News from the senior management team no. 8/2015

CEI, FE, careers and alumni activities to be more closely integrated with academic environments

The organisational future of the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI) as well as activities within the area of further and continuing education (FE), careers and alumni has now been decided.

As part of the follow-up on the analysis of the internal organisational problems at AU, the senior management team decided the following at a recent meeting:

  • that  CEI's educational activities are to be moved to the faculties to strengthen the integration of entrepreneurship in teaching.
  • that the Student Incubator, external knowledge-based collaboration and other CEI activities are to be moved to the administrative division Research and External Relations.
  • that further and continuing education activites are to be  transferred to the faculties' administrative centres.
  • that activities related to careers and alumni are  to be transferred from the administrative division Education to the administrative centres at Arts and BSS.

The affected employees were notified directly about the decision, while a time schedule for the relocations will be agreed locally.


Particle accelerator agreement signed

On 2 March, the Central Denmark Region and Varian Medical Systems Scandinavia signed a contract for the delivery of the particle accelerator that will play a central role at the Danish National Centre for Particle Radiotherapy.

The total cost of equipment, installation and a ten-year full service agreement amounts to approximately DKK 420 million. The  Moller Foundation has donated DKK 250 million towards the purchase of the equipment.

Varian Medical Systems Scandinavia will start installing the particle accelerator at the beginning of 2016.


Strike prevents inauguration of research station

The inauguration of the Villum Research Station in Greenland has been postponed until spring or summer 2015. Neither the Danish Minister for Climate, Energy and Building, who was due to open the station, nor any of the other invitees were able to attend the ceremony planned for 2 March due to a strike by SAS employees. 

The postponement of the inauguration will not in any way affect the research activities which have already started up at the research station. The first researchers had arrived before the start of the strike, and have begun work on the first research projects. Moreover, 1,100 overnight stays have already been booked at the research station in 2015 by a variety of international researchers.  


ERC Starting Grant for quantum physicist

Jacob Sherson, associate professor at the Department of Physics and Astronomy, has been awarded an ERC Starting Grant of EUR 1.5 million. The aim of Sherson's work is to develop new quantum technologies and improve artificial intelligence. One aspect of his work involves a computer game which can contribute to the development of the quantum computer. The idea is that when ordinary people play the computer game and the players' various solutions are registered,  this generates new knowledge for both the computer and the researchers.

ERC Starting Grants support promising research group leaders who have the potential to generate unique independent research in Europe. 


New head of the Department of Environmental Science

On 1 April, Research Professor Carsten Suhr Jacobsen will take up his position as new department head at Aarhus University. Carsten Suhr Jacobsen comes from a position as research professor at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) and the University of Copenhagen. Former department head Niels Kroer has started a new job as head of the Department of Biology at the University of Copenhagen. Anne Winding, the current deputy head of department, will remain acting head until Carsten Suhr Jacobsen takes up the position. 


New standard for usernames in AU's IT systems

There has been a strong desire among staff and students at AU to reduce the number of usernames needed to log in to AU's many IT systems. To accommodate staff and student wishes, the senior management team has adopted a new standard for usernames for staff and students at Aarhus University based on a recommendation from IT and Digital Media and IT Forum. The extensive work of preparing AU's IT systems for the implementation of the new standard will now start, and later in the year the first employees will be able to use it.

The new standard means that employees and students will not need as many usernames to access AU's IT systems, and will ultimately need only one per user. The username, which will be based on the person's AUID, uniquely identifies the user without saying anything about his or her role or function in the organisation. The username will not be used to identify the user in question in relation to the rest of the world and will not have any impact on the user's email address.

The new standard for usernames will be rolled out starting in autumn 2015, starting with new employees. The new standard for usernames will be gradually introduced as new systems are implemented. Existing users in the existing systems will therefore not be affected by the change immediately.


Calendar

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/2014.