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Annual report 2021

Board of trustees report

2021 was a new year in the sign of the pandemic. BI Norwegian Business School had a record-breaking number of applicants last year, and we were recognised by NOKUT for our quality assurance work. We also manage to prepare the school for a future after corona by revising our Strategy for 2025.

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For the second year in a row, digital teaching and the hardening and easing of restrictions became keywords to describe the reality of employees and students alike at BI in 2021. The board has monitored the situation closely and noted how the combination of physical and digital teaching has been a challenge for employees and students, and their ability to adapt to pandemic shutdowns and reopenings one after the other.

The board acknowledges how BI has taken several steps to elevate user experience related to hybrid education, including major upgrades to technical infrastructures. It is essential for BI to stay abreast of the developments that occur in the learning arenas of the future. With an increasing interest in digital learning and changing demands from students, the board expects BI to safeguard and strengthen its focus on digital forms of delivery, even in the post-pandemic period.

Following an audit at BI in the spring of 2021, the board at NOKUT agreed to the expert committee's recommendation in October and approved BI's systematic quality assurance work. Impressive efforts were made to ensure that the entire organisation works more and more systematically and transparently with quality assurance and development. The board also considers this an ongoing process and expects efforts to improve and develop the programme quality assurance system further.

In 2021, to remain attractive and innovative in a society facing major changes, BI decided to revise the school's strategy towards 2025. It is crucial for BI to safeguard its ability to rapidly reposition and re-prioritise investments when the need arises. The revised strategy now assures this while setting out a clear course for BI in times to come.

In 2022, in line with the revised Strategy, BI will be exploring new forms of delivery to create even better learning experiences for our students. In order to ensure attractive and relevant teaching programmes, we will work to strengthen how BI involves and includes the business community and public institutions in its activities. The revised strategy sets guidelines for how BI will work even more purposefully in other priority areas, including internationalisation, sustainability and research. The board is satisfied with how BI delivered on the school's strategic priorities in 2021.

The board notes that BI's research influences political decisions, practices in business and society in general. In January 2021, this was systematically mapped out by BI for the first time and made visible with the report Societal Impact of Research. Among other things, the report showed that between 2012 and 2020, research from BI was referenced in at least 149 political documents and over 600 news articles. The board believes that such initiatives are important for presenting the value of research and how business schools can contribute to solving major societal challenges. In a society where fake news is gaining increasing influence, BI's strategy highlights the importance of providing research-based knowledge to higher education institutions.

The long-term commitment to innovation in the study programme portfolio continues to yield results. For BI's full-time studies, turnover was 9.6% higher in 2021 compared to the previous year. Applicant numbers were still solid, also compared to the record year 2020, with growth in both bachelor's and master's programmes of 17% compared to last year. However, due to high student admissions in 2019 and 2020, BI was not able to take up as many students for capacity reasons. A total of 7% fewer students were admitted in 2021 compared to the previous year. On the Executive market, the trend was positive with a turnover of around 12% over last year. A substantial part of the growth is due to the allocation of funds from the authorities for the development of courses for unemployed and laid-off persons.

The board believes that employees and students have shown an impressive ability to adapt and develop in the previous year. The board would like to extend a big thank you to employees, students, the student union (BISO), alumni and partners. Together, everyone contributes to securing and further developing BI's position as a leading international provider of research-based teaching, up-to-date knowledge and lifelong learning.

GOAL ACHIEVEMENT AND RESULTS

In the pandemic year 2021, BI has worked systematically on measures to strengthen the social and professional integration of our students. BI students have again proven to be very attractive in the labour market, and for the sixth year in a row BI is ranked as Norway's best business school by Financial Times.

Annual results and the board's measures

BI is a self-owning foundation whose sole purpose is teaching and research. All value creation at BI will be used to strengthen the organisation and strengthen student learning.

BI Norwegian Business School Foundation is the parent company in a corporate structure consisting of the 100% owned subsidiaries BI-Bygget D-Blokka AS, Sandakerveien D-Blokka AS, Sandakerveien 116-118 AS, Bedriftsøkonomisk Institute AS and Studentenes Hus AS. All the companies have the same business address, at Nydalsveien 37 in Oslo. Of the subsidiaries, only BI-Bygget D-Blokka AS had activity in 2021 through the rental of premises. BI-Bygget D-Blokka AS owns 21.7%, while the Foundation owns 78.3% of the property in Oslo. The Group's turnover in 2021 was 1874.2 million kroner, and the operating profit amounted to 125.8 million kroner.

The Group's real estate investments are financed through a mortgage in DNB Bank ASA, secured throughout the real estate stock in Nydalen. During the year, the Group has paid ordinary instalments equivalent to 48.0 million kroner, with the remaining mortgage amounting to 451 million kroner on balance sheet date. The Group's total financial items amounted to 17.9 million kroner in 2021. The real value of the building complex in Nydalen is expected to remain well over the book value, amounting to 1775 million kroner.

Pre-tax profit for the year for the Group was 108.0 million kroner. The tax demand for the year was 6.9 million kroner, and this is mostly related to property rental activities in the parent company and the subsidiary BI-Bygget D-Blokka AS. Profit after tax for the year was 101.1 million kroner.

Net cash flow from operating activities and investments was +67.6 million kroner. At year-end, 23.3 million of the Group's drawing rights of 50 million kroner were used, compared with 58.3 million at the same time in 2020. As of 31 December 2021, the Group's book equity was 788.4 million kroner.

Financial results for the Foundation in 2021 amounted to 87.6 million kroner, against a budget of 61.1 million kroner. The board is satisfied with BI's financial results.

BI achieved revenue growth of 157.3 million kroner from 2020 to 2021, resulting in a total turnover of 1849.1 million kroner. Of this, state support amounted to 402.3 million, or 21.8% of the turnover. Teaching revenues rose by 118.7 million to 1368.7 million kroner. This corresponds to an increase of 9.5%. The increase in teaching revenues is partly due to 817 more full-time students than in 2020, and the turnover in open continuing and further education courses rose by 41.0 million, from 339.8 million in 2020 to 380.8 million kroner in 2021. A large part of the increase was from online courses and programmes, as well as several grant-based programmes. Company-internal programmes had a slight reduction of −2.0% compared to 2020.

Operating profit was unchanged from 2020 and ended at 106.3 million kroner. However, it is worth noting that the operating profit for 2020 had a one-off effect, which reduced the cost associated with closing pension schemes, equivalent to 32.8 million kroner. Adjusted for these one-off effects, the operating profit for 2021 was 32.8 million better than in 2020.

A large part of the cost base is related to salaries and social costs. If we correct for one-off effects of 32.8 million related to pensions in 2020, salaries and social costs have actually increased by 11.0%. This is related to wage settlements for employees, and a net increase in man-years corresponding to 59 at the end of the year. The growth in man-years has contributed to a strengthening of the academic staff as well as the necessary expertise and capacity on the administrative side.

There have been measures to give more students job opportunities alongside studies, including through the hiring of around 200 student mentors, which has also contributed to higher labour costs. In 2021, other costs have increased by 34.1 million kroner, or 7.2%. This increase can be explained by a sharp increase in IT costs as well as high energy costs. There has still been a low level of travel in 2021 because of the pandemic.   

Depreciations fell by 17.3 million since 2020. This is particularly due to an extraordinary depreciation of our technical facilities of 14.5 million in 2020, which made depreciation abnormally high. 

Net financial items have changed significantly since 2020. In 2021, there was a net cost on financial items of 15.8 million compared with a net income of 33.9 million kroner in 2020. The main reason for the big difference is a capital reduction of 50.0 million kroner that was implemented in 2020 in the wholly-owned subsidiary BI-Bygget D-Blokka AS and which is recognised as received dividends in the parent company Stiftelsen Handelshøyskolen BI in 2020.

A total of 38.0 million kroner has been repaid in ordinary mortgage payments to DNB in 2021. On balance sheet date, 23.3 million kroner of the drawing rights amounted to 50 million kroner, which is a reduction of 35.0 million compared to 2020. In 2021, a net deduction has been made against the subsidiary BI-Bygget D-Blokka AS of 25.8 million as a result of a newly established group account scheme. The Foundation follows a financial hedging strategy which entails that at least 33% of the mortgage must be secured at all times through fixed-rate agreements.

On balance sheet date, the share of the loan tied up in fixed-rate agreements amounted to 400.0 million kroner. On balance sheet date, the hedging ratio was 117.3%. The fixed-rate agreements have various durations, and the first expires in April 2022, while the longest running out in 2028. An over-hedging is expected until April 2022, when the first fixed-rate agreement is due.

Cash flow from operations amounted to +123.2 million compared to +229.5 million in 2020. This is an increase in prepaid costs of 23.9 million compared to 2020 and an increase in the receivables against Fudan University of 14.7 million. Payments to pension schemes increased by 57.3 million in 2021 compared to 2020. Investments amounted to −77.9 million compared to −51.8 million in 2020, but in the comparison figure for 2020 there is 50.0 million kroner that the Foundation received from the subsidiary BI-Bygget D-blokka AS as a result of a capital reduction.

On the whole, that means the Foundation has satisfactory liquidity. It is not difficult to find either short-term or long-term financing, and there is currently an agreement with DNB on drawing rights with varying frameworks throughout the year. For parts of the year, there is no need for drawing rights, as the group has surplus liquidity during periods around the large semester payments at the beginning of the semesters.

In 2021, a group account agreement was established with the subsidiary BI-Bygget D-Blokka AS that gives the Foundation access to surplus capital in the subsidiary in periods when there would otherwise be a need for the drawing rights from DNB. On balance sheet date, there was a net deduction against the subsidiary of 25.7 million kroner.

In the capacity of being funded by student payments, and in competition with public operators that offer free studies, the board emphasises that BI's market risk is considerable. The school relies on a large volume at bachelor's level and a steady influx of students. The board and management at BI address market exposure on a regular basis and we are confident the organisation is equipped to deal with it correctly, and that the Foundation is in a solid position to adapt to fluctuations in the results.

The board considers this autumn's promising applicant numbers for full-time studies as a confirmation that the school has attractive study programmes. We are anticipating slightly higher numbers in full-time admissions in the fall of 2022 compared to the autumn semester of 2021, and this gives a good indication of the revenue flow that we can expect over the next three years. In the future, efforts are being made to secure our position in the national market, as well as strengthen our position in the international market. We anticipate retaining the large volumes at bachelor's level, while growth at a master's level is being pursued. This is in a market where, according to Statistics Norway's projections, the number of high school graduates is starting to rise slightly.

The need for continuing education is predicted to increase in the future, and is supported by the current government's commitment to continuing education. Constant changes to working life increase the need for lifelong learning. Although volumes are already high in continuing education, BI is expected to take part in this initiative in years to come. Strengthening the support system around externally funded research is expected to increase the number of applications for external funding, which we again expect will provide BI with more externally funded projects.

The company's financial risk is monitored and analysed on a continual basis. Financial risk includes credit risk, liquidity risk and interest risk. Credit risk mostly involves accounts receivable, but this risk is considered low because the company has good routines for collecting outstanding amounts. Net loss on claims has been stable over a number of years, and there is no reason to believe this will change significantly in the future. Liquidity risk is considered low due to a steady, stable and predictable flow of liquidity at the company. Interest risk is very limited.

The company currently has interest-bearing mortgages amounting to 341.0 million kroner secured with interest swap agreements. In addition to the mortgaged loan, we have drawing rights that vary much throughout the year. 

The Foundation's equity fell by 76.0 million kroner, down to 764.6 million kroner in 2021. The profit for the year contributed with an increase of 87.6 million kroner. Deviations to estimates related to pension schemes contributed with a reduction of 163.6 million kroner.

The building in Nydalen had a book value by the end of the year of 1380.0 million kroner. Capital equipment was written off on the same principles as in the previous year.

On balance sheet date, the residual debt against DNB amounted to 364.3 million, including 23.3 million in used drawing rights. The Foundation satisfied the lender's covenant requirement as of balance sheet date.

In accordance with Section 3-3a of the Norwegian Accounting Act, the prerequisites for going concern are present.

As of 2021, the board of trustees has not taken out a separate directors and officers liability insurance policy.

 

High quality in education and research

The board is pleased that BI is again ranked among the leading educational institutions in Europe, and for the sixth year in a row as Norway's best business school by the Financial Times.

Since 2018, BI has also completed successful re-accreditation processes in all its national and international accreditations (NOKUT, AMBA, AACSB, EQUIS and EOOCS), most recently with EQUIS. The latter was conducted digitally in November 2020 and awarded in February 2021. The board acknowledges the hard and targeted work done over time to achieve such excellent results. BI's accreditations and rankings have a major impact on the reputation of the school, the value of a diploma from BI, and not least the recruitment of international employees and students.

In June, on the basis of the government's amendment to the Degree Regulations, the board decided that BI should continue to develop a three-year bachelor's degree and a two-year master's degree in law, with the aim of having these accredited and approved by NOKUT. These studies, where the master's degree will be Norway's first in business law and economics, are in demand by the industry. The board is confident that candidates who are able to combine economic and legal expertise will be very attractive candidates in the labour market in years to come.

The board is impressed by BI's researchers and the positive development in terms of scientific publications, especially publications in top-ranked scientific journals, so-called ABS4* and ABS4 journals. These are among the highest ranked and most reputable journals in their fields. The Board of Trustees is pleased with an increase in the share of externally funded research projects, with a total turnover value of 35.3 million kroner in 2021 compared with almost 30 million in 2020. The board expects a steady increase in years to come here, following increased focus and strengthened administrative support for research in this area in recent years.

A long-term strategic commitment to recruiting international professionals also yields results. In 2021, almost 39% of BI's academic staff had an international background, compared with 35% the year before.

The board is satisfied that BI drew 114.2 million kroner in sponsored and commission-based projects (BOA). Such funds are particularly important within the Executive market, and we expect a steady development in revenues going forward.

Welfare, value-creation and reorganisation

Throughout the pandemic, the board and BI's management have prioritised efforts to implement measures to strengthen social and professional integration for school students. The board is excited about the successful launch of a national mentoring scheme for new BI students at all campuses. Since autumn 2021, around 5000 first-year students have been offered to join groups led by over 200 student mentors. The feedback from the students, who were allowed to participate in both social and academic activities throughout the year, has been very good. 

In 2021, BI strengthened student health services by providing free psychologist services at Campus Oslo. BI also assisted first-year students who wanted to form their own digital study groups since many found it difficult to have physical meeting points where they could get to know each other. BI also started a collaboration with the student association (BISO) and the Kavli Trust to arrange various activities that promote better social integration. The Minister of Research and Higher Education at the time, Henrik Asheim, was among the participants at one of the events of the so-called Social With BISO project.

In recent years, surveys have repeatedly shown that the employment rate among BI candidates is high, especially at master's level. In 2021, 87% of bachelor's candidates and 96% of master's candidates found employment within six months of completing their degree. The board had feared a decline here due to the pandemic, but we are very pleased to note that both figures have actually gone up since 2020.

Other important priorities in 2021

Efforts to reduce dropout rates, ensure study progression and lift completion rates among BI students have been high priorities for the board and BI administration over time. The board is satisfied that the completion rate in prescribed times increased for BI's bachelor's students, from 45% in 2020 to 49.5% in 2021. The same figure for masters is 82%, somewhat lower than the record year 2020 when the completion rate was 87%. The completion rate for PhD after six years was 46% in 2021, which is a decrease from the previous year. Here it is important to note that the data on which these figures is based is very limited, and that small changes have a major impact.  

The transition from the DigiEx digital examination tool to WISEflow has been a high priority in 2021. This past year, 96% of BI's 970 examinations were conducted digitally because of the pandemic. In the autumn of 2021, around two thirds of the exams were transferred to WISEflow. Since the spring of 2022, WISEflow will be BI's only exam tool. The board is pleased with the development and progress of the project.

As mentioned, BI has further developed its focus on digital teaching in 2021. In February, the school implemented its new streaming platform (Panopto) on all campuses to better facilitate the storage and sharing of lectures. Higher expectations of so-called hybrid forms of delivery, i.e. how physical and digital teaching methods are combined in the study programme, also increase the degree of complexity. In 2021, BI has retained and further developed the digital tools already used in teaching, as well as strengthening the capacity for so-called Zoom Classrooms, which to a greater extent facilitates interaction between students and lecturers.

OUTLOOK

Norwegian educational institutions are facing a changing market, increased competition and new demands from the authorities, and from business and industry. BI's most important task will be to offer teaching programmes that deliver on internationalisation, work-life relevance and lifelong learning.

The BI Strategy 2025 document lays out the long-term strategic goals for developing and securing BI's position as one of Europe's leading business schools into the future. At the same time, the global Covid-19 pandemic has affected BI's activities and organisation in a number of areas this past year.

BI operates in a number of markets characterised by great competition both in Norway and internationally. A prerequisite for ensuring the most relevant and attractive study programme is continuous innovation within the study programme portfolio. BI's revised Strategy for 2025 takes this into account and gives the organisation a clear direction for the years to come.

In competition with public operators that offer free studies, BI is dependent on attracting sufficient numbers of students, especially at a bachelor's level. Over time, the board and BI's management have prioritised work to revise the bachelor's degree model, developed in line with the requirements set by the authorities for increased mobility and work-life relevance. In 2021, a project group and several subgroups across the institution have worked out how such a bachelor's degree model should be structured. The board has been well informed along the way and watched the work with great interest.

The new model, approved by the liaison group, envisions increased flexibility and more choice for the students, with the aim of increasing internationalisation through exchange and work-life relevance through internships. A key element will be bachelor students completing both parts during their studies, through exchanges and internships. The board believes that a model of this kind will offer students a unique flexibility and emphasises that further work on the revised bachelor's degree model will be a high priority in the future. In 2022, dedicated groups have been given specific mandates to develop course descriptions for proposed basic courses, as well as to investigate the economic and administrative consequences of a new model.

The market for continuing education is also characterised by increased competition, partly as a result of the government's competence "Lære hele livet" reform (learning throughout life), and in the long term internationally from operators like Microsoft and Google. The digital learning market is generally growing, and in 2021 Executive saw increased competition from government-funded competitors offering new flexible and digital offerings, as well as players outside the traditional education sector who develop and launch informal courses for free or at low cost. In this context, the board is very pleased with BI's launch of the Short Learning Modules concept, which since its inception in 2020 has had over 5000 participants and contributed to strong growth in the school's online courses and programmes. 

The board considers BI to be well prepared and equipped for increased competition in both the full-time and part-time markets. Going forward, it will be important for BI to continue to develop BI's strong brand nationally, and to build and develop the school's position internationally. As in the previous year, 2021 has demonstrated that BI is a solid workplace with good financial results, even in times of crisis. There has also been no need for layoffs in connection with the pandemic.

The outbreak of war in Ukraine affects people, financial markets and trade globally. BI Norwegian Business School is not directly affected by the war, but notices the effect of very high energy prices. BI is coordinating its efforts through the Ministry of Education and Research.

Organisational changes

BI has not implemented nor does it plan any organisational changes that will affect the Foundation's legal or financial position.

In February 2022, Karen Spens was appointed by the board as the new president for a fixed term (1 August 2022 to 1 August 2026) following a unanimous recommendation from the nomination committee.

Temporary employees

In addition to the qualifying fixed-term positions, BI has on the professional side two persons as temporary substitutes and nine in engagements. Of these, three are employed in lower positions with a requirement for qualification, two are employed temporarily for the transition to a postdoctoral position, two are in engagements while the advertised position is in process. One person is employed temporarily in an externally funded research position.

Among administrative staff, BI had a total of 16 temporary engagements at the end of 2021, as well as 12 temporary substitutes for persons who were on leave. Temporary engagements within administration are mainly due to a short-term increased capacity needs in projects related to the development and implementation of new digital systems and work processes, as well as pandemic management.

Gender equality, discrimination and accessibility

BI's plan for diversity and equality states that all employees will have the same rights, duties and opportunities regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, national origin, functional ability, beliefs or sexual orientation. BI strives for a gender distribution of 60-40, and systematic wage differences must be equalised. BI's gender equality work is regularly reported to the board and is an area that the board watches closely.

In 2021, the Gender Policy for Faculty was drawn up to clarify ambitions related to gender equality and diversity in academic staff. A challenge related to recruitment and advancement of female academic staff had been identified. The aim is to promote a culture of fair and inclusive working environment, actively ensure gender balance in top positions, work to prevent direct and indirect discrimination and engage in active recruitment where gender distribution or gender imbalance would fall below our targets for this area.

Following the national survey on bullying and harassment in the higher education sector in 2019, BI chose to focus specifically on the prevention of sexual harassment. In 2021, a separate policy was drawn up for this, as well as guidelines for handling cases on harassment and sexual harassment, as well as an implementation plan for raising awareness and training of managers and employees.

BI conducts annual gender balance and wage distribution surveys for various positions. This, as well as the work on gender equality and diversity, are reported in line with our reporting obligation pursuant to Norway's Equality and Anti-Discrimination Act.

At the end of 2021, BI had 34 female professors, of whom 29 were in full permanent positions representing an increase of 5 persons during 2021.

The proportion of women among professors has risen to 28.5%. The proportion of women in total academic positions is stable at around 34%, with wide variations across job categories and departments. The share of men in administrative positions was 33 %. The share of men in administrative management positions at a director level increased from 22% to 28%.

Both in terms of fixed salary and total salary on the administrative side, there does not appear to be any systematic bias between women and men in the position categories 2-6. Women's wages as a percentage of men's wages are between 93-119% for fixed pay and between 94-97% for total pay. The largest difference can be found in position categories 2 and 5.

On the academic side, women's fixed pay as a percentage of men's was within the interval 97% - 103% for most position categories, with the exception of professors where women had an average of 89% of the salary of their male counterparts. The difference can be partly attributed to the fact that there are several men who have been professors for a long time. In addition, there are still very few female professors in the traditionally male-dominated disciplines where the wage level is generally higher. This is further reinforced when variable pay is taken into account.

On BI's board of trustees, the share of women is 50%. BI Senate's share of women is 50%. Women amounted to 40 % of executive management, 33 % of department heads and 25% of deans.

In 2021, 55 nationalities were represented among BI's employees. In 2020, the board adopted a new language policy that states that English is the main language for internal information and when the organisation is assembled. At the end of 2021, just over 20% of BI's employees were not Norwegian citizens. The share of international employees was 6% for administrative staff and almost 39% for everyone in academic positions. The board notes a stable increase in the number of international employees in academic positions.

The average age of retirement is 68.2 years for all employees at BI. Seniors in academic positions work on average until the age of 69. Administrative seniors work on average to the age of 67.7.

BI's campuses have been developed in accordance with the laws and guidelines that were in force when they were built. An overview of where the building complex deviates from current building codes has been prepared. Continuous efforts are being made to rectify deficiencies in reconstructions and adaptations of the building complex.

Risk management and internal control

BI has in recent years focused on strengthening and professionalising risk management work and our internal control system, including putting in place a systematic approach that helps to identify, manage and follow up any incidents that may adversely affect achieving our goals. This resulted in the creation of the Governance, Risk & Compliance function (GRC) in 2020 that reports its work to the board. GRC also encompasses the work of the Data Protection Officer and the Student Ombudsman, and ensures that these roles are sufficiently independent of management in general.

In 2021, the board decided to establish an internal audit function. This function should be outsourced to a auditing or consulting company to ensure sufficient independence and breadth of competence.

Public safety and emergency preparedness

A major part of EHS work at BI is ensuring the health and safety of human beings. Measures are implemented on the basis of annual risk analyses. BI is actively working to prevent serious incidents and plan for rapid response and good management that limits adverse effects. BI has drawn up a steering document for public safety and emergency preparedness work for the higher education sector, as well as letters of allocation, as a basis for its own work.

The pandemic has been a high priority in BI's safety and emergency preparedness work throughout 2021. Infection control measures for students and staff have been implemented, evaluated and followed up. Risk assessments such as decision support have been carried out regularly in advance of important changes. BI has endeavoured to ensure that measures are proportionate and in line with current recommendations from the authorities. With the exception of an increase in the number of infected students just after the start of the autumn semester, BI had low infection rates throughout 2021. Pandemic management led to closer cooperation on safety and emergency preparedness with other campuses. BI is planning a new evaluation of pandemic management, where emergency preparedness and infection control are also included.

BI conducted digital crisis drills in the fall of 2021, with ransomware as its topic. Revising frameworks for emergency preparedness and lack of tools for managing digital incidents were highlighted as important learning points. Based on this exercise and general pandemic management, among other things, BI changed its emergency management organisation and crisis management. 

Threats did occur against employees and students in 2021. Hate speech was also documented against one BI student on one occasion. Otherwise, no other extensive incidents related to safety and emergency preparedness have been reported in 2021.

The working environment

BI aims for an inspiring working environment that promotes well-being, health, learning and development for the individual. The working environment will be characterised by diversity, equity/equality, consideration and respectful and open communication. BI has zero tolerance for any form of abuse of power.

The pandemic has also affected the working environment in 2021 and resulted in a lot of digital teaching and extensive use of home offices, as well as strict infection control measures on campus. This has affected both the psychosocial and physical working environment for all employees. During the pandemic, BI had measures in place to remedy the situation, such as digital support tools for teaching and interaction, home office equipment, digital training programmes and offers of psychosocial counselling for employees and students.

Numbers for sickness absence based on medical certificates from doctors among BI employees decreased during the pandemic, and in 2021 was 2.4%. In the last quarter of 2021, sickness absence among administrative employees increased again, while it decreased further among academic staff.

In the fall of 2021, EHS safety rounds were carried out on all four campuses. No serious incidents, injuries, property damage or accidents in connection with carrying out work at BI have been registered in 2021.

BI's campus in Oslo has been an Eco-Lighthouse-certified organisation since 2010, Campus Trondheim and Campus Bergen since 2013, and Campus Stavanger since 2014. BI does not contaminate the external environment. All campuses meet the Eco-Lighthouse Foundation's requirements related to EHS, transport, procurement, waste management, energy consumption and green conferences. BI is committed to supporting the UN 1.5 degree target by steering towards a 50% reduction in emissions by 2030 and preparing annual climate accounts. BI's four largest sources of emissions come from energy, food/beverages, commuting and travel (82.5% in 2020). 

Market condition declaration

The board confirms that all transactions between BI Norwegian Business School and its associated units, as well as internal transactions within the group, are priced and implemented according to standard market conditions.

Relevant links

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES IN 2021

The board consists of ten members, four of whom are external and two are observers.

The four internal board members consist of two representatives elected by and among BI's academic staff, one representative and one observer elected by and among BI's administrative staff, and one student representative and one student observer elected by the student organisation BISO.

Chair of the board

The board elected Åse Aulie Michelet as the new Chair for a three-year period starting 01 August 2021. Aulie Michelet has had several executive positions within Norwegian and international industry and has extensive experience as a board member.

Board members as of 31.12.2021:

  • Åse Aulie Michelet, Chair
  • Bente Svensson, external board member and the board's vice-chair
  • Per Hove, external board member
  • Bjørn Jørgensen, external board member
  • Thorvald Hærem, representative elected by academic staff
  • Siv Jønland Staubo, representative elected by academic staff
  • Donatella de Paoli, deputy representatives elected by academic staff
  • Morten William Knudsen, deputy representatives elected by academic staff
  • Ida-Cathrine Jørgensen, representative elected by administrative staff
  • David Sagen, observer elected by administrative staff
  • Martin H. Andresen, deputy representative elected by administrative staff
  • Malen Fuglevik, deputy representative elected by administrative staff
  • Sanjin Damjanovic, student representative chosen by biso
  • Live Wilhelmsen, student observer chosen by biso

 

The board recommends the following allocation of profit for the year:

 

Addition/(use) of equity this year, with self-imposed restrictions​ 0.3 million kroner
Transfer to Other equity 87.4 million kroner
Total allocated 87.6 million kroner

 

Foundation equity as of 31.12.2021:

Foundation capital 1.3 million kroner
Equity with self-imposed restrictions 25.5 million kroner
Other equity 737.9 million kroner
Total equity 764.7 million kroner

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