Ten AU researchers were among the recipients when the Danish Council for Independent Research (DFF) awarded this year's Sapere Aude grants from stages 2 and 3 of the programme.
This year is the first time that the DFF has awarded grants at the top stage of its career programme, stage 3, which is designed for elite researchers. Among the seven recipients this year, two AU professors, Bjørk Hammer (iNANO) and Søren Riis Paludan (Department of Biomedicine) were given approx. DKK 12 million to finance a new research project over five years.
In addition to the two professors, eight other researchers were awarded grants ranging from DKK 6.2 million to DKK 7 million from the programme's stage 2 grants.
The ten AU researchers among this year's winners accounted for DKK 79 million out of the total sum granted in 2012 of DKK 210 million.
Recently, DFF also awarded grants for research projects within the following four categories: Technology and Production Sciences (FTP), Medical Sciences (FSS), Natural Sciences (FNU) and Social Sciences (FSE). The recipients included 40 AU researchers, distributed as follows:
Application deadlines
Furthermore, new application deadlines have been announced for the Danish Council for Independent Research (DFF) this autumn:
Professor Flemming Besenbacher has just been awarded the Chinese Friendship Award for his long-standing research collaboration with Chinese universities.
The award was presented at a formal ceremony attended by Chinese party leaders and heads of state. The Chinese Friendship Award is presented each year to 40 foreign experts in recognition of their contribution to China's social and economic development.
In the new Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, Aarhus University has moved up nine places to no. 116.
Aarhus University is thus ranked no. 43 in Europe and the fifth-best university in Scandinavia after Karolinska, Lund, Uppsala and Helsinki.
First published in 2010, the THE World University Rankings are dominated by the USA, which has seven universities in the top ten and 76 universities in the top 200.
The method behind the ranking list uses thirteen performance indicators within the following categories: research, teaching, international outlook and knowledge transfer. An annual survey of the universities' reputation within research and teaching provides points in the ranking lists, as does the impact of research in the form of citations.
In connection with the main area's international accreditations, the senior management team has given the go-ahead to Business and Social Sciences using a special visual identity to strengthen the profile of the main academic area.
The reason for the special visual identity is simply to support the efforts being made to achieve new and maintain existing international accreditations within Management and Business Administration – EQUIS, AACSB and AMBA.
To further strengthen BSS’s profile as a broadly based business school, the senior management team is also permitting the use of its full name 'School of Business and Social Sciences'. The abbreviated versions 'Business and Social Sciences' and 'BSS' will continue to be used in certain contexts.
At the moment, AU Communication is drawing up a plan for how this special new identity will be implemented. Guidelines will be prepared on when the full name must be used, and when the abbreviated versions are sufficient.
Any questions about the special identity and name should be addressed to:
Aase Bak, Head of Communication, or Lillian Hasslund, Project Manager, at AU Communication BSS.
The new Building S at Business and Social Sciences has been awarded the City of Aarhus 2012 Architectural Prize.
The prize was awarded at a ceremony at Aarhus City Hall to mark the Day of Architecture on 1 October.
The jury highlighted the importance of the building for the study environment and the way in which it fits in with the rest of Campus Aarhus.
In September, Aarhus University and the University of Edinburgh held a meeting, 'High Level Dialogue: Excellence in European Doctoral Training', at which a number of political and academic players from Europe discussed the framework for doctoral training in Europe.
The participants agreed that more focus is required in developing the research skills of individual PhD students by strengthening their personal and academic development throughout the entire doctoral period.
The meeting in Aarhus marked the start of a debate on excellence in doctoral training, which will continue in 2013 in Edinburgh.
Kind regards
The Senior Management Team, 8 October 2012