News from the Rector's Office no. 39/2010
Aarhus University set to become a hot spot of Danish entrepreneurship
Aarhus University has just been singled out to become "Denmark's Entrepreneurial University". The university's submission to the competition was judged by a jury appointed by the Danish Enterprise and Construction Authority and Fonden for Entreprenørskab ("the entrepreneurship fund").
Last year, AU was awarded the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation's Iværksætterpris ("entrepreneurship award") in recognition of the university's long standing focus on entrepreneurship, which is driven by the Aarhus Entrepreneurship Centre. The "Denmark's Entrepreneurial University" project is a natural extension of AU's work in this area.
The project is intended to further a range of goals, such as integrating entrepreneurship in study programmes and strengthening cooperation between the university and the business community to promote entrepreneurship. Aarhus University will receive DKK 45 million to fund its activities as Denmark's Entrepreneurial University. These funds have been raised through governmental co-financing, the regional growth forums, additional sponsors and the universities themselves.
Aarhus Entrepreneurship Centre is the focal point of the university's entrepreneurship activities. The Danish Enterprise and Construction Authority will also support the runner-up project, the establishment of an entrepreneurship centre in Copenhagen. The project is a collaboration involving Copenhagen Business School, the University of Copenhagen and the Technical University of Denmark.
- Read more on the websites of the Aarhus Entrepreneurship Centre and the Danish Enterprise and Construction Authority (Danish only)
Proposed administrative structure up for debate on theme day
On 19 November, a diverse group of 40 AU staff members and students gathered to provide feedback on proposals regarding the implementation of new administrative structures in connection with the academic development process.
The discussions took place in the context of a theme day where the working group on the organisation of the administration and the seven administrative working groups presented proposals regarding the university's future administrative structure.
The 40 participants discussed the proposed administrative models and provided feedback and suggestions. The working groups will consider feedback from the theme day as they continue developing their proposals. They will submit their final proposals to the rector before Christmas.
Read more about the administrative working groups.
- Read contributions to the theme day (Danish only)
Constructive debate between students, new deans, and Rector's Office
Lively debate arose when about fifty students met with the Rector's Office and the new deans. The meeting was organised by the AU Student Council and the Rector's Office to supplement the open staff meeting which took place on 9 November.
The students were very interested in hearing about plans for the university's future departmental structure, as well as the issue of individual subjects' ability to retain a distinct identity and attract new students under a new structure with fewer departments. The issue of inner mobility across subjects was also discussed, along with the need for geographical reorganisation and the organisation of the academic councils.
- Read excerpts from the debate (Danish only)
The Department of Computer Science to establish new centre for basic research
The Danish National Research Foundation has just awarded a three-year, DKK 15 million grant to fund a new basic research centre with facilities in Aarhus and China. The centre will work with theoretical computer science in four strategic areas, including complexity theory and cryptology.
The new centre, the Center for the Theory of Interactive Computation, will strengthen the close collaboration between Professor Peter Bro Miltersen, AU, and Professor Andy Yao, Tsinghua University. Dr Yao is the only Chinese recipient of the Turing Award, the Nobel Prize of the computer science world.
DJF receives five years of EU project support
Despite strong competition from 148 other applicants, DJF/SciTech, Aarhus University has been awarded EU funding for an Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate project, European Training in Animal Breeding and Genetics in the Genomic Era. Erasmus Mundus is a cooperation and mobility programme aimed at enhancing the quality of European higher education. Among other actions, Erasmus Mundus sponsors high-quality joint Master's and doctoral programmes offered by a consortium of European and third country educational institutions.
The joint doctorate in animal breeding and genetics is a collaboration between DJF/SciTech, Aarhus University, AgroParisTech, Wageningen UR and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. The approximately DKK 50 million in EU funding represents a significant degree of co-funding for nine to ten PhD scholarships per year for a period of five years. Tjhis funding will also provide support for courses, summer schools, and other activities. Senior researcher Peer Berg of the Department of Genetics and Biotechnology and senior researcher Elise Norberg, DJF, are responsible for the programme.
First time in Europe: Random Hacks of Kindness at Aarhus University
On 4 and 5 December, UNITY Katrinebjerg and Aarhus University will open their doors to IT specialists from all over the world in the service of charity. The IT charity event Random Hacks of Kindness (RHoK) brings IT experts together to develop crisis management software free of charge. This the third time RHoK will take place, and the first time outside of the United States. There is room for 250 participants in Aarhus; over the course of the weekend, IT experts from all over the world will work together.
The I'm OK website and mobile app is an example of a software solution which was developed during last year's RHoK. The app is designed to be used during earthquakes and other disasters, and it allows survivors to send a single text message to a central server, which relays the message to their list of contacts. This frees up capacity in the telephone network for other acute communication needs. The I'm OK team of developers now collaborates with the World Bank, which has helped deploy the app to its field agents around the world.
Rector Holm-Nielsen is a member of the jury which will evaluate the projects which result from this year’s RHoK event.
Overwhelming interest in Tycho Brahe
On 19 November, the earthly remains of Tycho Brahe were reinterred at a ceremony in Týn Church in Prague after a week of intense interest on the part of Danish and international researchers and media. After ten years of preparation, Associate Professor Jens Vellev of Aarhus University was finally able to open the tomb of the renowned Danish astronomer. On Wednesday, a CT scan was performed on Tycho Brahe's skeleton at a hospital on the outskirts of Prague, and on Thursday they were photographed at the laboratory of the Czech national museum. Medical anthropologists have made physical descriptions of the material, which will now undergo a thorough analysis performed by the research team behind the project, which includes archaeologists, doctors, chemists and textile conservators.
AU researchers receive DM's research awards
AU researchers won both awards when the Danish Association of Masters and PhDs (DM) recognised exceptional research in the natural sciences and humanities at a recent ceremony.
Professor Frederik Stjernfelt of the Centre for Semiotics received the award for research in the humanities, while the award for research in the natural sciences went to Associate Professor Lars Peter Nielsen of the Department of Biology.
Each researcher received a cash prize of DKK 50,000.
Calendar
- 6 December: University management meeting
- 15 December: Farewell reception for Dean Just Jensen, the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences
- 16 December: Meeting of University Board
- 16 December: Farewell reception for Dean Søren Mogensen, the Faculty of Health Sciences
- 6 January :reception for the four new deans
- 17 January: Meeting of University Board
Kind regards
The Rector's Office
23 November 2010
The Rector’s Office 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 Rector’s Office, please go to http://info.au.dk/medarbbreve/index.asp?sprog=en. The English version of News from the Rector’s Office is available at http://www.au.dk/en/uni/rectorate/newsletter. You can read previous editions of News from the Rector’s Office at http://www.au.dk/en/about/uni/rektorat/newsletter/2010/.