Conference on excellence will influence the research of the future
Rector opened three-day conference on excellent research and education with great expectations regarding the results
![[Translate to English:] Rektor Lauritz B. Holm-Nielsen](/fileadmin/_processed_/c/0/csm__mg_4340_LK__1__Lauritz_426c49eb31.jpg "[Translate to English:] Rektor Lauritz B. Holm-Nielsen")
The universities of Europe have a key role to play when it comes to finding answers and solutions to all the many challenges facing the world at present. This was the main message at the opening of the Excellence 2012 conference on Wednesday afternoon.
Lauritz B. Holm-Nielsen, Rector of Aarhus University, opened the conference by announcing his great pride and pleasure in welcoming several hundred representatives of European universities, members of trust funds, politicians and influential representatives of the business community. For three days they would all be joining forces to explore ways of ensuring excellence in Europe with regard to research, further education and innovation. The conference would result in the joint Aarhus Declaration, which would be handed to Morten Østergaard, the Danish Minister for Science, Innovation and Higher Education, on Friday.
In his speech of welcome, Holm-Nielsen underlined that the world was currently facing many complex challenges demanding joint solutions which could only be achieved through strong, interdisciplinary efforts.
The conference is a feature of the official part of the Danish EU Presidency, under which research has been given particularly high priority. As a result, Holm-Nielsen was in no doubt that the results of the three days of presentations and discussions would have a significant impact on researchers at AU. He said that the conference would have a great influence on the research landscape of the future, and that it was important to make the European politicians understand how important research is, and how important it is to create the right conditions for excellent research and education. High quality standards were vital in this connection, he concluded.
The universities of Europe have a key role to play when it comes to finding answers and solutions to all the many challenges facing the world at present. This was the main message when Lauritz B. Holm-Nielsen, Rector of Aarhus University, opened the Excellence 2012 conference on Wednesday afternoon. Photo: Lars Kruse/AU Communication.