University of Aarhus 2005
The Faculty of Science
In 2005, the Faculty of Science again showed a high level of activity. Research at the faculty has an excellent international reputation, and research findings are often quoted in international journals. There is growing interest in the degree programmes, and the number of students increased compared with 2004. The new Technical Science degree programmes, created in collaboration with the Engineering College of Aarhus, are partly responsible for this growth.
In comparison with 2004, the faculty experienced an increase in turnover of just under 9% to DKK 641 million, mainly due to more external grants.
Research
Three scientists at the faculty were proclaimed the most quoted Danish researchers in their field in the last 15 years. International and national competition between scientists also resulted in external research grants amounting to more than DKK 250 million in 2005.
In 2005, the faculty established the Centre for Theoretical Science and thereby increased the focus on this area. Activities in the nanoscience and nanotechnology focus area also increased considerably. In 2005, the centre thus obtained a grant of DKK 20 million from the Danish High Technology Fund for a research project on “nano-nonwovens”, in collaboration with a private company. In 2005, three new centres financed by the Danish National Research Foundation were inaugurated, and the faculty therefore now has a total of six centres financed by this foundation.
Degree programmes
In 2005, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Development approved two new technico-scientific Bachelor’s degree programmes in Biotechnology and Geotechnology, and a new MSc degree programme in Optics and Electronics. All three degree programmes will be offered in collaboration with the Engineering College of Aarhus with effect from summer 2006. The faculty’s intention is to offer a complete range of engineering degree programmes in the course of the coming years.
In 2005, the faculty participated in an international evaluation of PhD programmes in Denmark. The faculty’s model for the PhD programme – the 4 + 4 model – received a positive evaluation. The faculty enrolled a total of 81 new PhD students in 2005, bringing the total number of PhD students to 284 as of 1 October 2005. This represents an increase of about 5% compared with the previous year, and the number is expected to increase considerably in the coming years.
In the field of continuing education, the main activity is the offer of individual subjects under the so-called single-subject scheme, in which the students attend lectures and sit exams on equal terms with full-time students at the faculty. In 2005, the faculty also offered Master’s degree programmes in Cryptology, Geoscience, Physics, Material Science, Software Design and Multimedia, as well as a diploma programme in Software Design.
In 2005, the faculty organised a large number of events targeting the upper-secondary school sector, including five days of further education for upper-secondary schoolteachers – one for each of the subjects of Geography, Biology, Physics, Mathematics and Chemistry. A total of approximately 500 upper-secondary schoolteachers participated in these days of further education. The faculty also organised courses for upper-secondary schoolteachers in Nanotechnology, Physics and Biostructural Chemistry/Biotechnology.
Contribution to the knowledge society
The faculty’s departments collaborated extensively with both public and private institutions and organisations in the field of research and education. The most prominent of these areas is IT. The faculty is thus an active player in the Katrinebjerg IT Town and in the activities taking place at the Alexandra Institute A/S, including the Jutland–Fyn Business Cooperation Scheme.
A number of public lectures were held, some of which attracted more than 400 people. Several thousand students paid whole or half-day visits with their teachers to one of the faculty’s departments, where they were taught by faculty staff and were allowed to work in the university laboratories under supervision. In addition, 260 upper-secondary school students completed three days of work experience on one of the faculty’s 12 Bachelor’s degree programmes. 179 secondary school students had one week of work experience at the faculty, where they participated in lectures and theoretical as well as laboratory exercises at a suitable level. Faculty researchers also carried out a large number of other activities involving the communication of research findings via the media or lectures, for example.
Communicating knowledge is also a key element at the Steno Institute. Since it was established in 2004, the institute has worked on integrating the activities of the History of Science, Science Education and the Steno Museum. The institute organised science activities for 65 children aged 10–13 years during the summer holidays of 2005. The extension of the Steno Museum commenced in 2005, and the new exhibition rooms are expected to be open to the public in 2008.
The faculty issues the journal Aktuel Naturvidenskab (Current Science) in collaboration with the seven other Danish technical/science faculties and two sector research institutions. This periodical provides the latest scientific knowledge to a broad range of readers and will supply articles about the upcoming Galathea 3 expedition to the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, for example.
Internationalisation
There has always been a tradition for international collaboration in the field of science. Collaboration agreements have been entered into with 127 universities around the world, facilitating student exchange. More than 300 researchers visited faculty departments for short-term or long-term periods, whereas 30 of the faculty’s own researchers went abroad to undertake research for more than one month.
Quality development
It is of prime importance to the faculty to provide high-quality degree programmes in which a large percentage of students are retained and study time reduced. These were, in fact, some of the intentions underlying the study reform of 2003. In 2005, a major survey of the effects of this study reform was initiated, and the results will be available in 2006. Any necessary adjustments will then be made in connection with the planned reform of the Master’s degree programmes.
In 2005, the faculty participated in the national evaluation of Computer Science degree programmes and in the international evaluation of Chemistry degree programmes in Denmark and the UK. The result of these evaluations will serve to further improve and ensure the quality of the faculty’s degree programmes.
Bottles and test tubes are permanent fixtures in every laboratory.
Facts for 2005
Students
New enrolments: 678
Number of students: 3,509
Number of PhD students: 292
Number of Bachelors: 319
Number of Masters: 312
Number of PhDs: 72
Staff (full-time equivalent)
Professors: 51
Associate professors: 233
Other academic staff: 367
Technical and administrative staff: 391
Number of research publications: 1,220
Total number of publications: 1,305
Departments
Department of Biological Sciences
Department of Chemistry
Department of Computer Science
Department of Earth Sciences
Department of Mathematical Sciences
Department of Molecular Biology
Department of Physics and Astronomy
Steno Institute
Research centres
Centre for Applied Sciences
Centre for Pervasive Computing
Centre for Theory in Natural Sciences
Department of Sport Science
Institute for Storage Ring Facilities, Aarhus
Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Centre
In addition, more than 30 other centres, 6 of which are financed by the Danish National Research Foundation and 10 by the Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation (DASTI), as well as 7 instrument/dating centres.
www.nat.au.dk
Degree subjects
Biology
Chemistry
Computer Science
Geology
Graduate engineer – Chemistry and Technology
Mathematics
Mathematics–Economics
Medical Chemistry
Molecular Biology
Nanotechnology
Physical Education and Sport
Physics
The university’s five hothouses in the Botanical Gardens feature plants from areas with a Mediterranean climate, subtropical deserts, tropical mountain forests, a tropical monsoon climate and a tropical rainforest.