Rector Brian Bech Nielsen believes that the Danish government’s planned cutbacks on degree programmes are counterproductive to the desire to improve quality.
Last Thursday, students all over Denmark took to the streets to demonstrate against the government’s decision to cut the budgets for degree programmes by 2 per cent annually – the so-called reallocation contribution – and Rector Brian Bech Nielsen shares the students’ concerns.
In an interview with the radio station P4 Østjylland, Brian Bech Nielsen made it clear that the annual cutbacks will affect students, and that the cutbacks are poorly aligned with the government’s announcement that Denmark must be a knowledge society.
On Friday 6 October, the Centre for Business Development at the Department of Business Development and Technology in Herning was officially inaugurated. The centre will promote interdisciplinary and international research into the use of digital technologies for business development. The centre has a strong focus on cooperation with other universities in Denmark and internationally as well as with business and industry, including KK Wind, Grundfos, Siemens and many others.
Rector Brian Bech Nielsen was there for the inauguration and gave the inauguration speech.
Within the past two weeks, Science and Technology has inaugurated three new interdisciplinary strategic research centres.
On Friday 6 October, the doors were opened to WATEC, which will bring together and strengthen research within the field of water technologies. The centre will contribute to ensuring water resources for tomorrow’s growing population.
The previous week saw the opening of iFOOD, which will help to create the sustainable foods of the future. And DIGIT – a new research centre for digitalisation, big data and data analytics – opened later in the same week, and will address the digital transformation of society.
The centres are number three, four and five out of seven interdisciplinary research centres which Science and Technology is planning to establish in fields of particular importance to society.
The Danish Centre for Environment and Energy (DCE) and AU Bioscience have won contracts on research and public-sector consultancy services within the field of wildlife management in Denmark. The contracts are worth DKK 14 million annually from 2018 up to and including 2021, with a possible extension for up to two years.
This is the first call for tenders following the announcement that all the funding available in the area of public sector consultancy under the Ministry of Environment and Food of Denmark will be put out to tender in the next few years.
It would seem that the Danish Agriculture & Food Council are confusing business interests and scientific arguments in their criticism of the aquatic plans. This is the opinion expressed by Dean Niels Chr. Nielsen and Vice-dean Kurt Nielsen from Science and Technology in an op-ed on Altinget. The article follows an evaluation by international experts of the marine research conducted by Aarhus University and DHI in relation to the EU’s Water Framework Directive.
Management and management culture were on the agenda for the academic councils’ annual seminar at Sandbjerg on 28-29 September. According to Bobby Zachariae, chairman of the Academic Council at Aarhus BSS, the seminar contributed to a better understanding of what creates well-being within the organisation.
Aarhus University is making it easier for junior researchers to plan their careers. A new, comprehensive career development programme and a new joint platform are two of the initiatives which are now being introduced for assistant professors, postdocs and researchers employed in tenure-track positions. The Committee for Research and External Relations is behind the initiative, and has earmarked DKK 500,000 for the junior research initiative in 2017 and 2018.
Consensus on the fundamental principles for excellence in PhD degree programmes across the four faculties. This was the agenda when, on Thursday 5 October, the four vice-deans and the heads of the graduate schools met with a large group of senior researchers to discuss challenges and opportunities for the PhD programmes.
The discussion is important at a time when the programmes are being subjected to political pressure. Vice-dean at Aarhus BSS Per Baltzer Overgaard, who was behind the conference, emphasises the need for common principles at Aarhus University which can ensure a strong focus on educating independent researchers who can manage and work together on research projects, often in an interdisciplinary environment. At the same time, there was agreement that PhD programmes must focus on the process rather than the number of publications.
A workshop on collaboration planning held by Science for Society on 28 September attracted considerable interest and included visitors from Novo Nordisk. The aim was to provide researchers with better tools for planning and engaging in collaboration with businesses. If you missed the workshop and need advice, you are welcome to contact a business developer at Aarhus University’s department for Technology Transfer.
University Director Arnold Boon writes about the annual 2 per cent budget cuts in the administration which were decided in 2014. At the administrative centres at ST and HE, it looks as if it will be difficult to realise the budget cuts solely through natural wastage, and the two centres are therefore looking at alternative strategies.
Deputy Head of Department Jacob Schach Møller has been appointed head of the Department of Mathematics from 1 October 2017
At the Department of Computer Science, Vice-dean Jes Madsen was appointed acting department head on 16 September as Lars Birkedal has stepped down to focus on his research and teaching.
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.