HoD News - 21 December 2022

Dear all,

The Christmas holidays are approaching, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your work and contributions to our teaching and our education programmes, research, administration, knowledge exchange, external research funding attraction and so on. Keep doing the good work. All your efforts and support during 2022 are much appreciated. Thank you! I hope that the holidays will give you a chance to recharge and to relax with your family and friends. 

When starting a new year, we never know what to expect. When ending a year, it is time for assessment and looking back. In 2022 we have witnessed a development, particularly geopolitically, that we would rather have been without. The war in Ukraine has terrible consequences for the Ukrainian people, but it also affects our general perception of defence security and exposes our vulnerability in relation to energy supply security and other dependencies in a globalized world. This affects us all, and it has a direct effect on Aarhus University and our common workplace.

We do not know what the coming year will bring on the geopolitical scene, but let us wish for a new year that is better than the past one. Looking at the year ahead from our perspective, there is no doubt that the frame conditions for universities and higher educations will change significantly following the reform winds from the new government. Let us hope that the universities will be included as a knowledgeable partner in the reform work.

I wish you and your families a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Glædelig Jul og Godt Nytår!

Niels