Last week the Faculty Board had the privilege to organise drinks in the Common Room to celebrate two things. First of all, the Faculty participated in the successful ITK- and CeQuInt evaluations. These two important certifications – one for the quality of the UM as a whole and one for the quality of its internationalisation policy – were obtained thanks to the efforts of many UM staff members, including many colleagues of our Faculty. The so-called ‘trail’ for internationalisation was carried out at our Faculty. The panel was positive about the way in which we do this and mentioned several times our – already famous – ‘International corridor’: the international environment in which students and staff work and study together and meet on a daily basis.

The second reason for having drinks was the publication of the reports of the Implementation Advice Groups. These groups were put into place to advise about specific aspects of our strategy. The drinks served to thank everyone who has been involved in the drafting of these reports. The six reports, about Solver, postgraduate teaching, Faculty community, sustainability, communication and alumni, contain many creative and good ideas that will be implemented in coming years. Decision making about these reports will take place in the usual ways: the Faculty Board will indicate for each report how it will continue with the theme. This plan will be discussed with the heads of department, the director of studies and the Faculty Council. But we cannot do everything at the same time: some themes, in particular Solver and communication, will be prioritised. For another priority, HR policy, decision making is ready. More information on this will follow soon in the Faculty Journal.

These drinks were not the only stimulating meeting I attended in the last few weeks. I was also present at a session about Female Empowerment @UM, wonderfully co-organised by our colleague Christina Peristeridou.