Next week, Aarhus University and Universities Denmark are hosting a debate under the theme "Are we winning the race? An open debate on the role of universities in a global perspective".
The event is the last in a series of debates on themes including internationalisation, quality in education and universities' significance for society. Dr Jalil Salmi of the World Bank will speak, along with Lars Pallesen, rector of the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Dr Leif Østergaard, centre director, CFIN, Aarhus University, and the philosopher Dr Vincent Hendricks of the University of Copenhagen.
The debate will take place between 2pm and 5pm at the Lakeside Lecture Theatres (Søauditorierne) on 25 May. Participation is free of charge, but registration is required. Part I of the programme will take place in English, and Part 2 will take place in Danish.
On 27 May, the Rigmor and Carl Holst-Knudsen Award 2011 and Aarhus University Research Foundation's PhD awards will be presented. All staff members are welcome to attend the ceremony, which will take place from 11am to approximately 1.30pm.
The award recipients will present their research, and the music students' choir will perform under the direction of Erling Kullberg. The Aarhus University Research Foundation will also present its annual report. Carl-Holst Knudsen would have been 125 years old on 28 May.
Please register for the event by contacting Lise Poulsen at lp@adm.au.dk or 8942 1140 by 24 May.
In the course of 2011, Aarhus University will convert to a new telephone system. The new system will ensure reliable operation, improve service and link the university's locations and units more closely together.
Implementation will take place in phases, and all AU employees will receive a new phone number by the end of the year, including staff in Herning, Silkeborg, Emdrup, Kalø and Roskilde.
AU Herning will be the first to convert to the new system, and staff members will have received new phones and phone numbers by 1 June.
The staff of AU's libraries have just been invited to a meeting on 26 May. The meeting is an opportunity to discuss how library services should be organised in order to support the new academic structure and to provide input to the mandate for the committee which will develop a proposal on the structure of Aarhus University Library.
The committee will include staff members from the main academic areas and the central administration as well as students. It will be established on the basis of recommendations from deans, deputy directors and student organisations. The committee, which will be headed by Dean Allan Flyvbjerg, will analyse the libraries' functions and clientele, as well as contribute to the development of a vision for Aarhus University Library.
The proposal regarding a new model for AU's liaison committees has been in open consultation, and a wide range of responses have been received from the FSU's of the main academic areas as well as from LSU's.
Judging from the responses received, there appears to be widespread support for the abolition of the negotiating committee. However, opinions are divided with regard to the issue of when the new liaison committee structure should be implemented, and on the extent to which the LSU should comprise 6-8 members, as recommended in the report.
The negotiating committee will discuss the report and the responses on 23 May, after which the project group will prepare a final recommendation regarding the structure of the liaison committees. This recommendation will be discussed by the senior management group and in the Main Liaison Committee in June.
The Senior Management Group publishes a newsletter every week. This newsletter includes a brief description of current activities and discussions. You can sign up for the Danish version of the newsletter at http://info.au.dk/medarbbreve, after which you will receive an e-mail whenever the newsletter is issued.
If you would like to subscribe to the English version of News from the Senior Management Group, please go to http://info.au.dk/medarbbreve/index.asp?sprog=en. The English version of News from the Senior Management Group is available at http://www.au.dk/en/about/uni/seniormanagement/newsletter/. You can read previous editions of News from the Senior Management Group at http://www.au.dk/en/about/uni/seniormanagement/newsletter/2011.