Recap of the Leadership Day "Digital Competencies in Public Administration"
On 17 October 2022, the Leadership Day took place at the University of Speyer - this year organized by Prof.n Sanja Korac, full professor and head of department of Public Management, and Dr. Derya Catakli, lecturer at the University of Speyer and member of the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI).
The event was designed in a hybrid format, with 15 participants attending in person and 65 participants joining virtually.
Speakers with different backgrounds - public administration, public health, academia, and consulting - discussed the topic of digitization in general and the relevance of digital competencies in different areas of public administration in particular, emphasizing how indispensable digital competencies are for the administration of the future.
In lively discussions with participants in person as well as in the virtual room, the following findings surfaced:
- Digitization in public administration can only succeed with committed, competent employees
- Teaching and training digital skills in public administration is already taking place to some extent, but there is definitely still 'room for improvement'
- Digital skills already play a key role in personnel acquisition in the civil and public service in some areas, but this could be strengthened
- Artificial intelligence and statistics should be given greater consideration in the further course of digitization in public administration
- Our neighboring country Austria can serve as a role model - Austria already has a 'Digital Audit Office”, which not only emphasizes digital competencies in the recruitment of new staff, but has also strongly digitalized processes in the audit office
Opening ceremony of the 15th course of the FKS • Führungskolleg Speyer on 12 September 2022
The opening ceremony of the 15th course of the FKS • Führungskolleg Speyer took place in the auditorium of the University of Speyer on 12 September 2022. After greetings by the academic director, Prof. Sanja Korac, the Rector of the University of Speyer, Prof. Holger Mühlenkamp, and the representative of the Permanent Working Group of the FKS • Führungskolleg Speyer, MR Dr. Marten Pfeifer (Ministry of the Interior of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia), the keynote speech "Agile Leadership – Necessity or Fad?" by Prof. Dr. Gottfried Richenhagen (FOM University of Applied Sciences) formed the main part of the evening. In addition to the new course participants, other guests had also gathered in the auditorium, who then rounded off the evening with a glass of white wine and the rich buffet. For the new participants of the FKS • Führungskolleg Speyer, the festive opening marked the beginning of a two-year 'journey' that will ultimately lead to personal and professional development. The 15th course of the FKS • Führungskolleg Speyer runs until the middle of the year 2024.
Prof. Sanja Korac chairs panel at PMRC conference in Phoenix (AZ), USA
The annual Public Management Research Conference (PMRC) of the Public Management Research Association (PMRA) is considered one of the most important and at the same time largest conferences in the research field of public management worldwide. This year it took place at the University of Arizona in Phoenix (AZ) in the US on 25 to 28 May 2022.
Prof. Sanja Korac chaired the panel "Local Budgeting: Innovative Research". The panel consisted of presentations of scientific papers followed by Q&A, with a focus on the use of public funds and their impact on public administration at the local level.
Topics of the papers by colleagues from around the world included "Budget Decision Accuracy: Analyzing and Advancing Decision-Making in Public Budgeting," "Slack Resources and Financial Performance in Local Governments," and "Experimenting with Engagement: Results from a Municipal Budget Simulation Experiment."
The next PMRC will be held on European soil - at the Utrecht University School of Governance in the Netherlands - from 27 to 30 June 2023.
Conference "Digital Competencies in Public Administration" - 17.10.2022
The department of Public Management at the German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer is hosting the Leadership Day on October 17, 2022 from 10:00 to 17:00, which will be dedicated to the topic "Digital Competencies in Public Administration" this year.
You can find the program for the event here!
The speakers will bring in the perspective of federal authorities in Germany as well as Austria, different state authorities, the municipal level, as well as the science.
The Leadership Day is designed for public administration representatives from different levels with leadership responsibilities (executive positions, team leadership functions) as well as actors from business and civil society.
The conference is organized in a hybrid format – in person in the lecture hall of the German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer and online via our video conference platform BBB Big Blue Button.
Details on registration are available here: https://www.uni-speyer.de/weiterbildung/weiterbildungsprogramm-/-online-anmeldung
Opening ceremony of the 15th course of the FKS • Führungskolleg Speyer
The opening ceremony of the 15th course of the FKS • Führungskolleg Speyer, a training program for leaders in the German public administration, will take place on 12 September 2022 from 7 to 10 pm.
Welcome and greetings: Prof. Dr. Sanja Korać - Scientific Director FKS - Führungskolleg Speyer; Prof. Dr. Holger Mühlenkamp - Rector of the German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer; MR Dr. Marten Pfeifer - Ministry of the Interior of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, representative of the Permanent Working Group of the FKS • Führungskolleg Speyer.
Keynote: “Agile Leadership – necessity or fad?“ by Prof. Dr. Gottfried Richenhagen, FOM University of Applied Sciences.
The opening ceremony and the subsequent mixer will take place in the auditorium of the German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer. The opening ceremony will also be broadcast digitally - more information will be available here shortly: www.uni-speyer.de/lehrstuehle/prof-dr-sanja-korac/aktuelles
New Course on Scientific Research and Writing offers assistance in different phases of writing a seminar paper or thesis
Prof. Sanja Korac und Sarah Müller, M.A., introduce the course E 608 - Wissenschaftliches Arbeiten - Disziplinübergreifende Grundlagen und praktische Anwendung (Scientific Research and Writing – cross-disciplinary basics and application in practice) starting this winter semester. The course offers basics on scientific research and writing to students with different disciplinary backgrounds. The topics covered in class are basics of research design, methodological approaches, scientific writing and academic presentations, as well as evaluation criteria for seminar papers and theses. Participants are welcome to bring their current work (seminar paper or thesis) to class, checking directly with the recommended criteria and aspects presented by the lecturers, receiving individual feedback. Further, presentational skills will be trained directly in class. The course is open to all students of the University of Speyer, as a voluntary course (2 hours awarded in the transcript of records) that offers assistance usually provided by Academic Writing Centers or Writing Services in other universities.
Strategy Development for the IRSPM - International Research Society for Public Management
As a member of the board of IRSPM - International Research Society, Prof. Sanja Korać participates in developing the strategy for the society. The changing landscape of scientific conferences, the ties of different scientific associations and societies to individual journals or publishers, and the attempt to best represent scientists worldwide, but also the experience of the IRSPM with the last purely digital conferences, represent important cornerstones for a reorientation of the IRSPM.
Recent Publications:
The role of emotions for citizen engagement via social media - A study of policy departments using twitter. Government Information Quarterly (2022): 101686 (together with Leppert, K. und Saliterer, I.)
Corporatization in Local Government: Difference and Shared Experiences. In: Andrews, R./Van Genugten, M./Papenfuß, Ul/Torsteinsen, B. (eds.): Corporatization in Local Government: Differences and Shared Experiences. Palgrave: London (in press) (together with Saliterer, I.)