University of Aarhus 2005
2005 at the university
New Institute of Public Health
The Institute of Public Health became a reality on 1 January. Former institutes became departments under the common leadership of Associate Professor Søren K. Kjærgaard. Public Health as a separate area of health sciences is a relatively new concept in Denmark.
The Institute of Public Health consists of the Departments of General Medical Practice, Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Environmental and Occupational Medicine, Health Services Research and Science in Nursing. In addition to contributing to the education of medical students and PhD students, the Institute is responsible for the Master of Health Science ( cand.scient.san. ) and the Master of Science in Nursing ( cand.cur. ) as well as the Master of Public Health and Master of Clinical Nursing degree programmes.
Courses in communicating research
The Faculty of Science offers an 8-week course in the communication and dissemination of research to the public. This course is for PhD students and is backed by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten . It runs over seven weeks, ending with two full days spent at Jyllands-Posten itself. Course participants use material from their own subject area and produce a text that they rewrite seven times.
The Faculty of Social Sciences also organises a course called “Communicating research via the mass media”, which runs over two full days. Aspects that participants find particularly useful are exercises in conducting an interview, insight into the work methods of journalists, the “contract” between the journalist and the person interviewed and the fact that the course views the subject from both the journalist’s and the researcher’s points of view and that of the researcher.
The Faculty of Health Science has an external communications office that organises 4-hour courses for its PhD students, where they are taught the techniques used by journalists. Researchers need to be familiar with these techniques, as the media make extensive use of expert sources.
Lauritz B. Holm-Nielsen appointed as new rector
The new University Act, which took effect in 2003, meant that the Danish universities were provided with an external board and managers who were appointed – not elected. When the Chairman of the University Board, Jens Bigum, announced that the Board had appointed Lauritz B. Holm-Nielsen, this was therefore the first time a rector had been appointed in the 77-year-long history of the university.
Lauritz B. Holm-Nielsen is 58 years old and comes from a position at the World Bank in Washington DC, where he spent 12 years formulating strategies for developing countries in the area of further education and research, financing these projects and seeing them to fruition. He was a key figure in connection with the design and evaluation of significant sector investments in countries in Eastern Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Central and South America – most recently Mexico and Chile. He also participated actively in university and research policy in Denmark – where he has had considerable influence.
Lauritz B. Holm-Nielsen, who studied botany at the University of Aarhus, took up his position as rector in August 2005. The period of tenure is five years with an option of extension by up to three years.
Unique work about the history of science
In autumn 2005, the first two of four volumes of the new book Dansk Naturvidenskabs Historie (The History of Danish Science) were published. This is the first time that 1,000 years of science in Denmark have been mapped chronologically and that the development of society has been described from the point of view of natural science.
Professor Helge Kragh and Associate Professor Henry Nielsen from the History of Science Department, together with Associate Professor Peter C. Kjærgaard from the Department of the History of Ideas, managed the project and acted as both authors and editors for a larger group of researchers and students who contributed to the book. The four volumes are 1: Fra Middelalderlærdom til den nye videnskab (From Medieval Doctrine to the New Science), c. 1000–1730, 2: Natur, Nytte og Ånd (Nature, Usefulness and Spirit), 1730–1850, 3: Lys over landet (Enlightenment), 1850–1920, and 4: Videnskab uden grænser (Science without Limits), 1920–1970.
Major grants from the High Technology Fund
In 2005, 12 out of 158 applications were granted by the Danish High Technology Fund – two of which were for the University of Aarhus.
A major project involving the development of “nano-nonwovens” over a 4-year period received DKK 20 million. This project is being carried out by the only Danish nonwoven manufacturer, Fibertex A/S in Aalborg, in collaboration with the iNANO Centre (Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Centre) at the Universities of Aarhus and Aalborg. This is one of the most prominent centres of nanotechnology in Northern Europe. Each party also contributes an amount of DKK 20 million.
Another project for the development of a ground-breaking method for radiation treatment of cancer diseases received DKK 10 million over three years. A further DKK 10 million is contributed by the parties themselves. This project is being carried out by the Institute for Storage Ring Facilities at the University of Aarhus (ISA), the Engineering College of Aarhus and the two Danish companies Danfysik A/S and B. Rustfrit Stål A/S.
The High Technology Fund was established on 1 January 2005 by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Development. The aim of the fund is to support Denmark’s further development as a high technology society. This support takes the form of grants for strategic core areas within research and innovation.
The Herning Institute of Business Administration and Technology
In June, the two chairmen of the Boards of the University of Aarhus and the Herning Institute of Business Administration and Technology (HIBAT), respectively, submitted an application to the Minister for Science, Technology and Development, Helge Sander, and the Minister for Education, Bertel Haarder, for approval of an amalgamation of HIBAT and the University of Aarhus into a semi-independent centre called the “University of Aarhus – Institute of Business and Technology” (AUIBT). This application was approved in 2006.
HIBAT was founded in 1995 and offers Bachelor Degree programmes in Business Administration, Commercial Languages and International Communication, Engineering Science and Management.
U-days
During the period 3–5 March, 24 educational institutions in Aarhus opened their doors to all interested visitors and future students. It is the first time ever that such a large number of educational institutions in Denmark has joined efforts in a project to promote a city as the place to study.
Young people try out the University of Aarhus
In November, 766 upper-secondary school students tried out different types of university education. In some subjects, they took part in a special practical programme, or they accompanied a more senior student. In other subjects, they attended lectures on a par with “real” students. Certain subjects were taught at a level that allowed these students to “keep up” and benefit from the lectures. The subjects, lectures and teaching styles were typical of the education provided at the university – i.e. the upper-secondary school students were taught by researchers and senior students.
The university first began inviting “trainee students” in 2002 together with the County of Vejle. At that stage, 29 students participated. In 2005, the university accommodated 766 students, but had to turn down approximately 150 applicants. The most popular subject was medicine, where 123 trainee students signed up.
