On the background of a broad political agreement, a reform of the funding system for higher education is now a reality. Aarhus University is positive about the intentions of the agreement, but is of the opinion that the reform is not likely to have a fundamental impact on quality.
In continuation of the current debate on nitrogen calculations in the Agricultural Package, questions are being asked about the integrity of AU researchers – and hence the integrity of Aarhus University itself.
Read the reactions of Rector Brian Bech Nielsen and Dean Niels Christian Nielsen.
The government launched a new language strategy last week which aims to enhance the language skills of students at all levels of the educational system. The new strategy will accompanied by DKK 100 million in funding until 2022. Creation of a national centre for foreign languages supported by AU and KU is the central initiative for the strategy. Johnny Laursen, dean at Arts, welcomes the opportunities provided by the language strategy.
On 1 December, a new research centre – the Center for Electromicrobiology – was officially opened at Aarhus University. With up to DKK 56 million from the Danish National Research Foundation behind them, researchers will be spending the next six years examining how bacteria with electrical wires inserted in them – known as cable bacteria – work. Professor Lars Peter Nielsen of the Department of Bioscience will be heading the new centre.
Hanne Bach, director of DCE – the Danish Centre For Environment And Energy at Aarhus University – will be spending the next two years spearheading the PEER research network, which is the biggest nature and environmental research network in the EU.
The world's biggest study competition, the Hult Prize, will be coming to Aarhus University for the very first time. The UN and the Clinton Foundation – the latter created by former US president Bill Clinton – are behind the competition. By Saturday 2 December, a number of AU students will have completed their bids to devise ways of providing sustainable energy to 10 million people in less developed parts of the world, helping them to improve their lives by 2025. More than 50,000 students all over the world are entering the competition, and the top prize is 1 million dollars.
The emergency response website at AU has been reorganised and updated with the latest plans and facts. This site contains information which all staff can use to find out how to deal with emergencies such as fires, cardiac arrests or bomb threats.
Follow the link and see what all AU staff ought to know about AU's overall emergency response procedure, including the procedures for alerting others, raising the alarm and evacuating the premises.
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.