News from the Senior Management Group no. 23/2011
Status of the academic development process
The Aarhus University Board has just been briefed on the status of the academic development process in a memo. The memo provides an overview of the status of a number of processes related to the implementation of the Tomorrow's AU plan.
- Read the memo to the AU Board (in Danish)
Six more department heads appointed
Five more department heads have now been hired at Science and Technology, which has a total of twelve department head positions. When the last remaining open position at the Department of Geoscience is filled, the faculty's senior management at the departmental level will be in place.
The last open department head position at School of Business and Social Sciences has just been filled: the position of head of the Department of Economics.
The six new department heads are as follows:
Science and Technology
- Department of Engineering: Thomas Skjødeberg Toftegaard
- Department of Computer Science: Kurt Jensen
- Department of Physics and Astronomy: Lars Henrik Andersen
- Department of Chemistry: Ib Johannsen
- Department of Mathematics: Eva B. Vedel Jensen (acting)
School of Business and Social Sciences
- Department of Economics: Allan Würtz
With the exception of Ib Johannsen (Dept. of Chemistry), all of the new department heads will take up their new positions on 1 July. Ib Johannsen will start on 15 August.
- Read more (in Danish)
Continued development of academic and administrative organisation
Eight "project initiation documents" (PIDs) describing ongoing processes and future goals for selected administrative units have been completed. The PIDs are intended to ensure that administrative units are organised in order to ensure a high level of service to deans, department heads, staff, students and other target groups.
The documents will be updated to reflect the development and conclusion of the projects.
- Read the PIDs in Danish on the steering committee homepage (right-hand column)
New email and calendar system for all AU staff
A new email and calendar system will be implemented in autumn 2011. At present, AU has eleven different systems, which makes communication across units difficult. The new system will mean that all staff members will receive new email addresses. All mails to old addresses will still be received in the new inboxes. As the process of transferring the email accounts of 10,000 staff members will take three to four months, it will be accomplished in several stages.
- Read more (in Danish)
Indian researchers to AU
Aarhus University has just signed an agreement which will ensure closer collaboration with researchers from India. According to the agreement, a researcher from a research institution in India will visit AU for a semester each year to teach and give public lectures on modern Indian studies. These Indian scholars will be a valuable addition to the research and teaching environment at Arts, which has experienced an increasing interest in the languages and cultures of India in recent years. Aarhus University and the Indian research institutions will cooperate on deciding which visiting researchers will guest AU. The first visiting researcher from India will arrive in autumn 2011.
The agreement was concluded in connection with a visit to AU on 28 June by the Indian ambassador to Denmark, HE Ashok Kumar Attri.
Ambitious, innovative collaboration between Danish universities and universities in developing countries
Danida has just awarded DKK 60 million in support for the first phase of the Universities Denmark programme "Building Stronger Universities in Developing Countries". The programme is a joint initiative of eight Danish universities and selected universities in Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Nepal. The programme will focus on providing support for institutional developments, including the development and extension of graduate schools and research-based degree programmes.
- Read more (in Danish)
Calendar
- 23 August: Meeting of the University Board
- 9 September: AU annual celebration
- 19-20 September: AU Board meeting and seminar
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.