Competence development at AAU must be strategic in that the initiatives are based on the goals and tasks of the local unit, and thus interact with both AAU's overall strategy and the local strategy and action plans.

The manager and staff member together must ensure that the staff member’s competence development is relevant and align their expectations of the goal of the competence development activity, subsequently following up on the learning and ensuring that the competence acquired is put to use in daily tasks.

When you embark on strategic competence development, you can ask yourselves these questions:

What skills do we lack in light of current and future challenges and goals?

• What are we already good at?
• What are the main shortcomings?

How do we strengthen or develop these competences?

• What are the goals for competence development?
• What competences should we develop?
• What methods can be used? What suits us best?
• How do we implement it in practice?
• How do we anchor new knowledge and competences in day-to-day work?
• How do we figure out if we are on the right track?

The questions are illustrated in the following model:

Individual competence development can be agreed upon at the annual staff/management performance and development reviews, and on an ongoing basis in terms of current needs. The group performance and development review is an opportunity for dialogue and reflection between the manager and the staff group on the staff members’ shared well-being, motivation, competences and development. We conduct staff/management/group performance and development reviews to create coherence between AAU's strategic goals and competence needs and the staff member's own expectations and wishes for career and work life.