BMB
Jakob Møller-Jensen continues as head of department
After six years as head of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Jakob Møller-Jensen embarks on a three-year extension with clear objectives and great gratitude.
– You have to want something as head of department. It is not enough to carry on as usual.
This is what Jakob Møller-Jensen says about the considerations he made when the first round as head of department was coming to an end after six years.
– I think it's important that you can't just be head of department indefinitely. You have to want to develop and strengthen your department, he says.
If you look back at the past six years, it is precisely development that you see. Today, BMB consists of almost 200 employees, five sections have been established and the external turnover is breaking records. BMB has come closer to the surrounding world with cooperation and good relations with the region's many companies. A clear advantage when job-oriented master's programmes become a requirement as a result of the impending master's reform.
In short, the department is in a good place.
– And the department is a good place to be. We have a positive tone and talk each other up. It makes us stronger and better. And that is probably what I am most proud of as head of department: that we have been able to maintain our values that it should be nice to be here, while at the same time we have grown and become many more, he says.
From researcher to manager
Actually, the role of head of department came a bit suddenly and unexpectedly, when the predecessor was brought to the Faculty of Engineering.
Back then, Jakob Møller-Jensen started with six months as interim head of department without quite knowing what to expect. What did such a role actually look like? What would it be like to push one's own research into the background?
– But very quickly I could feel that it felt absolutely right. It is very valuable to work with other people and their development – both as individuals and as part of an organisation. That, I think, is absolutely fantastic.
And it remains so after six years.
– It is a huge privilege to be allowed to represent so many brilliant colleagues. After all, they are the department, he says humbly.
Meaningful objectives
That is why he has also given a lot of thought to what he wants to develop in the next three years.
He is particularly concerned with strengthening the relationship between BMB and their new neighbours at the Department of Molecular Medicine. The same applies to the Faculty of Health Sciences and the collaboration with the university hospital, which will soon be connected to SDU.
– There is great potential in participating in several joint projects, especially in translational research, where the latest insights and results quickly benefit patients. We must be involved here, because we have so much to contribute, says Jakob Møller-Jensen.
Talent care is another area that he would like to develop - young talent in particular must be seen and welcomed, so that you don't risk missing out on great potential.
– They are, after all, the next generation of researchers who will help make the next big discovery and push the boundaries of what is possible with molecular biology and biochemistry, he says.
Therefore, he will work with mentoring and explore the possibilities of giving the young researchers the best conditions to establish their careers.
– And it is very important to me that we can actively hold on to our identity at the department and strengthen our communities and cohesion while we grow and develop. BMB must be a good place to be, and we must stick to that, but it requires of us that we are conscious of the tasks underneath it at all times.
With a strong driving force and a clear vision of continuous renewal, Jakob Møller-Jensen has clearly signaled that he is not interested in resting on his laurels.
Therefore, he also does not consider it a given that he will reapply for the position for a possible second round as head of department in three years' time.
– It depends on whether I can still help strengthen BMB. There must be some ambitions and objectives. There must be a project; something I want to achieve with the role of head of department if I reapply for the position in three years. The department always deserves to have a leader who wants something more than just carrying on as usual, he says.