Dear all This is the last newsletter this year. I hope that each one of you will be able to have a well-deserved break during Christmas together with your family and friends. You have done an amazing job in 2019.

2019.12.20 | thomas G. Jensen

The Department Day 

Thank you for your great support of the Department Day – thank you for your great and inspiring presentations.  It is definitely worth repeating next year. Slides from the Department Day may be submitted on request to Jeannette Madsen  (jepe@biomed.au.dk). 

Cooperation agreements

As part of the work on research integrity and arm's length principles, the rules have been tightened, so that only the heads of department, the deans and the rector are allowed to sign external cooperation agreements on behalf of AU. The TTO is currently in the process of making  approval procedures more flexible. In the future, it will be necessary for all cooperation agreements to be approved by the TTO.   

Honest Research Culture
On January 1, Steffen Thiel begins his new function as adviser for responsible conduct of research at Health. This means that, together with Ebba Nexø, he is available as a confidential conversation and sounding board if you feel that your freedom of research is under pressure. You can speak with Steffen if you are in a grey area where it is difficult to say no – for example in relation to crediting a co-author who has not actually been involved in your publication. Read more in the article Biomedical scientist - adviser on responsible conduct of research.

The Department's finances

The board of AU has now approved the budget. The economic situation at the department  is not critical, but moderation is necessary The reasons for this are, in particular, increasing rent expenses, relocation and rebuilding expenses, as well as an unfortunately minor increase in the education income due to lower rates. At the same time, both the attracting of grants and our use hereof are increasing, so in total we see an increase in the activities. Read more about AU's finances in the article  The 2020-2023 AU budget The university’s financial position looks solid despite challenges.

AIAS-fellowships

The application deadline is already on January 17.

The scholarships can be used for 'home-taking' of AU researchers. Read more on the website AIAS-COFUND Fellowships. 

We are short of space in the -150 degree freezers in Skou  

We are running out of space in the -150-degree freezers and therefore need to tclear some space to be able to  offer our new colleagues the freezing space necessary for their research. At the same time, the energy resources are not insignificant as the operating costs of having these freezers running are approaching DKK 1 million per year. Those of you who want to have influence on the tidying up procedure and the use of the -150 degree freezer in the future can contact Jeannette Madsen (jepe@biomed.au.dk).  

New course for student teachers

CESU offers a "blended learning" course in pedagogy and didactics, where the student teachers reflect on their role in student-centered teaching. The first course will take place in January. The course is relevant for all student teachers. Read more about the course on the website Course in pedagogics and didactics for student teachers that also includes a registration link. 

Staff notices in front of the Skou café 

A new noticeboard has been set up in front of the Skou café with space for relevant announcements. You are responsible for taking the notice down when it is no longer relevant. We continue to work on a solution for putting up notices in the lifts. 

Marie Curie Fellow Postdoc Scholarships
We are looking for potential applicants for the Marie Curie Fellowships. In May, the faculty holds a three-day master class for potential applicants (application deadline March 15). This will allow them to get here at AU's expense before the application is to be sent off in September. Read more: Getting a Marie Curie Fellow takes a little effort, but it’s worth it. You can refer the candidates to the Marie Curie Fellowships website, from which they can apply for admission to the master class.

New Animal Welfare Award at the Faculty
The 3R award, as the award is called, goes to a PhD student who has reduced, refined or replaced animal experiments in his/her research project. Read more about the prize in the article, New Award Recognizes Research that Improves Animal Welfare or go directly to the website 'Call for nominations for the 3R Prize'. The winner is elected on the PhD day. 

Handling of chemical waste and clinical risk waste

In the various buildings, we have had different ways of handling different types of waste. We are in the process of standardizing our handling of the waste, which we hope will be finished in 2020. As a first step, a number of employees have been on a course in handling of chemical waste and if you have any questions please contact Morten Pless.

Buy GraphPad Prism through Health IT at a discount price 

The faculty has entered into a license agreement which means that you can purchase the program at a lower price than when you buy directly from the company. Through the Health IT webshop, the price is DKK 375 per year per user. Read more about GraphPad Prism and buy access via Health ITs Webshop

Opening hours between Christmas and New Year

From December 21 to January, the department's service functions will only be sparsely manned. Skous Café is closed until January 6, and most of the secretariat is on  holiday. If you need to receive packages during this holiday period, you must make sure that you receive them yourself or that you postpone the delivery until after New Year.

Important application deadlines

Lundbeck Foundation Collaborative Projects: 6 January

NNF Tandem Program: 7 January

Minutes from the last meeting of the Working Environment Committee on September 27 can be seen here:

https://biomed.medarbejdere.au.dk/arbejdsmiljoe/lamu-og-referater/referater-2019/moede-27-09-2019/

Minutes from the last meeting of the Cooperation Committee (LSU) on October 22 can be seen here:

https://biomed.medarbejdere.au.dk/organisation/moedefora-og-referater/samarbejdsudvalg-referater/referater-2019/moede-22102019/

Minutes from the last department forum on 30 October can be seen here:

https://biomed.medarbejdere.au.dk/organisation/moedefora-og-referater/institutforum-referater/referater-2019/moede-30-10-2019/

Minutes of the last academic council meeting on November 14 can be seen here:

https://health.au.dk/fileadmin/www.health.au.dk/Akademisk_Raad/Referat_AR_20191114.pdf

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

 

Thomas G. Jensen