A new one-year cooperation agreement between Health and the world-wide pharmaceutical company Roche has just been negotiated. The agreement, which comes into force on 1 May 2019, is intended to build bridges between the faculty's students and researchers and the biotech group Roche.

2019.04.30 | Simon Byrial Fischel

Joint research projects, visits to Roche Innovation Center Copenhagen, and input to Health's business-oriented honours programmes. These are some of the specific initiatives in a new cooperation agreement between the faculty and Roche. Among other things, the new agreement will provide the faculty's researchers with new inspiration, strengthen networks between the university and business and industry, and make new career paths more visible for talented students.

The vice-dean for talent development and external relations, Lise Wogensen Bach, is pleased to be able to give students an opportunity to cooperate with one of the world's leading companies in the life sciences area.

"With the agreement, we gain access to each other's research environments in a completely new way. This means that our researchers can find other professionals among Roche's researchers with shared interests, and this is the first step on the path to starting joint research projects,” she says.

A friend in business and industry

Next autumn’s visit to the Roche Innovation Centre Copenhagen in Hørsholm by a group of researchers from Health is primarily intended to be an inspirational trip that can provide new perspectives on ongoing projects. However, establishing good connections to fellow professionals in a life science company is just as important. Not least because a joint research project with a business partner also makes it possible to apply for funding for public-private partnerships and for industrial PhD positions.

"Denmark has many solid academic institutions working on ground-breaking research. However, many of the good ideas remain hidden away instead of being implemented in actual clinical trials that can potentially lead to the development of new innovative treatments. With this agreement, I hope that we will be able to create a strong platform for close and fruitful collaboration between Health and Roche that benefits both parties," says Richard Wright, CEO of Roche Denmark.

Seeing the healthcare industry from the inside

A close relationship with Roche can give the faculty's students a rare insight into what it’s like to work in the healthcare industry. When Health opens the doors to its annual Medical Innovation Day on 27 September, Roche will for example contribute with cases that reflect real issues which the company is working on. Also, some of the company's experts will participate in the day as members of the panel of judges who will select the best proposed solutions to the case assignments from the entrepreneurial participants.

"Roche is always on the lookout for new talents who can contribute with new ideas and innovation. So I'm very pleased that this agreement helps us make it possible for Health's many highly-qualified and ambitious students to meet with our talented employees and get a real insight into what it’s like to work at Roche. I'm really looking forward to meeting the students in the near future," adds Richard Wright.

The management at the faculty are also looking forward to these meetings and hope they can benefit the students in a number of ways.

"We’re proud to be able to offer our students a meeting with a company that works on all aspects from molecule to patient. This can both help to highlight the diversity of career paths out there and also give them a head start in relation to building a network even before they graduate," says Lise Wogensen Bach.

Contact

Vice-Dean for Talent Development and External Relations Lise Wogensen Bach
Aarhus University, Health
Email: lwb@au.dk
Mobile: (+45) 2548 8522