The reason for our existence is our independent search for knowledge and insight and, most importantly off all, the education of qualified Bachelor’s Master’s, and PhD graduates, the new rector Brian Bech Nielsen writes in the preface for Profile 13/14.

2013.09.10

Desire, passion and engagement are still the forces that drive research, education, talent development and knowledge exchange. We must keep the enthusiasm in the eyes of our students and staff glowing, says rector Brian Bech Nielsen.

Why are we here, what is our role, and where are we going? These are the kinds of questions we continue to ponder through-out our lives – because our lives must give meaning.
In the world of research, the raison d’être is practically a given.
The reason for our existence is our independent search for knowledge and insight and, most importantly off all, the education of qualified Bachelor’s Master’s, and PhD graduates.
The goal of all of these efforts is to find applications for the latest scientific and scholarly advances, and to meet society’s justifiable demand that we contribute to the continued development of our society, culturally, scientifically and not least economically.

Aarhus University has been through a far-reaching reform process. In order to strengthen our core activities and prepare the university for the future, we have created a new organisational framework and administrative processes.
Since 2006, as a consequence of a series of major mergers in the university sector and society’s increased focus on research and education, Aarhus University has doubled the size of its student body, the number of PhD students, and its turnover.

In the face of such major physical and organisational transformations, we might well enquire how our the academic raison d’être has fared. Is it under pressure? Without a doubt, the answer is yes. Much has been said and written about the optimisation of the university’s strengths, competitiveness, funding and effectivisation – and not so much about preserving and cultivating the fundamentally sound values of the university.
It takes time to implement major forms and to get them to function as intended. We’ve come a long way. But in the phase we are entering now, we must make sure that we preserve and focus on the spirit of the university, which hasn’t been having an easy time of it. Desire, passion and engagement are still the forces that drive research, education, talent development and knowledge exchange. We must keep the enthusiasm in the eyes of our students and staff glowing, and we must protect the culture that promotes cooperation, critical dialogue, creativity and curiosity. The university consists of its staff and students, and they must experience the university as an inspiring setting for their work and study. Only through their efforts will Aarhus University be able to realise the ambitious goals laid out in the university’s 2013-2020 strategy. The essence of the strategy is quality in everything we do, and the goal is to be a leading globally-oriented university with a strong engagement in the development of society.

We are in a good position to reach that goal. Aarhus University is a broad institution with programmes in all of the central scholarly and scientific fields of inquiry: from the humanities, theology and education to the natural sciences, engineering, the social sciences and health science. And to make sure that we’re on the right track, we have identified three strategic priorities that are elements of the university’s raison d’être:

• Basic research and core disciplines of the highest quality
that will generate research break-throughs and collaborate
to produce new interdisciplinary research.

• Solid research-based degree programmes for all students
combined with supplementary academic activities and
challenges for the most talented and motivated students.

• Internationalised teaching and research programmes that
contribute to the high concentration and mobility of talent at
all levels.

Aarhus University’s talented researchers and teachers have created the foundation we will continue to build upon.
How? To get an idea, read this profile brochure. In it, we present a cross-sectino of the university’s many current and future activities.

Enjoy!

Brian Bech Nielsen,
Rector, Aarhus University