This article explores the diversity of time perspectives in academic work. The background of the study stems from recent changes in university management and funding, which impose new demands for academic work, including its temporal order. Drawing on focused interviews with 52 academics, we discern four core time perspectives according to which academics experience their work: scheduled time, timeless time, contracted time and personal time. Scheduled time refers to the accelerating pace of work, timeless time to transcending time through immersion in work, contracted time to short-term employment with limited future prospects and finally, personal time to one's temporality and the role of work in it. In addition, we discuss the relationships between the different time perspectives, focusing on dilemmas and tensions between them.

This paper reports on our local initiative in an ongoing participatory action research (PAR) project with three academic communities in Helsinki. The project offers an opportunity to reflect on the nature of collaborative strategies in the context of university reforms. We critically examine PAR as an ideal and as a practice, and elaborate on its promises and uncertainties.

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Tarkastelemme opinto-ohjelmien hallintaa ja kehittämistä yliopistoissa tehtävänä arkisena työnä. Haluamme kiinnittää huomiota siihen, millaista tämä työ on käytännössä ja kuka tai ketkä sitä oikein tekevät. Haluamme herättää keskustelua, miten voisimme ymmärtää kollegojemme vastaavaa työtä tässä monien mahdollisuuksien ja pakkojen maailmassa.