As a member of The Guild – the European network of 19 research-intensive universities – Aarhus University is a co-signatory of the statement that encourages the protection of the cooperation of universities across national borders in Europe during the Brexit negotiations.
Last week, Politiken and DR have focused on the Danish regulations that currently make it possible for immigration authorities to penalise international researchers from non-EU countries for disseminating their knowledge outside the university that employs them. This means that the Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI) has fined researchers from Copenhagen Business School and elsewhere for having brought their expertise into play in other contexts – working as external examiners and speakers, for instance. Danish rules require international employees to acquire an exemption and a special work permit on each occasion, whether the position is paid or unpaid.
Apart from being a very strict set of rules, these regulations are also clearly in contravention of the Danish Act on Universities, which emphasises the importance of researchers sharing their knowledge freely for the benefit of society, and other countries are expressing considerable concern that international employees at Danish universities are not assured of the same rights as Danish employees. Inger Støjberg, Minister for Immigration, Integration and Housing, will be looking at the case.
Aarhus University has been aware of the problem for some time, but it is not known whether researchers employed by AU from countries outside the EU have been reported by SIRI for illegal sideline employment. This is being checked in connection with current media coverage.
If you have any questions about the regulations relating to work permits, Inge Aachmann Pedersen or Michael Winther from AU Research Support and External Relations would be happy to provide advice.
International students provide Denmark with financial gains. These are the findings of a recently published survey from Damvad Analytics that has been carried out on behalf of Universities Denmark.
It shows that the average international university graduate contributes DKK 779,000 to Danish society. And that is after deducting expenses for education, health and social benefits such as the Danish students' Grants and Loans Scheme. This is also true even though some of them travel back to their own countries after completing their education.
The opinion of Aarhus University, in line with that of Universities Denmark, is that Denmark should focus on attracting and retaining substantial numbers of international students. The survey confirms that this pays off in socio-economic terms, but at the same time Aarhus University’s position is that international students can help to reinforce the quality of the programmes on offer.
Aarhus University currently has around 1,000 exchange students and 3,000 international students on full-degree programmes, representing around 120 different nationalities. A number of departments are making targeted efforts to recruit more international students.
Søren Pind, Minister for Higher Education and Science, has appointed an inspiration group that will be looking at how to introduce a new examen philosophicum to universities. Pro-Rector Berit Eika has been appointed chair of a team of seven people with backgrounds in the education sector. This inspiration group will complete its work by the summer of 2018.
For the first time ever, Aarhus BSS has received the full, 5-year AMBA accreditation for the MBA programme at the faculty. This accreditation is awarded to MBA programmes of the highest international quality, bringing Aarhus BSS into the same league as the world's top business schools. Dean Thomas Pallesen considers this an important quality hallmark and would like to pass on his warmest thanks to all the staff who have helped to secure this result.
The 5-year AMBA accreditation is replacing the previous 3-year accreditation. Aarhus BSS is also expecting to find out at some point in December whether the faculty is still entitled to state it holds EQUIS accreditation.
It is now possible to apply for funding for activities that, in a broad sense, can reduce gender bias in the university’s research environments. This call for applications is part of the implementation of AU's action plan for women in research from March 2016.
The activities may include mentoring, career planning, networking initiatives, funding for shelters and so forth.
The total budget for the initiative is DKK 450,000, and the Committee for Research and External Cooperation is planning to fund 1-5 initiatives. The deadline for applications is 31 January 2018.
Universities Denmark celebrated its 50th anniversary last week. The occasion was marked with a ceremony at which Minister for Higher Education and Science, Søren Pind, made a speech encouraging universities to maintain their commitment to the world and to critical voices.
Universities Denmark also took the opportunity to take stock of development in the sector in a long feature in Politiken. Chair Anders Bjarklev, Vice-chair Per Michael Johansen and Director Jesper Langergaard emphasise the key role played by universities in Denmark as a leading knowledge nation and a democratic society.
On Monday 13 November the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters celebrated its 275th anniversary with a major public event at Diamanten in Copenhagen. Poul Nissen, AU professor and member of the Academy, was one of the speakers.
The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters is a meeting place for prominent researchers from all fields of scientific research and works to promote the position of sciences in Denmark and interdisciplinary understanding.
Charlotte Jonasson, associate professor at the Department of Psychology and Behavioural Sciences at Aarhus BSS, has won this year's Tietgen Award of DKK 500,000 for her research into teamwork. This award is presented by DSEB (the Danish Society for Education and Business), and it is one of the most prestigious awards presented to young researchers in Scandinavia.
This week, AU has an interdisciplinary exhibition on resistance research at the very heart of the European Parliament in Brussels. Professor Jens Seeberg is heading the exhibition, which has been arranged in partnership with the EU's regional office in Central Jutland. The exhibition will be open until Saturday 25 November.
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.