Health at Aarhus University is establishing a new award aimed at junior research talents. The award, which will include a cash prize of DKK 100,000, will be named after Nobel Prize winner Jens Christian Skou.

2016.05.02 | Sabina Bjerre Hansen

Health is now introducing a new award named after Nobel Prize winner Jens Christian Skou. Photo: Søren Kjeldgaard/AU.

Ninety-seven-year-old Jens Christian Skou received the Nobel Prize in 1997 and remains a source of inspiration for junior researchers, not least at Aarhus University where Health is now introducing a new award named after him. The Jens Christian Skou award will be presented annually to a particularly promising junior researcher who has delivered excellent research within one or more of the research areas at the Faculty of Health Science.

International potential required

The new award will be presented to a junior researcher who is among the international elite. This researcher must be extraordinarily talented within his or her field of research and has to have already documented exceptional research creativity and productivity.

"At Health we are committed to increasing focus on our most talented researcher talents. They must be appreciated and supported in their development, so they know that we see their potential and are ready to help them make progress along an attractive career path in Denmark or abroad. We are therefore establishing the Jens Christian Skou award," says Dean Allan Flyvbjerg from the Faculty of Health Sciences.

The new Jens Christian Skou award will be given to a researcher who is either employed as a PhD student, postdoc, assistant professor or associate professor at Health. No more than ten years may have passed between the researcher obtaining a PhD degree and receiving the new award.

The award includes a cash prize of DKK 100,000 to be used to strengthen the prize winner's research. For example, by carrying out new research projects or for a stay at another recognised international research institution.

Each of the department heads at Health may recommend two prioritised nominees for the Jens Christian Skou price each year in August. It is not possible to apply for the award.

The award will be presented annually around the time of Jens Christian Skou's birthday on 8 October at a special event at Health.

Read more about the Jens Christian Skou award (memo in PDF).

Further information

Dean Allan Flyvbjerg
Aarhus University, Health
Mobile: (+45) 5177 9548
dean.health@au.dk