News from the Senior Management Team no.12/2012

Growing interest in natural and engineering sciences

All four main academic areas at Aarhus University have this year received more quota 2 applications than in 2011, but Science and Technology has seen a particularly marked increase.

Thus, the number of applicants for the 30 BSc programmes within the natural and technical sciences is up by as much as 42% this year. Also, the main academic area is seeing 16% more first-priority applications compared with last year.

School of Business and Social Sciences still receives the highest proportion of quota 2 applications, and this year has attracted 16% more applicants, while the number of first-priority applications is up 11%.

Arts has seen a slightly more modest increase; the number of applicants is up 3%, while first-priority applications are up 6%. The greatest increase (in %) is for the programmes in South Asia studies (200%), comparative literature (93%) and Brazilian studies (88%).

Health has received 2% more quota 2 applications, but as many as 11% more first-priority applications. The degree programme in medicine accounts for a substantial part of the increase as 17% more have entered Aarhus University as their first priority compared to 2011.

See memo and statistics (in Danish)


Major European research conference approaching

In less than a month's time, Aarhus University will be hosting one of the largest conferences organised in connection with the Danish EU Presidency: Excellence Revisited - The Value of Excellence.

On 18-20 April, Danish and foreign politicians, researchers, students, businessmen and women and other stakeholders will meet to discuss the questions: What is excellent research? Why is it important? And how do we promote excellent research in Europe?

All the conclusions will be included in the Aarhus Declaration as an important contribution to the negotiations on Horizon 2020.

The conference is organised jointly by the Danish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Higher Education, the Danish National Research Foundation, the Danish Council for Independent Research, the Lundbeck Foundation, the Carlsberg Foundation and Aarhus University. At the conference, talks will be given by, among others, the former Danish Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, Professor Gunnar Öquist, former Permanent Secretary of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and Dr Wilhelm Krull, who is Secretary General of the Volkswagen Foundation, the largest private foundation in Germany.

Read more about the conference


Large grant to investigate the causes of mental disorders

A record grant of DKK 121 million from the Lundbeck Foundation means that researchers from Aarhus University will be able to increase our understanding of mental disorders such as schizophrenia, depression and ADHD.

The research will be conducted as part of the iPsych project, which brings together leading researchers within psychiatry, genetics and register-based research with a view to investigating the causes of mental disorders and possible treatments.

The researchers will be collaborating with, for example, Statens Seruminstitut, Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI), deCode Genetics from Iceland and the Genetic Biobank of the Faroes.

Read more about the project


Calendar

28-29 March: Management seminar
2-3 April: University of Helsinki visit
18-20 April: EU 2012: Excellence conference
20 April: Festival of Research
25 April: Meeting of the University Board (incl. meeting with chairmen of the academic councils)
3 May: The Annual 'Boat Race'

 

 

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/2012.