No. 2, 13 January

Free places for climate conference Beyond Kyoto on 5–7 March

It is important that Aarhus University makes the most of the opportunity to stand out in the climate area, and that the university’s researchers are strongly represented at the conference. All relevant researchers and AU students are therefore offered a free place at the conference.

The rectorate has written to the deans, who will make sure to enrol those researchers and students who are interested.

See more information about the conference

Michael Christiansen new member of the University Board

Michael Christiansen (63) graduated in law from the University of Copenhagen. He currently sits on a number of boards in both the private and the public sectors, including Danmarks Radio, where he was inducted as Chairman in November. He is also Chairman of the Danish Government’s Wage Commission. Michael Christiansen takes his place on the University Board on 1 February 2009.

Resigning from the Board are Bishop Kjeld Holm, Director Svend Krarup and Director Jens Kampmann, whose terms of service have terminated. To optimise the ongoing course of the mergers, Kjeld Holm (former Chairman of the Board at DPU) and Svend Krarup (former Chairman of the Board at NERI) accepted a request from the Board to continue as observers for another year.

Read more (in Danish only) at: http://www.au.dk/da/nyheder/presse/2009/090109

Take part in the university’s evaluation

To start off a good and fruitful process up to the forthcoming university evaluation, the rectorate is now initiating the process at Aarhus University. In a letter just released, the rectorate encourages relevant councils and committees, student organisations and staff groups, etc. to discuss the themes. The evaluation is being conducted by an international panel of experts, and is based on five main themes: the university’s mergers, co-management, the free academic debate, freedom of research and the universities’ degree of freedom.

Nobody yet knows when and how the international panel of experts will undertake the evaluation in practice. However, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation will draw up a background report for the panel of experts by summer 2009. The report will include topics such as the universities’ viewpoints regarding the five main themes. Read more about the evaluation (in Danish only)

Debate about the teacher’s training degree

To strengthen the teacher’s training degree, the university colleges now propose that the universities open up for student teachers after two–three years at the university colleges. However, Aarhus University has rejected this model.

“If student teachers change to the university, they must naturally live up to the academic requirements. And such a change is not immediately possible because there’s an enormous gap between the first years of teaching studies and university studies. Of course, you can get credits for the academic sections that can be included in a university degree programme. We’d naturally like to look into this. However, I’m convinced that students will have to take supplementary subjects to get on track at the university. In other words, you can’t spend three years at a university college and continue immediately at fourth-year level in a university degree programme,” says Nina Smith today to Altinget.dk – the Danish web-based newspaper.

The advisory group for the teacher’s training degree has rejected AU’s 3+2 model, partly because it would be too expensive. But that is not the case, according to Nina Smith.

“If it’s about getting a strong teacher’s training degree as is the case in Finland, one that strengthens both the teachers and the pupils in the Danish state schools, there’ll be numerous long-term financial gains in doing the degree programme in five years. I don’t think it’s hard to make that calculation,” she says.

International impact of research at Aarhus University?

To get a clearer picture of AU’s current research position, the rector and deans have decided to let the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) in Leiden, the Netherlands, undertake a bibliometric analysis of research at Aarhus University. CWTS in Leiden has a reputation for supplying reliable and lucid analyses, which make no secret of the strengths and limitations of the methodology. The analysis will record citation frequency, and will be standardised according to different publication practices in different academic fields. The analysis will compare Aarhus University with 15 highly reputed Scandinavian and European universities in a number of academic disciplines.

Top placing to the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences

The Faculty of Agricultural Sciences (DJF) is number 11 among the most frequently cited agricultural science institutions in the world. This placing has just been announced in the Thomson Reuters Essential Science Indicators database. Number one is the American Tufts University, with the British Institute of Food Research in second place and the University of Helsinki in Finland in third place. In a fine seventh place in the rankings list is the Faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Copenhagen. See the list here

Incidentally, DJF and the Danish Agricultural Advisory Service are holding their annual Plant Congress today and tomorrow in Herning, with more than 2,000 participants from all areas of the agricultural industry. Read more about DJF at: http://www.agrsci.org/

Professor Flemming Besenbacher honoured with this year’s Erhverv Aarhus Prize

The award was presented in conjunction with the annual New Years’ reception on Friday 9 January 2009. Professor Besenbacher works at the Department of Physics and Astronomy and is Director of the iNANO Centre. He was awarded the 2009 Erhverv Aarhus Prize for having actively worked throughout his career to influence Aarhus with his research – not only within the world of research, but also in collaboration with the business community and other bodies, both in Denmark and abroad. Read more about the prizegiving ceremony (in Danish only)

Kind regards
The Rectorate
13 January 2009

The rectorate publishes Rectorate News every Tuesday – apart from holidays and public holidays. 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 Rectorate News, please go to http://info.au.dk/medarbbreve/index.asp?sprog=en. The English version of Rectorate News is published every Wednesday and is available at http://www.au.dk/en/uni/rectorate/newsletter.

You can read previous editions of Rectorate News at http://www.au.dk/en/uni/rectorate/newsletter/2008.