Aarhus2017 will be officially opened later this week, but you can already sample some of the activities that Aarhus University is involved in. They include a meeting with robots, an interactive fashion show on the water and a Reformation laboratory.
Rector Brian Bech Nielsen is participating in the official opening ceremony on 21 January.
An Aarhus-based team of consultants made up of AART architects, Møller & Grønborg, E+N and Trafikplan Rådgivende Ingeniører will advise Forskningsfondens Ejendomsselskab (FEAS), a real estate company under the university’s research foundation, on the development of the new AUH campus.
This is the result of the so-called ‘parallel task’ which FEAS performed during the autumn. FEAS will take over the property in 2019, after which Aarhus University will start moving in to the new campus.
Overall, the jury panel found that the proposal from Team AART architects is the most promising in terms of converting AUH into an urban campus. University Director Arnold Boon was on the jury panel, which was particularly taken with Team AART’s simple but nevertheless ambitious vision of creating a red counterpart to the yellow university buildings on the other side of Nørrebrogade. In the winning proposal, the best parts of the existing buildings are preserved as a starting point for the future building complex.
The project proposal is not a final, but rather a draft which FEAS will continue to develop in collaboration with Aarhus University and the City of Aarhus. On Monday, 16 January, the AU Board is holding an ideas day to discuss how the new, integrated campus can be organised to create an interdisciplinary and international campus environment.
On Friday 27 January, Innovation Fund Denmark is hosting an information meeting at Aarhus University about the foundation’s calls for applications in 2017. Here, you can find out more about all the different types of investment with the main emphasis on the ‘Grand Solutions’, for which Innovation Fund Denmark has allocated DKK 628 million in 2017 divided between eight thematic calls and one open call. The themes are, for example, bioresources, foods, health and lifestyle, health and clinical research and research into welfare and education.
At the meeting, you will be able to find out about strategic changes and get a better understanding of Innovation Fund Denmark’s conceptual universe. One of the most significant changes in 2017 is that the application procedure for Grand Solutions is now one-phased. The application deadline for the thematic calls is in March, the application deadline for the open call is in June, and according to the Innovation Fund Denmark website, everyone receives an answer within 100 days.
In 2016, Aarhus University was involved in 45 projects in which Innovation Fund Denmark invested a total of DKK 150 million. Innovation Fund Denmark has announced the grants on an ongoing basis.
The information meeting will take place at 10:30–12:00 in the Nobel lecture theatre, Building 1482, room 105. The meeting will be conducted in English. It is not necessary to register.
On 1 January 2017, Johnny Laursen, dean of the Faculty of Arts, was appointed chairman of the board of the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS). He is replacing Professor Laurids S. Lauridsen from Roskilde University.
Spearheaded by the Department of Computer Science and the Department of Engineering, Aarhus University is hosting a ‘Brainnovation Day’ on Thursday 19 January. Here, companies and other interested parties will be able to experience and discuss the latest IT research. The main focus of the day is the digitisation of industrial products and services.
The event is part of the overall efforts to encourage dialogue between science and business and industry, and to identify future potential partnerships between Science and Technology and public and private enterprises.
Brainnovation Day is taking place from 9:30–16:00, and is free of charge. Eighty participants have already registered.
Last Monday, 9 January, 189 talented young upper secondary school students from all over Central Denmark Region were celebrated at a diploma presentation ceremony at Viby Gymnasium. They had all completed a two-year programme at the Academy for Talented Youth alongside their ordinary upper secondary school education.
Bent Hansen, chairman of the regional council, and Berit Eika, pro-rector of Aarhus University, attended the event. In her speech to the young people, Berit Eika emphasised Aarhus University’s special ambition of supporting students who want to develop their talents and work hard to satisfy their curiosity.
The Academy for Talented Youth was founded in 2011, and works to help the young talents in their daily studies, strengthen their academic skills and lead them naturally towards a post-secondary education.
All AU employees can now apply to the Aarhus University Research Foundation for grants which support the dissemination of scientific work and other activities at the university.
The application deadline is 22 February, and the grants will be awarded in the first half of 2017. The total pool for 2017 is DKK 5 million, and there are two rounds – the application deadline for the second round is in September.
Postdocs and PhD students can apply to the Ministry of Higher Education and Science for funding for research stays at MIT, UC and Stanford. The application deadline is 15 February.
Read more about research stays at the ministry’s website.
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/2015.