Strong pool of applicants to dean positions

Thirty-one applicants have applied for the new dean positions at Aarhus University. A third of the applicants are non-Danes.

The pool of applicants is evenly distributed across the four new main academic areas which will be established at the beginning of 2011 as a consequence of the academic development process.

• Aarhus Faculty of Arts, (known as 'Kulturvidenskab', in Danish): Eight applicants
• Aarhus Faculty of Science and Technology ('Naturvidenskab og Teknologi'): Eight applicants
• Aarhus Faculty of Health Sciences ('Sundhedsvidenskab'): Seven applicants
• Aarhus School of Business and Social Sciences ('Erhverv og Samfundsvidenskab'): Eight applicants

The new deans are expected to start on 1 January 2011.

Read about the applicants to the dean positions on AU's website.

Debate with the Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation

Aarhus University and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation are arranging a debate on the opportunities and challenges facing Danish research and education.

The event is an excellent opportunity for students and employees to debate university policy with Minster Charlotte Sahl-Madsen, and all are encouraged to attend.

The debate will take place on Wednesday 1 September from 7 pm to 9.45 pm in the main lecture hall (Store Auditorium) at Incuba Science Park, Åbogade 15, Århus N.

The minister will meet with representatives from AU management as well as employees after the debate. Minister Sahl-Madsen will be visiting all eight Danish universities in September to gather inspiration and to discuss possible strategies for improving the quality of teaching, international research and educational collaboration and cooperation between the universities and society.

Aarhus University is the first university the minister will be visiting.

• Invitation to debate evening

The Minister for the Environment visited AU at Zackenberg

Last week, Rector Holm-Nielsen headed an AU delegation to Zackenberg Research Station, accompanied by a group from the Ministry for Climate and Energy headed by Climate and Energy Minister Lykke Friis. Zackenberg's location in Northeast Greenland means that important climate change research projects are being carried out here. Zackenberg Research Station, the property of the Home Rule Parliament of Greenland and operated by NERI, is located approx. 450 km north of the nearest town, Ittoqqortoormiit/Scoresbysund, and approx. 20 km north of the Sirius Patrol base in Daneborg.

The environmental monitoring programme Zackenberg Basic has been monitoring around 1,500 different climatic, physical and biological parameters in Arctic ecosystems for the past twelve years. Today, Zackenberg Research Station is considered one of the leading international research centres in the Artic, not least on account of the quality of the empirical data it provides.

• Read more about the visit to Zackenberg on the AU climate site
• Zackenberg Research Station

Popular lecture series part of the Aarhus Festival

Aarhus University will contribute lectures on a diverse range of subjects to this year's Aarhus Festival. Topics include conflicts between neighbours, social cohesion, the survival skills of ants, and the heights of mountains.

True to tradition, highlights will include two science lectures at City Hall. Both lectures will start at 7 pm. The subject of 'Ants and humans' (30 August) will be the ability of ants to adapt - and the variety of uses to which they can be put. The subject of 'The mystery of the height of mountains' (31 August) will be how this mystery was solved by geophysicists from Aarhus University.

On 1 September, the Aarhus University Extension will explore the theme of 'Neighbours' at City Hall from 7 pm to 9.30 pm. Among others, Professor Henrik Høgh-Olesen (Department of Psychology, Aarhus University) will speak on 'conflicts between neighbours', and Professor Gert Tinggaard Svendsen (Department of Political science, Aarhus University) will speak on 'the productive form of social cohesion'. The audience will be invited to direct the debate by putting questions for the researchers in the moderator's hat.

• Read the Aarhus Festival programme

Drinking water no longer contaminated

The drinking water in northern Aarhus is no longer contaminated by E. coli bacteria, and boiling water before drinking is no longer necessary.

The municipal water authority Århus Vand has a homepage to update citizens on the quality of the city's drinking water. At http://www.aarhusvand.dk/, you will also find the answers to a number of frequently asked questions about the situation and advice on how to react.

One out of five AU employees participated in the DHL relay race

1,670 AU employees participated in the DHL relay race,which was held both in Aarhus and in Odense last week. Next week, 165 more AU employees will participate in the five km relay walk or run at the DHL race in Copenhagen. All in all, 1,835 AU employees - almost one in five - will have participated in the event, out of about 180,000 runners and walkers.

• See pictures and stories from DHL Stafet in Aarhus

Calendar

• 31 March: Afternoon meeting for central administration employees on the academic development process
• 1 September: Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Charlotte Sahl-Madsen to visit Aarhus University
• 2 September: Staff meeting on the academic development process at SAM
• 2 September: Staff meeting on the academic development process at NAT
• 10 September: the Aarhus University annual celebration
• 15 September: Staff meeting on the academic development process at TEO
• 15 September: Staff meeting on the academic development process at HUM
• 16 September: Staff meeting on the academic development process at SUN
• 16 September: Staff meeting on the academic development process at ASB
• 23 September: Staff meeting on the academic development process at DPU
• 23 September: Staff meeting on the academic development process at DMU
• 30 September: Staff meeting on the academic development process at DJF

Kind regards

The Rector's Office
25 August 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.