News from the Vice-Chancellor’s Office
No. 41, 1 December

Public sector consultancy competition: Aarhus University sets the stage for negotiation

The case about the Danish Ministry of the Environment's planned introduction of competitive public sector consultancy has taken a new turn. According to Aarhus University, the Ministry of the Environment has failed to give appropriate notice of the decision to subject the public sector consultancy functions currently performed by NERI for the ministry to competition.  But according to the Legal Adviser to the Danish government ( Kammeradvokaten) , there are no legal barriers to the introduction of competition in this area.

Aarhus University therefore asked the law firm Bech-Bruun for an evaluation of the case. According to Bech-Bruun, appropriate notice of the introduction of competition has not been given. Further, according to Bech-Bruun, there is a fundamental distinction between giving notice with regard to the introduction of competition for public sector consultancy services and giving notice with regard to the termination of a contract.

Given that two fundamentally different legal opinions have been presented, Aarhus University has proposed that a solution should be found through negotiation. Public sector consultancy services valued at approximately DKK 20 million will be subject to competition under the Ministry's plan.

New action plan for doctoral studies at Aarhus University

Talent development is highlighted as a core activity in the university’s strategy for 2008-2012. Ensuring that the university’s PhD programmes count among the world's best is an important dimension of the university’s talent development effort.  The number of PhD students is also set to increase dramatically in coming years. Aarhus University’s graduate schools are already well along the way towards reach the goals outlined in the strategy. In order to provide the best possible framework for the further development of the doctoral programmes, the university's eight graduate school heads have prepared an action plan for doctoral studies in collaboration with NERI.

The action plan includes more active recruitment efforts, increased internationalisation including more international cooperation agreements, better integration of foreign PhD students and improved possibilities for PhD students to study abroad as part of their degree programme.

Read the action plan for doctoral studies (in Danish only) here. An English version of the action plan will be published in early 2010.

Women replace men on the Board

The election of student representatives to the Board meant goodbye to the incumbent men – and hello to new female members. The two new Board members Maja Viola Buskbjerg and Anna Juul Bager both represent the Student Council. The new members start on 1 February, and they will hold their office for one year. Maja Viola Buskbjerg is already familiar with the Board's work, as she has been acting as alternate for the previous member Christian Jølck since September.

The Vice-Chancellor’s Office looks forward to working with the two new Board members. Read more about elections to the Board, Academy Councils, PhD Committees and Boards of Studies at http://www.au.dk/election

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Take the reader survey at https://survey3.au.dk/index.php?sid=27169&lang=da (in Danish only).

Calendar

3 December: The international evaluation panel's report on the 2009 evaluation of the university sector was presented at a public press conference at the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, 11:30 am-12:30 pm.

The Vice-Chancellors discussed the report with the committee at 4 pm on the same day. The evaluation report was made available for public consultation immediately after presentation at the press conference, and can be downloaded here

11 December: Conference on climate, communication and sustainability education at the Danish School of Education

The Danish School of Education at Aarhus University will host the conference ‘Can Education Change the Climate?’ during COP15 in Copenhagen. The conference is intended to highlight the importance of education and improved communication for involving both the general public and elected politicians more actively in the effort to save the climate. A new regional conference for sustainability education, The Danish Regional Centre of Expertise for Education for Sustainable Development, will be presented at the conference. The Minister of Education Bertel Haarder will participate. Read the conference programme

7 December: University management meeting

17 December: Board meeting

18 December, 9 am-11 am: The Vice-Chancellor’s Christmas speech at the Lakeside Lecture Theatres

Kind regards

The Vice-Chancellor’s Office
1 December 2009

The Vice-Chancellor’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 Vice-Chancellor’s Office, please go to http://info.au.dk/medarbbreve/index.asp?sprog=en . The English version of News from the Vice-Chancellor’s Office is available at http://www.au.dk/en/uni/rectorate/newsletter . You can read previous editions of News from the Vice-Chancellor’s Office at http://www.au.dk/en/uni/rectorate/newsletter/2009