News from the Senior Management Team no. 35/2011

Prestigious international awards to AU researchers

Two AU researchers have just received prestigious international awards in biomedicine and environmental science respectively.

For the first time, the Ebbe Nielsen Prize has been awarded to a Danish researcher, Jens -Christian Svenning, MSO professor of environmental informatics at Aarhus University. Dr Svenning's research investigates how climate change affects biodiversity. The Euro 30,000 prize, which was awarded for the first time in 2002, goes to a promising researcher whose work combines biodiversity informatics and biosystematics in an innovative way.

The prize honours Ebbe Nielsen, an internationally recognised Danish entomologist who received his degree from Aarhus University.

On October 14, Professor Søren Riis Paludan was awarded the Anders Jahre Prize for Young Scientists by the University of Oslo. The prize, which includes a grant of NOK 40,000, is shared by Dr Paludan and Dr Johanna Ivaska of the University of Turku. Dr Paludan was awarded the prize for his research on the body's defences against viral infections.

The prize honours excellent research in basic and clinical medicine. The Anders Jahre Awards for Medical Research are among the most prestigious in Nordic biomedical research. This is the second year in a row that a researcher from AU has received one of these awards. In 2010, an Anders Jahre award went to Professor Robert A. Fenton, Department of Anatomy.


Three levels in new liaison committee structure

The main liaison committee (HSU) has approved the establishment of liaison committees at three levels at AU:

  • The main AU liaison committee
  • Liaison committees for the main academic areas and AU Administration
  • Liaison committees for departments and administrative divisions with more than twenty-five staff members.

This decision represents a confirmation of HSU's preliminary approval of a proposed structure for main and local liaison committees. As described in newsletter no. 33, approval was contingent on a more precise description of deans' and department heads' budget and personnel responsibilities and powers at main academic area level, and correspondingly for the university director and the deputy directors with regard to AU Administration. A committee has since clarified these issues.

The minutes of the latest HSU meeting will be published on the HSU homepage as soon as possible (in Danish).


New studies administration system to be launched on 24 October

The date for the transition to the new studies administration system, STADS, is fast approaching. The project is proceeding according to plan, which means that both STADS and associated programmes will be launched on 24 October.

A great deal of data will still need to be reestablished after this date. This project will thus continue to require a great deal of energy on the part of AU IT and the university's studies administration staff after 24 October.

While this will affect the level of service offered, particularly to students, all efforts will be made to ensure that individual students are affected by the transition as little as possible.

The transition to STADS will be celebrated in the Main Hall and Vandrehallen on Tuesday 25 October from 14.30 to 16.00.


Calendar

  • 14 November: AU Board meeting
  • 15 November: meeting with Universitets-Samvirket
  • 30 November - 1 December: Management seminar at Sandbjerg Manor
  • 6 December: Main Liaison Committee meeting
  • 15 December: AU Board meeting

 

Kind regards

the Senior Management Team


The Senior Management Team 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 Team, please go to http://info.au.dk/medarbbreve/index.asp?sprog=en. The English version of News from the Senior Management Team is available at http://www.au.dk/en/about/uni/seniormanagement/newsletter/. You can read previous editions of News from the Senior Management Team at http://www.au.dk/en/about/uni/seniormanagement/newsletter/2011.