Research-based public sector consultancy is a hot issue in the media at the moment.
The discussions were sparked by a suggestion from the Confederation of Danish Industry, which sees the DKK 600 million which the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries of Denmark spends each year on public sector consultancy as direct basic funding for the universities.
This claim is rejected by Pro-Rector Søren E. Frandsen, Aarhus University, Senior Vice President Niels Axel Nielsen, DTU, and Managing Director Jan Mousing, Knowledge Centre for Agriculture, in a response on Altinget.dk. They mention, among other things, that grants from the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries to the universities are also used to co-finance major research projects, including EU projects. This "gearing" of the funding means that Aarhus University and the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) together obtain an additional DKK 700 million a year or more for research and other sector-related projects.
On Sunday 1 September, HM Queen Margrethe II paid an unofficial visit to the excavations in Alken Enge near Skanderborg. The Queen was given a guided tour together with Rector Brian Bech Nielsen by project manager Mads Kähler Holst. For almost two months now, Dr Holst and a team of 15 archaeologists and geologists have been working to excavate the remains of a large army that was sacrificed in the bog around the time of the birth of Christ. The skeletal remains of hundreds of warriors lie buried in the bog at Alken Enge near Lake Mossø in East Jutland.
On Monday 9 September, the Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies (AIAS) began an autumn seminar series where AIAS fellows or researchers invited to speak by AIAS fellows provide an insight into their respective fields of research.
AIAS was inaugurated in the spring of 2013. The department was set up to give particularly talented researchers, both young and experienced, complete freedom of research. There are no requirements regarding publication, teaching or funding applications.
In establishing AIAS, AU joins a small group of about 100 universities which are offering new possibilities for excellence in research.
The Student Council at Aarhus University estimates that up to 15,000 students visited the study fair this year: a record number.
The study fair is intended for all students, not least new students. The fair gives them an idea of the possibilities which are open to them as students.
Both Rector Brian Bech Nielsen and Dean Mette Thunø (Arts) visited the study fair. Mette Thunø was accompanied by Morten Østergaard, Danish Minister for Science, Innovation and Higher Education.
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.