No. 6, 10 February

Basis for research-based advice to the authorities

The research-based advice to the authorities provided by universities has been one of the major topics featured in the Danish media, along with the issue of the researchers’ integrity, honesty and freedom or lack thereof, where it has been implied that the researchers have been caught up in politics. The debate gathered momentum in the wake of the annual meeting of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters with the theme Quality and administration of the universities of the future , where a number of people accused the existing advice to the authorities of being neither scientifically adequate nor capable of providing independent reports.

It is positive that we now have an open debate about the way in which we should go about this important task at the universities. However, accusations that researchers at Aarhus University should be puppets controlled by politicians and public servants have been pulled out of thin air. Neither Aarhus University nor the authorities can accept that the university delivers commissioned work to suit the politics of whichever government is sitting at any given time.

Nobody should be in any doubt that independent research of a high quality forms – and will continue to form – the basis for our advice to the authorities. And this naturally places demands on the top management of the university, as well as the heads of research and the individual researchers. The university’s task is to supply data, facts and knowledge in specific contexts – not politics. There must be a certain distance between the results and conclusions provided by the researchers and the interpretation and conclusions that are subsequently drawn by the ministries. We must therefore also take this opportunity, of course, to go over our existing forms of collaboration to investigate ways of improving the process so that we avoid public debates about academic/scientific integrity and independence, and – on the other hand – concentrate on the related questions and challenges.
Read Pro-rector Søren E. Frandsen’s leading article in CAMPUS (in Danish only): http://www.au.dk/campus/avis/2009/campus-nr-2.pdf

Debate about the Danish Universities Act brought forward

The timetable for submitting a response to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation has been brought forward to 22 April. The deadline for contributions from the main academic areas has therefore been brought forward to 1 April. This means that we are now extremely busy extending the debate about the Act and the mergers to the main academic areas, so that we can include as much of their input as possible in the report we must submit to the ministry on topics such as co-management, the free academic debate and freedom of research.

As a supplement to the local initiatives, the rectorate is appointing a number of interdisciplinary focus groups spanning the main academic areas, as well as opening up for digital brainstorming on our website, where we encourage everyone to take part in the debate.

However, the new deadline must not allow any impediment to the debate at AU. Irrespective of what the forthcoming legislation will look like regarding the university area, we have in many ways an opportunity to influence the structure of our university ourselves. The rectorate therefore hopes that the debate will also continue at Aarhus University throughout the rest of the year.

Education in Aarhus – from integration to inclusion

Conference at AU on 26 March at 10.00–16.00.

On 26 March, Aarhus University and the Municipality of Aarhus will focus on the good initiatives that get more students with a non-Danish ethnic background to complete their education, and will also focus on the options available for boosting collaboration that cuts across the city’s different study programmes. The conference will be a mixture of presentations and café debates – and the programme includes examples of successful integration in the study programmes at different educational institutions in Aarhus.

The aim is to hold on to and spread this good practice, and to develop new joint models for integration in education. The official invitation and the final programme will be issued at the end of February, but it is not too soon to circle your calendar for 26 March, and you are welcome to forward this e-mail to colleagues who might be interested.

Board meeting at DPU

The Board meeting at the Danish School of Education (DPU) is scheduled for Monday 23 February. Discussions include the appointment of the new director of administration at the university, topical themes in the area of education, and the evaluation of the university area. A guided tour of DPU has been arranged in conjunction with the Board meeting.

See the complete agenda (in Danish only) at: http://www.au.dk/da/bestyrelse/2009/1-2009/dagsorden

Tribute to researcher at Aarhus University

The Novo Nordisk Prize 2009 goes to researcher at Aarhus University for important basic research.
Professor Søren Nielsen, DrMedSc, who is also CEO of Action Pharma, studies along with his team the transport of water and salt across the membranes of the billions of cells in the body – a transport that takes place via small channels called aquaporins. This research has enormous significance for the treatment of conditions such as kidney disease, heart failure, cirrhosis of the liver and brain disease, where improved treatment and medicine can now be developed.

The prize is valued at DKK 1.5 million (approximately EUR 200,000) and is a great tribute to Professor Nielsen and his team.

Read the media release (in Danish only) at: http://www.au.dk/da/nyheder/presse/2009/100209

The international climate conference Beyond Kyoto , 5–7 March in Aarhus

An enormous number of enrolments have been received for the climate conference – we expect up to 1000 participants.

The Climate Secretariat has just published a newsletter for the media – you can see it (in Danish only) here: http://klima.au.dk/uploads/media/Nyhedsbrev_01_Beyond_Kyoto.pdf

Kind regards
The Rectorate
10 February 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 .