The position of dean at the Faculty of Science and Technology has now been advertised. The position commences on 1 August 2013 when the present dean, Brian Bech Nielsen, becomes rector of Aarhus University.
The applications will be evaluated by an advisory committee specially appointed for the purpose by the Academic Council. The committee is made up of five academic staff members, one technical and administrative staff member and one student. The deadline for applications is 20 May.
Before the summer holidays, DKK 4 million will be awarded to new projects designed to benefit the study environment at Aarhus University.
The four main academic areas have been charged with establishing projects which can develop the local study environments by strengthening study activity levels or the use of IT. The main academic areas have approached this task in different ways:
The DKK 4 million has been allocated in the context of the Education Committee's continuing follow-up on the study environment survey of 2011. The money is being distributed between the main academic areas according to student numbers, and at the end of May the Education Committee will approve the final list of projects chosen.
Last week, the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Higher Education (FIVU) released the statistics for this year's first-priority applications for quota 2. The ministry's figures show a growth of 14% for Aarhus University relative to last year.
According to FIVU, 4,526 applicants have chosen Aarhus University as their first priority, and it is particularly the technical and science subjects that are attracting most potential students. This is evident from the application figures which AU Studies has downloaded from the Coordinated Application System (KOT).
Aarhus University has previously announced a smaller increase in quota 2 applications. The difference between the ministry's figures and Aarhus University's figures reflects the fact that students could change their priorities up until the deadline, and that applicants may have applied to several institutions depending on whether they have used NemID. In addition, please note the fact box at the bottom of the FIVU note.
The interaction between basic research and innovation will be the focus of Minister of Education Morten Østergaard's visit to MADALGO (Center for Massive Data Algorithmics) at the Department of Computer Science on Friday 19 April. This visit follows from an invitation from Center Director Professor Lars Arge and Dean at Science and Technology, Brian Bech Nielsen.
The programme includes a discussion of the centre's innovation activities, including the centre's experience with the start-up company SCALGO (Scalable Algorithmics) which, for example, develops and markets software and computing services in connection with massive terrain data-processing technology, especially in relation to flooding risk. These products are marketed by COWI under the name 'Skybrudskort' (Cloudburst Map).
The products stem directly from the basic research being conduced at MADALGO, and the idea of the visit is therefore also to discuss the role of basic research in the government's new innovation strategy. MADALGO is a so-called "centre of excellence" under the Danish National Research Foundation, and has just commenced its second five-year period. In addition to researchers from Aarhus University, the partnership includes researchers from the USA and Germany.
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/2013.