet point to specific areas where the University of Copenhagen will cut back.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI’m incredibly humbled by the task that I’ve been assigned to do, and I’m very open to different perspectives. It would be inappropriate for me to waltz in to the office on my ninth day of work and say exactly what the University of Copenhagen should do.<\/p>\n<p>This is one of the central points in our conversation with S\u00f8ren Munk Skydsgaard. He will not make any major pronouncements. Both because the university is still so \u00bbearly in the process\u00ab of the administrative reform, and because he has only just started in his office.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Content","content":"<h3>Technical challenges and unpretentious management<\/h3>\n<p>\u00bbHey, what the hell is that,\u00ab S\u00f8ren Munk Skydsgaard interrupts himself. A bubbly ring tone suddenly flows into his office.<\/p>\n<p>He jumps up to find the source of the sound and finds out that it is the office’s landline phone.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbUhhh, I’ve never tried that before… \u00ab<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI am going to have to just let it ring, because I don’t know how to answer it or hang up,\u00ab he says with a smile, and continues:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbThis is a good example of how new in the job I am.\u00ab<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Image","image":{"ID":151396,"id":151396,"title":"DSC_2966","filename":"dsc_2966-scaled.jpg","filesize":454360,"url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/dsc_2966-scaled.jpg","link":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/direktoeren-for-det-hele-jeg-er-stolt-af-at-jeg-har-faaet-ku-som-rygmaerke\/dsc_2966\/","alt":"","author":"101","description":"","caption":"","name":"dsc_2966","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":151434,"date":"2023-05-15 13:51:36","modified":"2023-05-16 11:29:27","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":2560,"height":1707,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/dsc_2966-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/dsc_2966-480x320.jpg","medium-width":480,"medium-height":320,"medium_large":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/dsc_2966-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/dsc_2966-1280x853.jpg","large-width":1280,"large-height":853,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/dsc_2966-1536x1024.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/dsc_2966-2048x1365.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1365,"featured-soft":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/dsc_2966-290x193.jpg","featured-soft-width":290,"featured-soft-height":193,"featured-hard":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/dsc_2966-290x180.jpg","featured-hard-width":290,"featured-hard-height":180,"narrow":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/dsc_2966-700x467.jpg","narrow-width":700,"narrow-height":467,"extended":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/dsc_2966-990x660.jpg","extended-width":990,"extended-height":660}},"style":"full","text_placement":"metadata-below","image_link_url":"","image_link_title":"","caption_prefix":"","enable_alternative_caption":true,"alternative_caption":"The new director had a technology glitch, and an abrupt call from a landline phone, that he did not even know existed when the University Post visited him at his new office in the UCPH administrative buildings in the centre of Copenhagen."},{"acf_fc_layout":"Content","content":"<p>S\u00f8ren Munk Skydsgaard quickly pulls himself together.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbWe’d better get back on track,\u00ab he says, and looks up at the ceiling to gather his thoughts.<\/p>\n<p>If you want to create change in an old institution like the University of Copenhagen, it has to be based on respect and on fascination, he explains.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbBecause this is the only way you can build a bridge between the change that is required, and the people who will be part of the change. And that balancing act can be difficult.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>This balancing act needs to be supplemented by an overview and perspective from the top, looking downwards.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbThis may sound fuzzy and clich\u00e9d, but I really do believe it. That’s what my personality type is. To work across different disciplines, and to acknowledge the importance of it,\u00ab he says disarmingly.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Even though I have been a manager for many years, I can easily remember what it is like to be a middle manager or staffer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"quotee\">S\u00f8ren Munk Skydsgaard<\/p>\n<p> <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>As a manager, he tries to uphold a general focus on the strategy. But he is also interested in getting his hands dirty with details, \u00bbbecause sometimes, this is where the devil is.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>And he appreciates an open dialogue, he says, and says that in the same way it must be \u00bbunpretentious and joyful\u00ab to work with him.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbWhen you talk to me, you can say what you think. I am myself a type where you don’t have to do any guessing.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>He cannot point to any particular management ideal. He \u00bbdoesn’t really believe in that kind of thing,\u00ab he says. He does believe, however, that you take on different elements from the people who you meet on your path, and he has met many talented managers.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbEven though I have been a manager for many years, I can easily remember what it is like to be a middle manager or employee. I’m really inspired by the working life that I have had so far. And that’s why it’s very important for me as a manager to think about what it’s like to be an employee.\u00ab<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Content","content":"<h3>Quirky films, poor tennis, and American rap<\/h3>\n<p>S\u00f8ren Munk Skydsgaard is \u00bboften in the cinema to see a lot of quirky films,\u00ab because his wife works in the film industry. He plays tennis at a level that is \u00bblower than it should be,\u00ab and loves to read both non-fiction and fiction.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI played the guitar in my first year of school, but switched to a piano. I’m actually in a jazz band. But we do not play for the general public,\u00ab he says with a grin. He relates how, when he was on his degree programme, he played keyboards in an ‘economics band’, which played big name cover songs at parties.<\/p>\n<p>Music is generally very important to the director, who says that his favourite genre is jazz and mentions names like Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Brad Mehldau.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbBut before I sound like too much of a stereotype, it is also important to mention that I really like pop music. However, I am not a big fan of autotune. I was at Vega recently,\u00ab referring to the trendy Copenhagen concert venue, \u00bbto hear the band Rigmor,\u00ab he says, and pauses for a thought.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbAnd I am a big Kendrick Lamar fan. I would like to see him at Roskilde Festival.\u00ab<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"ArticleEnd"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Newsletter","lang_select":"en","identifier":"Newsletter","headline":"Get an email with our top stories","button_text":"Sign up here","class":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"OtherStories","headline":"","hand_picked_posts":false,"references":false,"category":false,"theme":false,"number_of_posts":"4","style":"default"}]},"taxonomyData":{"category":[{"term_id":3160,"name":"People","slug":"people","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3160,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":58,"filter":"raw"}],"post_tag":[{"term_id":6213,"name":"administrationsreformen","slug":"administrationsreformen-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":6213,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":3,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":6214,"name":"direkt\u00f8r","slug":"direktoer-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":6214,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":6215,"name":"S\u00f8ren Munk Skydsgaard","slug":"soeren-munk-skydsgaard-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":6215,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":2540,"name":"universitetsledelse","slug":"universitetsledelse-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2540,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":8,"filter":"raw"}],"post_format":[],"expression":[{"term_id":14,"name":"Portrait Article","slug":"portrait_article","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":14,"taxonomy":"expression","description":"","parent":0,"count":796,"filter":"raw"}],"translation_priority":[{"term_id":5468,"name":"Optional","slug":"optional-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":5468,"taxonomy":"translation_priority","description":"","parent":0,"count":672,"filter":"raw"}]},"featured_media_url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/dsc_2981-1280x853.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151543","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/101"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=151543"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151543\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":151570,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151543\/revisions\/151570"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/151401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=151543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=151543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=151543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}