News and Events

Staff and Faculty north2north mobility funding available from and to Danish, Greenlandic and Faroese to other north2north members of UArctic. Apply by February 15, 2025.

Seminar with Professor Urban Eriksson and Ebba Koerfer, PhD Student

Welcome by Sebastian Mernild, Head of SDU Climate Cluster, DIAS Chair of Science, Co-chairperson for the LIFE ACT project.Climate Change and Dilemmas by Henrik Seiding, Chairperson for the LIFE ACT project.Climate change is no longer a distant challenge – it is reshaping the very way we plan, design, and live in our cities. Urban development is at the frontline, facing a series of complex dilemmas: How do we balance densification with the need for green, climate-adaptive spaces? How can cities move fast enough to address urgent risks while still ensuring democratic legitimacy and citizen engagement? And how do we reconcile ambitions for economic growth with the necessity of building long-term resilience?Henrik explores these tensions, drawing on examples from Aarhus and abroad, where technical solutions, nature-based strategies, and questions of climate justice collide. Cities like Aarhus, Copenhagen and Rotterdam illustrate both the possibilities and the trade-offs in climate-conscious urban planning.The key message: there are no simple answers. Navigating these dilemmas requires political courage, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and a willingness to rethink how we define livability in a climate-challenged future. Henrik Seiding is Executive Director of the Department of Technical Services and Environment in Aarhus MunicipalityClimate Transformation and Dilemmas by Jens Hesselbjerg Christensen, Professor at the Niels Bohr Institute, the University of Copenhagen.Over the past 35 years, climate science has advanced from a specialized research field to a central topic in public and political discourse. This lecture addresses not only the state of climate change but also the persistent challenges in communicating its science to society. While climate science is grounded in empirical evidence and reproducible results, public discussions often frame it as a matter of opinion, creating a tension between fact-based knowledge and perception.Drawing on my experience engaging with the media and broader audiences since the early 1990s, I will explore how careful, informed listeners differ from instances where communication is complicated by preconceptions, journalistic dogmas, or ideological framing—exemplified by controversies surrounding figures such as Bjørn Lomborg.The lecture will highlight key dilemmas: balancing accuracy with accessibility, countering misinformation without alienating audiences, and navigating the expectation of debate when scientific consensus is clear. I will also reflect on the role of scientists as public informers, the ethical responsibilities in presenting complex uncertainties, and the societal demand for immediate solutions in contrast to the slow, evolving nature of climate science. Through examples from my career, the talk will offer insights into how climate scientists can engage effectively with the public while maintaining integrity, emphasizing that communicating climate change is not about persuading with opinion but translating evidence into understanding and action.

Er du i gang med at skrive speciale? Går du også og tænker over dit fremtidige job? Er du nysgerrig på, hvordan dit speciale kan indgå i din jobsøgning?

All staff at IMADA are invited to the Departmental Fora.Meeting notice and agenda will be sent by email.

Read more: https://fb.me/e/3ppcKWQeA

Speaker: Ingo Runkel (​University of Hamburg)Abstract:TBA

On this Wild Wednesday, Anders Engberg-Pedersen (DIAS Chair), Bryan Yazell (DIAS Senior Fellow), Kathrin Maurer (DIAS Chair), and Ben Davies (DIAS Chair) will address the topic of reading: how, what, why we read. In their presentations, they will cover issues such as how to read canonical but ideologically problematic authors, how we read images as well as texts, and how reading is practised in the university today. Their four mini talks will explore reading in terms of materiality, practice, politics, and more. Together, they will raise important questions about the role reading plays in culture and research - at a time when reading is often presented as being in 'crisis', or at least undergoing significant transformations. As something that is fundamental to all disciplines, we also look forward to your contributions and a lively discussion about reading.

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Har du lyst til skattefri penge til dit udvekslingsophold, men synes du, at det virker uoverskueligt at søge legater? Så er dette webinar, som CA holder i samarbejde med EDU, helt sikkert for dig!

Growth and Its DiscontentsThe history of capitalism is inseparable from the history of growth. Growth is often celebrated as capitalism’s greatest achievement, yet it has also provoked anxiety. Malthus warned of population pressures, Jevons of coal depletion, while Boserup suggested that scarcity could spur innovation. These debates remind us that growth has always been contested. By contrast, much of modern economics tends to take growth for granted, focusing instead on refining methods and estimating causal effects. This seminar returns growth to the centre of debate, asking how historical reflections on prosperity and limits can help us think about capitalism’s future in an age of climate crisis and inequality. There will be short presentations by a panel of experts bringing varying perspectives:Professor Carl-Johan Dalgaard, University of Copenhagen, https://dors.dk/raad-vismaend/formandskabet/carl-johan-dalgaardProfessor Eoin McLaughlin, Heriot-Watt University, https://www.eoinmclaughlin.ie/Professor Wim Naudé, RWTH Aachen University, https://www.wimnaude.com/Professor Niklas Olsen, University of Copenhagen, https://researchprofiles.ku.dk/da/persons/niklas-olsen This will be followed by a panel debate, chaired by Professor Søren Askegaard, DIAS, SDU.

The Faculty of Humanities at the University of Southern Denmark hereby announces Niels Reeh's doctoral oral defence (dr.phil.).

Meeting notice with time and agenda will be sent by email.

On the occasion of Vibeke Bliksted’s appointment as professor in Cognitive and Clinical psychology at the Research Unit of Psychiatry we hereby invites you to attend an inaugural seminar.

On the occasion of Vibeke Bliksted’s appointment as professor in Cognitive and Clinical psychology at the Research Unit of Psychiatry we hereby invites you to attend an inaugural seminar.

Let's celebrate citizen science together at the 6th European Citizen Science Association (ECSA) conference in Northern Finland. Conference topic: Citizen Science between Centre and Periphery

Speaker: Langwen Hui (University of Illinois)Abstract:TBA

In contemporary healthcare, everybody seems to want more data, on more people, and use them for ever more purposes. There are many good reasons for such ambitions, and yet it is becoming obvious that the current data intensification generates not just stories of benefit and success, but also complaints about misunderstandings, meaningless work, and unintended consequences. In his book, Data Paradoxes (MIT Pres, 2023), Klaus Hoeyer outlines and describes why we tell such different – almost opposing stories about data, and why very different stories might all be partly true. How can we use such insights productively – not least in an age where also cross-border data integration is high on the political agenda? Klaus Hoeyer is professor of Medical Science and Technology Studies at the Centre for Medical STS, University of Copenhagen. His research focuses on the links between policy, practice and experience in medical research and clinical practice. In recent years, he has focused mainly on the increased emphasis on collection, storage, use, reuse of health data, and how these data practices change the health services. This research is primarily financed by the European Research Council.

An interdisciplinary workshop with historian Alex Mold (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine), literature scholar Emily Hogg (SDU), and public health researcher Carolin Kilian (SDU). Alcohol was – and remains – a major part of life in many European countries.It is simultaneously a multi-billion-euro industry, a form of relaxation, a form of socialising, an addictive substance, a drain on police resources, a source of humour, a source of shame, a risk factor for several diseases, and much more besides. But how we view it depends on which angle we’re looking at it from. To discuss this, we have three talks from experts who have studied the alcohol industry, drinking, and alcohol consumption. They will speak about how these different viewpoints affect our conclusions about alcohol, and why it remains a controversial part of Europe’s daily life. Cake and coffee will be provided.

Are you curious about what Danish employers are looking for in your application?

Want to know how you can use “Business Lunch” to connect with exciting companies and explore opportunities for project collaborations, internships, or student jobs?

All staff at IMADA are invited to the Departmental Fora.Meeting notice and agenda will be sent by email.

Read more: https://fb.me/e/633XMW7E1

Speaker: Boris Kjær (​University of Copenhagen)Abstract:TBA

Are you interested in networking with companies, exploring opportunities, and meeting various local and international companies? Then now is the time to act!

Business Lunch is a unique opportunity to meet the students in Kolding, chat with them about their qualifications and your needs, and establish a network that benefits both students and companies

Over the past two decades, we have witnessed an explosion in the number of academic journals and publishers across most (if not all) research fields. This proliferation has placed significant strain on academics’ time (e.g., reviewing demands) and on university library budgets, and has raised pressing questions about both the quality and quantity of research outputs. Drawing on his personal experience as a former Editor-in-Chief of an Elsevier journal, as well as insights from a recent PNAS article on journal reform (https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2401231121), DIAS Chair Nikos Ntoumanis will open the session with reflections on why the current publication model is no longer fit for purpose and what reforms may be needed (or have recently been introduced). Following this short presentation, a panel discussion with DIAS colleagues Sergey I. Bozhevolnyi, Anthony Fernandez, Mette Præst Knudsen, and Lars Boje Mortensen, all of whom have editorial experience, will further explore the challenges and opportunities facing academic publishing today. We also look forward to hearing the audience’s views and experiences with current or alternative publication models.

Are you also waiting for the right time to use LinkedIn during your studies?

Visual artist Claus Carstensen gives a lecture about the exhibition "Res Publica" at the Danish National Gallery. The focus is on art as "a public matter".

Read more: https://fb.me/e/3JV2mq499

FNUG Research Seminar

We often hear the phrase, “It’s in our DNA,” but what does that really mean? How does the information stored in our genes get read and used by our cells? Interestingly, cells do not use all of the information in their DNA at once. Different types of cells use different parts of their DNA, and some genes are only activated at certain times, such as during development or in response to stress or environmental changes. This process of reading and using genetic information is called transcription, and it must be carefully regulated and highly accurate. But how does this regulation happen? And what are the consequences if something goes wrong? Transcription takes place while many other important activities are happening in the cell, such as DNA replication or repair when the DNA is damaged. Because of this, cells have developed complex systems to manage this “gene traffic” and ensure that transcription happens smoothly and correctly. This talk will introduce the basic concepts of DNA and transcription, with a special focus on what happens when DNA is damaged—for example, by exposure to sunlight—and how cells deal with such challenges.About the speaker:Jesper Svejstrup is a Biochemist and Cell Biologist, renowned for his research on gene expression, particularly transcription and its interplay with DNA replication and repair. He earned his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology in 1993 at Aarhus University, focusing on DNA topology, before undertaking postdoctoral work with Professor Roger Kornberg at Stanford University. There, Svejstrup uncovered a direct link between the protein complexes responsible for DNA transcription and repair, a discovery that has shaped his research trajectory. He established his independent research group at Cancer Research UK’s Clare Hall Laboratories in 1996 and, in 2015, joined the Francis Crick Institute, holding honorary professorships at UCL, Imperial College London, and Aarhus University. Since 2020, Svejstrup has served as professor and deputy chairman at the University of Copenhagen’s Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, where he directs the Center for Gene Expression, employing multidisciplinary and ‘omics’ approaches. His achievements have been recognized by election to EMBO, the Royal Society, the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, and the UK’s Academy of Medical Sciences. He has received two ERC Advanced Investigator Grants and the Carlsberg Foundation Research Prize, and until recently served as vice-president for Life Sciences at the European Research Council (ERC).

Read more: https://fb.me/e/36EUW1aDK

The Arctic Science Summit Week (ASSW) is organised annually by the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) to provide opportunities for coordination, cooperation and collaboration between the various scientific organisations involved in Arctic

Matthew Collins (biochemistry) and Lars Boje Mortensen (literary history) will speak about CODICUM, an ERC Synergy project which spans the humanities and the sciences. Their talk will cover books and book production before the advent of paper and print (before c. 1400 / 1450).You will be able to see (and perhaps touch) a real medieval parchment book and several fragments of such books (courtesy of the SDU library)!Lars will introduce pre-modern books and their significance for intellectual and literary history – particularly within the Nordic context of CODICUM. Next, Matthew will demonstrate some of the startling research possibilities that thousand year old animal skins offer through DNA analysis and protein profiles, and the new facility at SDU. Together, these approaches will unravel new patterns of book history, intellectual networks and surprising insights and applications of “biocodicology”.

Meeting notice with time and agenda will be sent by email.

Har du styr på den gode ansøgning og det gode CV?

Empirical evidence from scientific research is considered the most reliable source of factual information in western societies. However, our worldview and ideology can influence scientific research and its outcomes. And vice versa, the results from scientific research also influence our worldview. So how sharply can and should we strive to distinguish science and worldview? Can worldviews be completely fact free, and can science be completely factual and neutral? Probably not. I will discuss three historical and current examples from biology where science and “nonscience” meet:[list=1][*]Social Darwinism and biological evolution[*]Religious belief and biological evolution, and[*]Gender and biological sexes.[/list]Although it is usually thought that “non-science” can hinder scientific progress, I will show that sometimes the opposite has been true. For this and other reasons, I will argue that universities should have space for nonscience next to science in order to remain sanctuaries for academic freedom. However, I will also argue that we should be as clear as possible on what is science and what’s not, and on the motivations for scientists to do scientific research. This will reduce the risk of naturalistic and ideological fallacies. Duur Aanen is a professor of evolution and genetics and studies and teaches fundamental questions and concepts, such as the evolution of cooperation, the evolution of sex and cultural evolution. In his research he uses fungi as model systems of conflict and cooperation, both in interactions within and between species. His team published key studies on the evolution of the mutualistic symbiosis of fungus-growing termites and on the evolutionary stability of multicellular cooperation in fungi. In 2018, he organised a Lorentz center workshop with biologists and theologians on the acceptance of evolutionary theory, resulting in the Leiden Declaration on Evolution and Religion. Professor Aanen collaborates with social scientists, on the topic of science and world view, and on the role of science in society.

All staff at IMADA are invited to the Departmental Fora.Meeting notice and agenda will be sent by email.

Meet and collaborate with 50 companies

Student Collaboration Day facilitates an opportunity for students to meet and create meaningful dialogue about collaborating during their studies. This could be in the form of a student job, an internship, a thesis collaboration, and others.

Do you want to engage in a collaboration with a company?

Join us for Arctic Encounter Summit (AES) 2026, the largest Arctic event in North America, where global leaders, policymakers, innovators, and visionaries come together to address the most pressing challenges and opportunities facing the Arctic today

Kan man bruge LinkedIn som studerende?

Are you interested in learning how to get ready for your first job after graduating?

The MasterClass is a face-to-face workshop for potential or interested applicants for ERC Starting Grants, Consolidator Grants, Advanced Grants and Synergy Grants. The primary target group is young and emerging scientists.

SDU Internship and Project Day makes it easier for companies to get in contact with SDU’s engineering students. You can meet a student and converse about cooperation in the form of a student job, assignment/thesis project, internship or in-Company Pr

SDU Internship and Project Day is designed to make it easier for you, as a student, to find your next student job, project collaboration, internship, or in‑company project partner.

Conversations at "Kunstmuseum Brandts": Visual narratives from Kalaallit Nunaat/Greenland: About and around the photographic work of Inuuteq Storch

Meeting notice with time and agenda will be sent by email.

Are you curious about what Danish employers are looking for in your application? Do you want insight on how to target your CV and cover letter?

All staff at IMADA are invited to the Departmental Fora.Meeting notice and agenda will be sent by email.

Read more about the Department Council: https://sdunet.dk/en/enheder/institutter/imada/udvalg-og-moeder/institutraad

The UArctic Congress is a biennial event that brings together a science conference and key UArctic meetings into a single gathering.

What if communication were not just something humans do, but a process through which all kinds of beings—molecules, machines, institutions, emotions, organisms, laws, and people—come to express themselves and make a difference? Drawing on my forthcoming book, “Thinking the World Communicatively: An Exploration of the More or Less,” this talk introduces a way of approaching reality that transcends the traditional boundaries between the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities. I propose that to think communicatively is to examine how relations allow phenomena to manifest themselves more or less in the world.Communication, in this broad sense, encompasses electromagnetic radiation warming our skin, neurons firing, procedures shaping institutional conduct, technologies guiding attention, and people coordinating with one another. Instead of reducing the world to discourse or matter, this communicative ontology highlights how beings both act and “pass through” others. It offers scientists, scholars, and students an anti-reductionist framework for understanding truth, objectivity, materiality, agency, and power across domains, from social interaction to quantum mechanics.BiographyFrançois Cooren (PhD, Université de Montréal, 1996) is a Professor in the Department of Communication at Université de Montréal, Canada. His research focuses on organizational communication, language and social interaction, as well as communication theory. He is the Past President of the International Communication Association (ICA, 2010–2011), the Past President of the International Association for Dialogue Analysis (IADA, 2012–2021), and former Editor-in-Chief of the journal Communication Theory (2005–2008). He was elected ICA Fellow in 2013, NCA (National Communication Association) Distinguished Scholar in 2017, and Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2024. He published 16 books (four as an author or co-author and twelve as an editor or co-editor) and authored close to 100 peer-reviewed articles and more than 60 book chapters. He is one of the founding members of what is now known as the Montreal School of Organizational Communication, a primary branch of the Communication as Constitutive of Organization (CCO) approach.

Meeting notice with time and agenda will be sent by email.

Mark your calendars and stay tuned – more info coming soon!

On the occasion of Ekin Demir’s attachment as adjunct professor of genome biology at the Department of Molecular Medicine, SDU, the Faculty of Health Sciences hereby invites you to attend a mini symposium and inaugural lecture.

On the occasion of Ekin Demir’s attachment as adjunct professor of genome biology at the Department of Molecular Medicine, SDU, the Faculty of Health Sciences hereby invites you to attend a mini symposium and inaugural lecture.

Promoting Health and Equity at Times of Crisis - Health Promotion Across the Lifespan.

SDU and NAFA invite you to a webinar where PhD Sizwe Nxasana presents his research on how to support teachers in unlearning old habits and adopting new, more student-centered teaching methods – and on identifying which forms of professional development actually work to make this happen. This presentation offers a unique insight into how project-based learning (PBL) is being adopted and developed in a South African context.At NiSE webinars, Danish science education researchers meet to further develop the science education knowledge ecology.It is about ensuring that everyone both receives knowledge and contributes knowledge and experiences within the pedagogical and scientific work of science education.The NiSE webinars are organized by the STEM Education Research Center – FNUG and the Center of Excellence in Science Education/Naturfagsakademiet (CESE/NAFA). NiSE is the name of the network: Network in STEM Education.This webinar is the second in a series of three during the autumn semester of 2025.Everyone is welcome.

In the third week eight special modules are run, four in parallel in the morning and four in parallel in the afternoon. Students can choose one module in the morning and one in the afternoon. Places are allocated on a first come, first serve basis.

All staff at IMADA are invited to the Departmental Fora.Meeting notice and agenda will be sent by email.

Meeting notice with time and agenda will be sent by email.

Vil du fortælle om din virksomhed, møde motiverede studerende, undersøge samarbejdsmuligheder, støtte life science-miljøet på SDU eller udvide dit faglige netværk? Så deltag i Life Science Totaldag d. 6. oktober 2026

Vil du fortælle om din virksomhed, møde motiverede studerende, undersøge samarbejdsmuligheder, støtte life science-miljøet på SDU eller udvide dit faglige netværk? Så deltag i Life Science Totaldag d. 6. oktober 2026

The Arctic Circle Assembly will take place on October 8-10, 2026, in Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre.