News from the Senior Management no. 28/2012

7,259 applicants offered admission to Aarhus University

7,259 offers of admission. This is the preliminary result of more than 24,000 applications to the Bachelor’s degree programmes which Aarhus University has received so far.

This is the largest number of Bachelor’s degree students ever to have been offered admission to the university. However, on some study programmes there are still places available, and it is possible to apply for a place until studies commence.  Consequently, the final figure may be slightly higher when the university welcomes the new students at the beginning of September.

The increase in the number of students is primarily due to the merger with the Engineering College of Aarhus, which has provisionally offered admission to 548 applicants. Here, further admissions are expected as classes starting in the winter can admit applicants as late as December.

So far, 6,672 applicants to Aarhus University have accepted places. This year, almost 90 per cent of applicants have applied on-line.

 

Busy counsellors

The high level of interest in Aarhus University is also reflected in the high level of activity at the Information Centre. From 1 May until 5 July, the centre received 1,217 emails and 4,891 telephone calls from applicants, while 1,429 enquiries were received via chat. In other words, more than 7,500 enquiries were processed, in addition to which many applicants contacted Aarhus University’s counsellors directly on the individual courses.

Everyone was also busy in week 31 helping applicants – on the chat service alone, almost 400 people contacted the Information Centre.


ERC awards new grants

The European Research Council (ERC) has enlarged its funding programme and now awards a total of five different grants. In addition to the well-known Starting Grants and Advanced Grants, the ERC has also established the so-called ERC Consolidator Grants, which are awarded to elite researchers with seven to twelve years of research experience. Here, recipients can receive up to EUR 2.75 millionfor up to five years.

In addition, the ERC also offers two smaller schemes:

  • ERC Synergy Grants, which are awarded to interdisciplinary research groups working across academic fields; and the
  • ERC Proof of Concept, which is given to grant recipients looking to cultivate the potential for innovation in their ERC project.

Last year, Aarhus University received four Starting Grants and three Advanced Grants. By comparison, Uppsala University and the University of Copenhagen each received six ERC Grants, the University of Edinburgh received five, and Utrecht University received four. However, Switzerland is one of the countries which is very successful at applying for ERC funding; for example, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich was awarded an impressive 12 ERC Grants in 2011.


Free courses at Danish University Extension

Current and retired employees from Aarhus University as well as their partners can register free of charge for a course of their choice at the Danish University Extension in Herning, Aarhus or Emdrup. Registration opens on Wednesday 15 August at 10.00. There are a limited number of places which are allocated on a first come, first served basis.


Calendar

  • 29 August: CULT, the EU’s culture committee, visits Aarhus University
  • 31 August: Inauguration of the S Building at Fuglesangs Allé in Aarhus
  • 5 September: Danish Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries visits AU Foulum
  • 10 September: Inauguration of DigiHumLab
  • 10 September: Inauguration of Astrid2
  • 14 September: Aarhus University’s annual celebration
  • 18-19 September: University Board meeting and seminar
  • 21 September: Inauguration of the Arctic Research Centre (ARC)
  • 24 September: Polar Research Day

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.