News from the senior management team no. 11/2018

New case competition: Students pitch sustainable ideas to Arla

Last week saw the debut of the AU Challenge, Aarhus University's new interdisciplinary case competition.

44 students in 29 different disciplines and of 15 different nationalities accepted the challenge and had four hours of working in groups of four to come up with a solution for a case for Arla, devising sustainable packaging for their on-the-go products. The students subsequently pitched their ideas to a team of judges made up of members from Arla, the Boston Consulting Group and the dean of Aarhus BSS.

Rector Brian Bech Nielsen opened the AU Challenge and highlighted in his speech the courage and willingness of the students to apply themselves and their knowledge with a view to creating specific and workable solutions to benefit the business community.

"Just by registering for this case competition, you have demonstrated a willingness to challenge yourselves – and put your skills and knowledge to the test," he said.

The AU Challenge is part of the university's ongoing efforts to strengthen students' career skills and prepare them more thoroughly for the labour market. This is why part of the concept also includes three previous workshops where students learn methods relating to problem solving and cooperation, business understanding and presentation techniques.

All AU Challenge teams now have access to Aspire, part of the well-established Aarhus Case Competition which will be launched next week.

The AU Challenge will now be evaluated, and the senior management team will decide whether AU Challenge will be continued, and if so what form it will take.


Information meeting on application to Danish National Research Foundation

The Danish National Research Foundation will be visiting Aarhus University on 1 May to present the bulletin for the 10th round of Centres of Excellence. The Danish National Research Foundation will provide an introduction to the bulletin at the information meeting, and two current centre directors will share their experiences. Registration is not required. The session will take place in Danish.


AU programme ready for Festival of Research

There will be firm and broad support from researchers at Aarhus University on Thursday, 26 April, when the Festival of Research will be taking place in and around Stakladen.

Some 60 researchers will be contributing speed lectures and demonstrating their research at various stands in the foyer, where visitors will also be allowed to touch, see, play with and experience the research at close quarters. 


Register for the Holst-Knudsen Award ceremony

The Rigmor and Carl Holst-Knudsen Award for Scientific Research, one of Denmark’s oldest and most prestigious awards, will be presented at Aarhus University on Wednesday, 30 May 2018. This award is presented every year to two researchers who have achieved the highest level of academic distinction and international recognition in their remarkable careers. The Aarhus University Research Foundation will also be presenting five PhD awards on the same occasion.


Folketing Finance Committee to hold public consultation at the Main Hall

Aarhus University will be hosting the Folketing Finance Committee's public consultation on future growth and qualified labour at the Main Hall on Friday, 13 April 2018. In its invitation, the Finance Committee states that it wishes to explore the issue of the lack of qualified labour and the correlation between labour supply, education, growth and productivity. 

From Aarhus University Conni Simonsen, director of the School of Engineering, professor and chief economic advisor Michael Svarer and professor and former economic advisor Nina Smith will be among the speakers. Pro-Rector Berit Eika will be welcoming attendees alongside Joachim B. Olsen, Chairman of the Financial Committee.

The consultation is open to all, but registration is necessary and must be completed by 12 noon on 12 April 2018.


New chief legal counsel at Aarhus University

Louise Hauptmann will be taking over as chief legal counsel at Aarhus University on 1 May and will become a member of the senior management team staff. Louise Hauptmann previously worked as an Educational Law team coordinator at AU Student Administration and Services and has many years of experience of working at ministries and agencies, as well as internally at AU Studies Administration and Aarhus BSS. 


Calendar

The senior management team publishes a weekly newsletter Here, we provide information about decisions and initiatives from the senior management team, as well as current activities and discussions. You can register for the newsletter at http://info.au.dk/medarbbreve, and you will then receive an email every time the newsletter is published.

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