In keeping with tradition, Rector Brian Bech Nielsen visited the Department of Biomedicine at the beginning of October. This led to questions and ideas about research funding, recruitment of researchers and starting grants.

2017.11.01 | Mette Louise Ohana

Rector Brian Bech Nielsen pays a yearly visit to all the departments to hear what is happening. In October, it was the turn of the Department of Biomedicine. Photo: Lars Kruse, AU.

9 October marked Rector Brian Bech Nielsen’s third visit to the Department of Biomedicine and a department meeting to talk about 'the state of the nation' and to hear what the department's employees had to say.

At a time with declining funding for research and greater competition for this funding, this was a topic that naturally took up much of the meeting. Even though public sector research grants will be increased by DKK 400 million in 2018, the rector was not celebrating, because in relative terms there will be less funding for research. Public funding now comprises one per cent of GDP – which the government has itself previously defined as 'the floor' and consequently the lowest proportion that can be allocated to research. The rector therefore hopes that it cannot get any worse. But there is still a long way back to the previous level of financing after DKK 1.4 billion was cut from research in the Danish Finance Act in 2016. According to the rector, 1.5 per cent of GDP is the level needed so that the universities can compete at international level.

The two per cent savings on funding for education were also touched upon. This makes an impact at the same time as there is political focus on the universities having to improve quality. Even though there is not always a one-to-one correlation between funding and quality, the rector underlined that it did not make sense to say this and that savings had nothing to do with quality improvements.

Proportion of external grants falling

When there is not enough money, it is necessary for researchers at AU to attract external funding to the extent that this is possible, as according to the rector, the university is dependent on this funding so it can continue to take part in the international competition.

And there were some warning lights. AU's share of external national grants has been decreasing for several years and has gone from thirty per cent, which was a very high level, to nearing twenty per cent, which is too low. There is the same downward trend for the large individual grants and ERC grants and funding for basic research centres.

Important to recruit the brightest

This has led the rector and the rest of the senior management team to take a closer look at recruitment strategy. Here he had seen some figures which make him a little uneasy. Last year, there was only one applicant to almost half of the permanent academic positions at AU. While there may be good reasons for this in some cases, this figure is too high and according to rector a sign that there is not enough competition for these positions and that they are not advertised broadly enough. Although there may be local differences between the figures, the rector pointed out that in a time where the level of quality is rising in an international perspective, and where AU's goal is being competitive, then it must be our job to appoint a person who is brighter than we are – even though the current employees are highly skilled.

Against this background, the senior management team drew up eight norms for appointing academic staff. Among other things, these have to do with attracting more applicants to each position, as well as applicants with international experience and applicants of both genders. According to the rector, the goal of the norms is not to restrict freedom and increase bureaucracy, even though they may have these effects, but simply to safeguard quality. The norms are currently in consultation at the academic councils at the university, and everyone is welcome to come with both constructive criticism and other proposals.

Smaller but more starting grants wanted

Starting grants were also discussed, and a number of people in the auditorium drew attention to their importance. There was therefore a request to the rector to make the starting grants from Aarhus University Research Foundation smaller, so that more could be awarded to help more researchers to get started. And that the grants should not necessarily be awarded to researchers who already have funding. The rector promised to take the input with him back to the research foundation.

The new buildings were also briefly taken up, particularly in light of the stories in the newspapers about budget overruns for other new building projects at the universities. The rector concluded that even though Health has the highest revenue base per member of academic staff in comparison with the other faculties, Health is still the most financially challenged faculty at the moment, among other things due to the prospect of double rent. The senior management team is in the process of finding a solution and has previously decided that the AU community will help with the rent issue at Health, as the agreements made in connection with the construction and renovation are in some ways unclear.

Finally, a speaker from the floor called for the rectors and Universities Denmark to stand together and be more visible and less cultivated in the political debate, so that the large cuts in the research and education area could be put on the agenda. The rector did not disagree. The constructive line that they had thus far attempted to follow had not proved fruitful, so perhaps it was time for some sharper rhetoric.

The rector concluded the meeting by thanking the employees for their ideas and observations and promised to show up again next year.