In 2017, Aarhus University posted a modest budget surplus of DKK 68 million out of total revenue of DKK 6.5 billion, according to the 2017 annual report which the Board approved at a meeting on 11 April. The Board called the result very satisfying and a good foundation on which to further pursue the university’s strategy.
The surplus is attributed in particular to an overall increase in education subsidies due to a significant decrease in time to degree, which means that Aarhus University will avoid having to pay a budgeted progress reform fine. On the revenue side, income from external research funding is growing.
Three new degree programmes aimed at the IT industry, and one on international food safety and health in a collaboration between Danish and Chinese educational and research institutions under the auspices of Sino-Danish Center, have been approved for Aarhus University.
All the new programmes can be offered from 2019, providing the university achieves positive institutional accreditation at the end of this year.
For the first time in the government’s Financial Committee's 103-year history, a hearing was moved outside Christiansborg. The venue chosen was Aarhus University. According to Committee Chairman Joachim B. Olsen, the objective is to bring the work of parliament out of the capital and into the provinces.
The Committee was welcomed by Pro-rector Berit Eika, while Professor Michael Svarer, Professor Nina Smith and Head of the School of Engineering, Conni Simonsen, helped qualify the debate with their contributions. The key issue was the question of securing the future labour force and the right match between education and the labour market.
The Danish Minister for Higher Education and Science, Søren Pind, set up an inspiration group on philosophy studies at universities in the autumn. Pro-rector Berit Eika was appointed Chair of the group to provide input on how new philosophy subjects can be introduced to universities, including elucidating the pros and cons of different models.
At the minister's annual Degree Programme and Research meeting on 5 and 6 April, Berit Eika gave her mid-term review on the group's work, which will be submitted before the summer of 2018.
In addition to Berit Eika, the inspiration Group consists of Emeritus Professor Per Øhrgaard, Copenhagen Business School; Emeritus Professor Nils Overgaard Andersen, University of Copenhagen; Rector Hanne Leth, Roskilde University and Chair of Universities Denmark’s Committee for Educational Policy; Director Rane Willerslev, National Museum of Denmark; Rector Stefan Hermann, Metropol; and Dean Philip Binning, Technical University of Denmark.
Are you a recently-recruited assistant professor or associate professor who lacks funds for recruiting international researchers to one of the university's growth areas? If so, you can apply for a grant from the Aarhus University Research Foundation (AUFF). The deadline for the first round of applications is 1 May.
Dean Lars Bo Nielsen criticised the government's new tax package in an article in Altinget. He points out that it will damage the mobility of international researchers because they and their spouses stand to lose their entitlement to unemployment benefit when they come home after a stay of more than one year outside Europe. Lars Bo Nielsen focused in particular on the unfortunate consequences for health research.
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