Speech on the occasion of the Aarhus University Annual Celebration, Friday 10 September 2010

Honoured Minister;

Ladies and gentlemen.

There's an anecdote about Albert Einstein that I'd like to share with you. Once Albert Einstein was dictating the next day's examination questions to his secretary.

After a while, the secretary interrupted Einstein. 'Dr Einstein,' she said, 'these are exactly the same questions you asked last year'.  'I know that,' answered Einstein, before adding

'but the answers aren't necessarily the same'.

On some level, this anecdote is about how development and change are the fundamental conditions of our lives. While we may continue to grapple with the same questions year after year, the answers aren't necessarily the same.

In June, the Board voted to launch the most comprehensive reorganisation the university has experienced since it was founded in 1928.

Faculties, departments and administrative functions are being broken up and reorganised - both figuratively and literally.  These changes are taking place because today's challenges demand new solutions, new approaches.

We share the question we're trying to answer - How do we develop an excellent university? -with our predecessors. But the answers aren't necessarily the same.

Today, Aarhus University must perform on a global market. In order to retain its position among the elite of European universities, the university must have access to the latest research and scholarship and attract the most talented researchers. Our challenge is to create the best possible framework for research activities which are unbounded by their very nature. Breakthroughs often take place precisely in the intersection between disciplines and fields of research.

Aarhus University must therefore develop broad, flexible structures to facilitate the advance of knowledge across traditional disciplinary boundaries.

This ongoing process of development is a natural consequence of the mergers the Board voted to undertake in 2006 and 2007. The mergers created new opportunities, some of which have already been exploited.

Exciting new degree programmes have been established, and interdisciplinary and interfaculty research activities have increased. What is more, the university's relationships with both private and public sector partners have deepened since the mergers.

But we have the potential to achieve so much more. And the Board has been extremely conscious of the fact that far-reaching reorganisation is a precondition for success.

It's not easy to change large organisations. Supertankers sailing at high speed require a lot of time and sea miles for a radical change of course. But at Aarhus University, it appears that anything's possible.

This is quite remarkable and worthy of recognition. The university's management team deserves recognition for the energy and courage they bring to the process of implementing such a major and innovative transformation -

a transformation which provoke the attention and respect of partners and colleagues from other universities.

Our researchers, students and administrative personnel also deserve recognition for their constructive contributions to this process.

I'm aware that this type of process can also create uncertainty and insecurity: what will be the conditions for the development of my field of research under the new structure What will happen `to my job functions? These reactions are understandable, and they intensify the need for openness and responsiveness.

And after all, these are fundamental values, not least for a university, where contesting opinions and viewpoints is at the heart of academic practice and ethos.

This is the case at Aarhus University.

The Aarhus University culture is part of what makes it possible to introduce such fundamental changes in so short a time.

As I've said before on similar occasions, I'm struck time and time again by how much veneration Aarhus University students and staff have for their university. Veneration doesn't preclude criticism. On the contrary. The Aarhus University community has demonstrative genuine engagement in the process, and many have addressed the Board with their views.

For us, the widespread debate on the process has been a litmus test of its quality.

A pressing task is now to ensure the full integration of the Engineering College of Aarhus. A positive partnership between Aarhus University and the Engineering College of Aarhus has been established within the framework of the Aarhus School of Engineering. This partnership has developed further.

Therefore, the Board has applied to the Danish prime minister for a full merger to be effected as of 1 January.  An even closer partnership would help meet the great demand for more and better engineers in the entire region, and it's been a pleasure to witness the development of the relationship between the two institutions. Strengthening this relationship even further would be of great benefit the business sector.

We have not yet been granted the formal approval to take the last step from partnership to merger. But this is certainly not because a lack of good arguments in our favour. The results achieved by our partnership speak for themselves.

The changes Aarhus University is undergoing in these times are nothing short of colossal. But so are those the world around us is experiencing.

Major social changes tend to occur in fits and starts. And it's only possible to judge just how epochal the changes actually were after some time has passed and we're at a certain distance from them. So, although I can't be certain that I'm right, I do believe that the story of the beginning of the new millennium will be a story of radical change in the history books of the future.

We are experiencing an unprecedented degree of global interdependence: in our world, seemingly minor events have the capacity to develop into worldwide conflicts which affect our daily lives.

We are experiencing how climate change is changing the agenda - not only challenging our way of life, but science itself.

We are experiencing rapid transformations in the global balance of power. China and other expanding economies are newly powerful players on the world stage, challenging the 'old guard' of the twentieth century's political and economic power centres.

We experienced this at the climate summit in Copenhagen.

This is the reality we must navigate in - as a society and as a university.

The Danish government's globalisation agreement represents a viable strategy for guaranteeing the continued development and prosperity of our welfare society. This agreement confirms that research and education must be the cornerstone.

Such an approach demands a long-term perspective. That we again have seen significant increases in enrolment this year is good news. However, the true benefits will first become visible if we are able to attract large numbers of young people over a number of years while at the same time making sure that they find their place on the labour market after completing their studies.

Similarly, it's good news that total research funding has increased in recent years. But here again, we will only be able to reap the benefits if we continue to insist on the necessity of prioritising research. This requires an understanding of the significance of research and education on the part of political decision-makers.

And this, in tern, demands a long-term perspective. There appears to be a growing acceptance of this, including among politicians.

I would therefore like to take this opportunity to call for the political courage to commit to a new long-term agreement. The current globalisation agreement expires in 2012, and it is important for the universities to plan activities and allocate resources on the background of assurances that research and education will continue to be priority.

Of course, we are aware that many leading economic indicators still point the wrong way, and that keeping the Danish economy on track is in the interests of us all - including the universities. But at the same time, this economic challenge is precisely what intensifies the need to prioritise the creation of the knowledge on which we and coming generations must base our prosperity.

The coming years will be incredibly exciting. So it's time for us to get going to roll up our sleeves and get to work on the challenges before us.

But before that, it's time to celebrate. It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the 2010 Aarhus University Annual Celebration. I'm sure that we'll enjoy a festive day together.

I would like to extend a particularly warm welcome to Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Charlotte Sahl-Madsen, who joins the annual celebration with us today for the first time - barely a week after her first full-day visit to Aarhus University.

Welcome, everyone.